The Office of Community Living (OCL) within the Department of Health Care Policy & Financing (Department) has the following information to share below:

Announcements:

• SURVEY NOW AVAILABLE IN BOTH SPANISH AND ENGLISH: Surveying Members on Case Management Agency (CMA) Attributes

• REMINDER: Direct Care Workers Satisfaction and Engagement Survey

Memos:

• Providers Improperly Billing Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Participants

• January 2023 HCBS Waiver Amendments Approval from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)

• Office of Community Living BA-07 Budget Request

Office of Community Living

General OCL Meetings:

• Residential Habilitation Services and Supports (RHSS) and Supported Community Connections (SCC) Stakeholder Meeting

• Case Management Agency Member Survey Live Response Meeting

American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)-Related Meetings:

• ARPA 2.02 Statewide Mobile Crisis response: Administrative Service Organization (ASO) & Regional Accountable Entity (RAE) Technical Assistance

• Direct Care Workforce Collaborative (DCWC) Training & Career Advancement Action Group

Announcements

SURVEY NOW AVAILABLE IN BOTH SPANISH AND ENGLISH: Surveying Members on Case Management Agency (CMA) Attributes

The Department is seeking member feedback through a Member Case Management Agency Survey. This survey provides stakeholders an opportunity to share involvement in the Case Management Agency selection process while maintaining the integrity of the competitive process and state procurement law.

The Department will gather all responses submitted during the procurement inquiry period, which ends on Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023. 

To see full details about the Member Case Management Agency Survey please see the Announcement section of the Thursday, Dec. 30, 2022, OCL Newsletter .

For more information, please see the Case Management Redesign webpage.

The Department will host a Member CMA Survey Live Response on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023, from 10:30 a.m. - 12 p.m. to help members fill out their surveys. See meeting information below in the OCL General Stakeholder Meetings section.

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REMINDER: Direct Care Workers Satisfaction and Engagement Survey 

The Department is excited to announce the launch of the Direct Care Workers Satisfaction and Engagement Survey!

About the Survey

The Department wants to hear from the direct care workforce to deepen our understanding of their level of satisfaction with their work. We have partnered with an independent firm, Vital Research, to develop and administer a survey for Direct Care Workers to help plan for the future of Direct Care in Colorado. The survey will collect data on satisfaction with wage, compensation, benefits, career advancement, training, and overall fulfillment from working as a Direct Care Worker.

The current survey cycle began on Dec. 7, 2022, and will remain open for at least 30 days. A second administration of the survey will occur in August 2023, with updated questions incorporating feedback from the first survey. The Department will share a high-level summary of results. All data collected is confidential, and individual names and other information that could be identifiable will not be shared. The data collected will be used to support workforce initiatives and provide data for future analysis, budget projections, policy planning, stakeholder engagement, and improve quality assurances.

How to Participate

The survey is being administered via email and survey link. If you are a direct care worker and would like to participate in the survey, please contact the Direct Care Workforce Team at hcpf_dcworkforce@state.co.us to request a link.

More information is in Informational Memo 22-044.

Memos

Please find new memos listed below. These memos are also on the Department's 2023 Memo Series Communication webpage. Viewing the Memo Series webpage will show other memos of interest.

• Informational Memo - Providers Improperly Billing Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) (Jan. 3, 2023): The purpose of this Informational Memo is to inform all HCBS providers that billing HCBS waiver members for various fees, utilities, or supplemental charges violates federal and state law. Any fee or supplemental charge imposed on an HCBS waiver member should be refunded within 30 days from the issuance of this memo and the provider shall notify the Department of the billing error and provide proof of the corrective action taken.

• Informational Memo - January 2023 HCBS Waiver Amendments Approval from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) (Jan. 3, 2023): The purpose of this Informational Memo is to inform stakeholders that the HCBS waiver amendments submitted to CMS on Sept. 16, 2022, were approved.

• Informational Memo - Office of Community Living BA-07 Budget Request (Jan. 4, 2022): The purpose of this Informational Memo is to inform long-term services and supports (LTSS) members, families, advocates and providers of the contents of the BA-07 “Community-Based Access to Services” budget amendment that was submitted to the Joint Budget Committee on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023.

General OCL Meetings

Please find general OCL meeting announcements listed below. Other OCL meeting information is on the OCL Stakeholder Engagement & Calendar webpage.

Residential Habilitation Services and Supports (RHSS) and Supported Community Connections (SCC) Stakeholder Meeting

The Department is hosting a stakeholder engagement meeting to discuss and receive feedback related to Residential Habilitation Services and Supports (RHSS) and Supported Community Connections (SCC) services being provided by the same direct care provider. At this time, the Department seeks to further engage providers, waiver members, family members, advocates, and case managers through a stakeholder meeting to propose a semi-final revision to the service definitions related to the community integration requirements under RHSS and SCC services.

During this meeting, all interested stakeholders will have the opportunity to provide comments, suggestions and ask questions regarding the proposed service definition changes.

The meeting will be held:

Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023

1 - 2:30 p.m. MT

Join via Zoom

Meeting ID: 811 9126 0339, Passcode: 878592

Join via Phone:

Toll-free: 1-833-548-0276

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Case Management Agency Request For Proposal (RFP) Member Survey Live Response Meeting

The Department has developed a survey that allows stakeholders to share involvement in the Case Management Agency selection process while maintaining the integrity of the RFP and state procurement law. The survey will consist of five questions targeting key areas of importance that LTSS & HCBS stakeholders need most from their Case Management Agency.

The Department will host this RFP Member Survey Live Response to answer any question you may have and to also help you fill out your surveys.

The meeting will be held:

Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023

10:30 a.m. - 12 p.m. MT

Join via Zoom

Meeting ID: 873 901 4539, Passcode: 597847

Join by Phone:

(Toll-free) 1-877-853-5257

American Recue Plan Act (ARPA)-Related Meetings

Please find an ARPA-related meeting announcement listed below. Other ARPA-related meeting information is on the ARPA Stakeholder Engagement & Calendar webpage.

ARPA 2.02 Statewide Mobile Crisis Response: Administrative Service Organization (ASO) and Regional Accountable Entity (RAE) Technical Assistance

This is an opportunity for Administrative Service Organizations and Regional Accountable Entities to ask questions and receive technical assistance related to implementing the Mobile Crisis Medicaid Benefit. All interested stakeholders are welcome to attend.

These meetings will occur on the second Thursday of the month, from 11 a.m.- 12 p.m. MT, through at least July 2023.

The meeting will be held:

Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023

11 a.m. - 12 p.m. MT

Join via Google Meet



Join by Phone:

1-240-560-3613, PIN: ‪440 764 383#

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Direct Care Workforce Collaborative (DCWC) Training & Career Advancement Action Group

This Action Group works collaboratively with stakeholders to identify and move forward strategies to support the recruitment and retention of Colorado's direct care workforce. This group intends to meet quarterly on the second Wednesday of the month.

The meeting will be held:

Friday, Jan. 13, 2023

9 - 10 a.m. MT

Join via Zoom

Meeting ID: 993 1700 7314, Passcode: 396389

Join by Phone:

(Toll-free) 1-877-853-5257

Need to Make an Accommodation Request for one of our General OCL or ARPA-Related Stakeholder Meetings?

Reasonable accommodations for all OCL and ARPA-related stakeholder meetings will be provided upon request for persons with disabilities. Auxiliary aids and services for individuals with disabilities and language services for individuals whose first language is not English may be provided upon request. Please notify John Barry at 303-866-3173 or John.R.Barry@state.co.usor the 504/ADA Coordinator at hcpf504ada@state.co.us at least one week prior to the meeting to make arrangements.