CCSI News and Updates
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As we mark the beginning of September, we continue to focus on supporting our customers and working with our partners across NYS (and beyond) to evolve services, programs and infrastructure to meet new needs. While we’re in the midst of a time that has created unprecedented challenges, it has also sparked creativity and innovation and has underscored the need for collaboration as we stretch to meet new and urgent demands.

In this month’s newsletter, we’re sharing work in several areas including:
President
Coordinated Care Services, Inc.
  • Adapting Motivational Interviewing (MI) resources for use with Transition Age Youth (TAY). Check out a series of new videos we created in conjunction with the NYS Community Technical Assistance Center to help individuals working with young people use this evidence-based practice effectively.

  • Working with organizations to address racism and build equity in the workplace. We were grateful to sponsor and participate in the 2020 Virtual Women of Color Summit hosted by Heritage Christian Services, through their Eleversity program. Read more from Kesha Carter, CCSI’s Chief Diversity Officer as she shares strategies for organizations working to build impactful and effective Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

We know much work lies ahead at the national, state and local levels as we rise to the challenges created by the COVID-19 public health crisis and the racial divide that is bringing so much pain to individuals and to communities. While change is certainly needed at the systems level, we are also mindful of the power of individual conversations. Toward that end, we are seeking and sharing resources to support this work. This month we highlight some content compiled by the Obama Foundation, which we hope you find helpful. We would love to hear from you about what you and your organization is doing to facilitate change and continue these important conversations. Stay well…
Doing Our Part to Bring Change: Resources to Help You Have Conversations About Race
Former First Lady Michelle Obama on Continuing the Conversation

In response to a question about how individuals can take action to address racial justice issues, Michelle Obama shared a powerful message: by having hard conversations at our own kitchen tables, in our workplaces, and in our social lives. In this 7-minute video with the Obama Foundation Fellows, she expands on this topic and engages in conversation with staff working in communities across the country.
How to Talk to Kids About Race

We’re also sharing an excellent resource developed by CCSI Board member Dr. LeKeyah Wilson, who specializes in pediatrics and adolescent medicine at Rochester Regional Health and her colleague Pediatric Family Psychologist Jessica Moore, MD on talking with children about race.
We would love to hear from you about what you and your organizations are doing to facilitate change and continue these important conversations within your circles. Please email us at askccsi@ccsi.org with resources you’d like to share.
Dr. LeKeyah Wilson
Pediatrician
Rochester Regional Health
CCSI Board of Directors
Education
Help for Area Educators through a Grant from the United Way Crisis Fund
The United Way of Greater Rochester is continuing its work to meet critical needs across the region. This summer, they partnered with the Rochester Area Community Foundation and other local funders to organize the Community Crisis Fund to rapidly deploy funding to meet critical needs facing not-for-profit agencies in the greater Rochester area prompted by the COVID-19 public health crisis. We are grateful that a grant from this fund is allowing CCSI staff to work with educators across the region to provide the supports and the technical assistance needed to meet the many challenges associated with returning to school.
Community Support for the Safe
Re-opening of Schools
Convened by Common Ground Health, the Finger Lakes Reopening Schools Safely Task Force will provide resources and support to the 13 Finger Lakes counties as schools and districts navigate the unprecedented process of reopening in the midst of a pandemic. CCSI is proud to be a member of the task force, working with other partners to create a regional Resource Hub, sharing strategies and information critical to the needs of educators as they implement plans to safely re-open learning environments through a variety of modalities – online, hybrid, and in classroom with new physical health guidelines.
Addressing Stress Surrounding the Return
to School this Fall

CCSI's Amy Scheel-Jones, Senior Consultant, recently presented on a webinar from Children's Institute titled "Addressing Adult Stress and Anxiety" which is a part of their Web Series For Educators: Coming Back From COVID. Along with Tasha Potter, Greece Central School District, Caitlin Orbanek, Whole Child Connection and Elizabeth DeVaney, Whole Child Connection, Amy and the panel discussed how to acknowledge and respond to adult stresses and anxieties upon returning to school this fall.
Senior Consultant
Coordinated Care Services, Inc.
State Government
New York State of Health Extends Special Enrollment Period for Health Insurance
In light of the COVID-19 public health emergency, the Special Enrollment Period available to New Yorkers has been extended to September 15th, during which eligible individuals will be able to enroll in insurance coverage. CCSI’s IPA/Navigator Program provides one-on-one assistance for individuals and small businesses interested in shopping for and enrolling in health insurance through New York State of Health.
Local Government
Monroe County Department of Public Health’s (DPH) COVID-19 Hotline Offers Support to County Residents
The Monroe County Department of Public Health’s (DPH) COVID-19 Hotline serves as a resource for the citizens of Monroe County experiencing COVID related concerns. Volunteers from the Monroe County Office of Mental Health’s (MCOMH) Disaster Mental Health team, including several CCSI employees, have assisted the DPH in fielding calls over the past five months. Learn more about how the hotline has helped county residents through returning almost 1,000 calls to the hotline since it went live.
Financial Services Update

Get the latest County LGU Fiscal Officer updates from our Financial Services team including information on upcoming deadlines, state aid funding, Upper Payment Limit (UPL) Supplemental Payments and more.
Director of Financial Services
Coordinated Care Services, Inc.
Community-Based Organizations
Webinar:
The Golden Thread: How Clinically & Culturally Informed Practices Support High Quality, Equitable Services

A successful organization ensures that their culture is aligned with and values the culture of those it serves and those who deliver the services. Senior Consultants Nancy Sung Shelton and Tricia Williams recently led a webinar on clinically and culturally informed practices and how they reinforce equitable service of the highest quality.
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Senior Consultant, Cultural Competence & Health Equity
Coordinated Care Services, Inc.
Senior Consultant
Coordinated Care Services, Inc.
CCSI Welcomes New Senior Consultant

We are extremely pleased to welcome Chris Copeland, Senior Consultant, Fiscal Practice Improvement to CCSI. Chris was recently the Chief Operating Officer at Institute for Community Living (ICL) in NYC. Chris brings more than 40 years of experience in community mental health. Chris has directly provided, supervised, managed and was the CEO for the full range of mental health, substance abuse and I/DD, integrated health and administrative services. This broad experience gives Chris a unique insight into the operational challenges faced by front line staff, supervisors, managers and executive leadership. Chris has successfully used data to design and monitor complex solutions that support the fiscal health of an agency while enhancing the quality of the workplace and services.
Senior Consultant
Coordinated Care Services, Inc.
Key Takeaways from the Community Information Exchange (CIE) Virtual Summit

CCSI's Colleen Bishop, Research Associate, attended the Community Information Exchange (CIE) Virtual Summit in August. The event, titled Accelerating Multi-Sector Collaboration to Advance Equity, focused on innovations in care coordination to address Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) needs across populations, with the goal of advancing equity for all. Check out Colleen's key takeaways.
Research Associate
Coordinated Care Services, Inc.
Key Takeaways from DOJ and OIG Enforcement & Compliance Update Webinar

On August 14th, CCSI’s Maryjoan Case, Chief Compliance Officer, attended the “Department of Justice & Office of Inspector General Enforcement & Compliance Update – Priorities during COVID-19” webinar sponsored by Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA). The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act programs and flexibilities were covered in the webinar, and Maryjoan included her key takeaways.
Chief Compliance Officer,
Interim Executive Director, New York Care Coordination Program (NYCCP)
Coordinated Care Services, Inc.
Criminal Justice & Juvenile Justice
Promoting Connection During COVID
For the Monroe County Family Access & Connection Team (FACT), switching to remote work back in March was a big adjustment. Now, six months later, we hear about how they managed to stay connected in a fun and productive way through optional "Cheer Up Check Ins" and "Training Hodgepodges." We also learn more about how FACT is committed to creating family driven, strength-based, individualized responses to Monroe County’s high risk/high need youth and families.
Behavioral Health
Looking Back on the 2020
Women of Color Summit
CCSI was proud to sponsor the 2020 Virtual Women of Color Summit hosted by Eleversity, a community impact program of Heritage Christian Services. Kesha Carter, Chief Diversity Officer was a panelist at the August session where she spoke to participants about strategies for organizations struggling with getting internal buy in at all levels and implementing effective Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Organizations must be intentional about expecting equity in promotional opportunities and exposure to elevate Women of Color to the key leadership positions in certain industries and organizations. Kesha offered some key actionable items organizations can use in addressing those concerns.
Chief Diversity Officer
Coordinated Care Services, Inc.
New Resources for Practitioners Working with Transition Age Youth: Motivational Interviewing Demonstration Videos

A majority of Motivational Interviewing (MI) resources were created with and for practitioners in the adult serving world and with the adult client in mind, but there is an increasing demand for MI skills and practices with Transition Age Youth (TAY). CCSI's Gwen Olton, Director of Practice Transformation and Cheryl Martin, Integrated Health Trainer and Clinical Consultant developed a series of demonstration videos in conjunction with the Community Technical Assistance Center (CTAC) to help those working with Transition Age Youth to practice MI.
ACEs Study Indicates the Importance of Integrating Traumatic Stress Treatment and Safety Planning Into Adolescent Alcohol Interventions

Earlier this month, Lourah Kelly, Ph.D., University of Connecticut School of Medicine, presented a poster at the virtual American Psychological Association (APA) annual conference about the analysis of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) data that was collected in collaboration with the Monroe County Department of Public Health. The purpose of the study was to identify adolescents with the highest levels of alcohol and marijuana use, who would benefit from interventions.
Lourah Kelly, PhD
University of Connecticut
School of Medicine
CCSI Welcomes St. Joseph's Addiction Treatment and Recovery Centers
CCSI is pleased to be supporting St. Joseph’s Addiction Treatment and Recovery Centers in their efforts towards implementing both data driven decision making, and quality improvement across their recently updated array of services and network of providers through their newly created Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC).

Primarily located in Saranac Lake, NY, St. Joe’s provides a full continuum of addiction and treatment services with locations in five New York State counties. St. Joe’s was awarded a 2-year SAMHSA grant to establish a CCBHC. The CCBHC model will help St. Joe’s expand its service array to include community based mental health services. The goal of CCBHC is to improve overall health by integrating behavioral and physical health care with a care coordination model.

CCSI will act as an independent evaluator for the implementation of this new model, supporting data collection and performance management. Contact CCSI’s Tabitha Gerwitz, Senior Consultant, Consulting Services for more information about this work.
Other News
Melisa Fowler Graduates from Leadership Rochester Program
After several months of COVID associated delays, Leadership Rochester celebrated the graduating class of 2020 at Frontier Field on August 3rd. The Leadership Rochester program is a collaborative effort to connect, educate and engage a diverse, cross-section of community leaders to stimulate growth and facilitate change in the greater Rochester community. We congratulate CCSI's Melisa Fowler, Program Manager, Navigator/Aged, Blind & Disabled Programs and the rest of the class of 2020 graduates!
Kathleen Johnson, CPA Joins
CCSI's Board of Directors
We are pleased to announce that Kathleen Johnson, Chief Financial Officer at Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Rochester has joined our Board of Directors. As CFO, Kathleen is responsible for the fiscal operations of the nine human services agencies throughout the 12 counties of the Diocese. Prior to taking on this role in January of 2019, Kathleen was the Chief Financial Officer of Catholic Family Center, the largest of the Catholic Charities agencies. Kathleen began her career at KPMG in Rochester and has held various financial positions in manufacturing, leasing, banking and higher education. Being a part of a large human services organization has been the most challenging and rewarding experience in her career. Kathleen earned her Bachelors’ of Business Administration in Accounting from St. Bonaventure University and became a CPA while at KPMG. We are excited to welcome her to the CCSI Board!
Kathleen Johnson
Chief Financial Officer
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Rochester
CCSI Board of Directors
CCSI is Growing
CCSI has a need for talented professionals looking to contribute their expertise, expand their influence, and manage their careers to meet personal aspirations. We offer opportunities across different service lines, geographies, and functions.
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