Benchmarks Will NOT Be Holding
 Our Thursday or Friday Webinars
This Week
Updates and Announcements

STAKEHOLDER COVID-19 UPDATES
Please continue to make use of the  COVID-19 Prevent and Protect Media Toolkit    - full of social media posts and images, infographics, customizable flyers, and more - to get the word out about important tools and resources designed to help North Carolinians protect themselves and their loved ones against the spread of COVID-19. We will continue to update the page with new materials, so please check back often. All materials are 
available in English and Spanish!
 
WATCH the new video featuring Dr. Tilson: " How to Properly Use a Cloth Face Covering "

How to Properly Use A Cloth Face Covering
How to Properly Use A Cloth Face Covering

PRESS RELEASE:

PRESS RELEASE:


NEW TESTING SITES added to the   Community Testing Events page
  • Note that this page, previously called "Pop-up Testing," now has a new name.
UPDATED Requesting Specimen Collection Supplies  includes updated specimen collection link

UPDATED reports for   Ongoing Outbreaks in Congregate Living and School Clusters are now available

UPDATED  Prevent and Protect toolkit ; the Know Your Ws social media is on this page, now available in separate zip files for ease of access to each of the different images (more still to come)

UPDATED  General Flow Chart: Hospital to Skilled Nursing Facility  in Long-Term Care Guidance


UPDATED  Schools Toolkit in Spanish

NC Medicaid COVID-19 Bulletin #110 and Three New Medicaid Bulletins Now Available
NC Medicaid COVID-19 Bulletin #110 Available
The NC Division of Health Benefits (DHB) has recently published a Medicaid Bulletin article related to COVID-19:
 
NCTracks has reset the due date for providers required to re-verify their enrollment between the dates of July 1, 2020, and Aug. 31, 2020. 
 
  Three New Medicaid Bulletins Available as of July 14, 2020
The NC Division of Health Benefits (DHB) has recently published three new Medicaid Bulletin articles dated July 14, 2020.
 
  • J0887, Mircera: End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Treatment Providers (261QE0700X) Added to the List of Eligible Providers
  • End-Stage Renal Disease Policy (1A-34) Title Change
  • Clinical Policy 1E-3, Sterilization Procedures Revised Effective Aug. 15, 2020

COVID-19 One-Stop Shop Toolkits
CDC's One-Stop Shop provides quick access to communication resources. Topic-specific toolkits make it easy to access, leverage, and share CDC resources. These new toolkits contain videos, social media posts, PSAs, print resources, checklists, FAQs, and web resources for the following populations
  • Young Adults: Age 15-21
  • Childcare Programs and Summer Camps
  • Youth Sports
  • K-12 Schools
  • Business and Workplaces
  • Community and Faith-based Organizations
  • General Public
  • Domestic Travelers
  • Shared and Congregate Housing
  • Parks and Recreational Facilities 

HUMANS OF HUD

The trials and triumphs of the men and women HUD serves.




In Historic Decision, U.S. Supreme Court Rules Title VII Prohibits LGBTQ Employment Discrimination
The importance of this week's U.S. Supreme Court decision related to LGBTQ rights cannot be overstated. The full opinion in Bostock v. Clayton Cty., including two dissents, spans 172 pages. In short, after 56 years, Title VII's prohibition on employment discrimination "because of" sex, now indisputably bars discrimination based upon sexual orientation and transgender status. Read more.

U.S. Supreme Court Adopts Broad Interpretation of the "Ministerial Exception," Protecting Religious Schools Against Employment Discrimination Claims (US)
Just three weeks after its landmark ruling expanding its interpretation of Title VII discrimination protection to bar sexual orientation and gender identity-based discrimination, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru, in which the Court bolstered the rights of religious schools and institutions to select their employees, free from government interference or fear of discrimination claims.
Read more.

COVID-19 Healthcare Guidelines- The American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry
The American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry 
has recently created and released a set of guidelines specific to the healthcare of individuals with ID/DD during the COVID19 pandemic. The guidelines were created by a committee of AADMD healthcare leaders who reviewed an abundance of guidelines, recommendations, protocols and policies from healthcare groups around the world. It is our recommendation that members of the Leadership Consortium share these guidelines with the various healthcare decision makers in their arenas.  

Prior to these guidelines there were no bona fide national guidelines that outline the myriad sites and scenarios that dictate how healthcare is provided to our community during the pandemic.  The AADMD is open to feedback, suggestions and comments geared toward the adoption and acceptance of these guidelines as well as initiating an ongoing dialogue to improve future generations of these recommendations.


It's National Disability Voter Registration Week!
From July 13, 2020 through July 17, 2020, advocates, human service organizations, and others are taking action to promote registration by people with disabilities during National Disability Voter Registration Week (NDVRW). These efforts include developing toolkits, sharing information, and providing supports to help those receiving services become more engaged in the election process.
In the 2016 elections, the voter registration rate was 2% lower for people with disabilities compared to people without disabilities, and the turnout rate on election day was 6% lower (Schur & Kruse, n.d.). 

To help promote participation in elections and ensure that people with disabilities are supported to exercise their voting rights, we've compiled guidance and resources to improve registration of voters with disabilities.


Paycheck Protection Program: Top Five Practical Tips for Business Leaders
Congress recently extended the application deadline for the Paycheck Protection Program by five weeks, moving the deadline from June 30 to August 8. As of July 6, approximately $528 billion of PPP loan funds have been received by businesses all across the country, leaving more than $130 billion of funding still available.

Thousands of businesses received PPP loan funds and have been able to keep paying their employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now what? As a business leader, you should be thinking ahead to the next steps. 

Click here to read more about these five practical tips to help your business stay on top of its responsibilities under the PPP and maximize forgiveness.

US: America loses champion for a child-centered child welfare system (Opinion)
Child Welfare Monitor - July 14, 2020
Richard Gelles, one of the nation's leading child welfare experts, died late in June of brain cancer, as reported by the Chronicle of Social Change. Gelles' death deprives the nation of one of its leading child welfare scholars, and one of the few remaining spokespersons for a child centered approach to child welfare.

Upcoming Events
Tuesday:  July 14, 2020
Building Partnerships to Enhance the  Peer Workforce: Panel Discussion

Time: 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm
Tuesday:  July 14, 2020
Partnership for Children of Wayne County Overview

Time: 3:30 pm thru 4:30 pm
Wednesday:  July 15, 2020
Series:  Hurricane Season and COVID-19: How Families of Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs Can Be Prepared

Part 1:   Personal and Family Preparedness during COVID-19

Time: 11:00 am
Wednesday, July 15, 2020
PROVIDER ENRICHMENT: CLINICAL PRACTICE GUIDELINES:  Medication adherence and compliance

Time: 12:00 pm
Wednesday:  July 15, 2020
The Very Best of NatCon Learning Delivered to Your Desktop

Time: 12:00 pm thru 3:00 pm
Thursday:  July 16, 2020
Taking on the "Perfect Storm": Faith-based Organizations and Partnerships Address COVID-19 and Critical Behavioral Health Needs in Communities of Color

Time: 3:00 pm
Monday:  July 20, 2020 
PCIT Information Calls

Time:  10:00 am
 
Meeting number: 730 385 489
You can also dial 173.243.2.68 and enter your meeting number. Or, join by phone: 1-650-479-3207 Access code: 730 385 489 
Tuesday:  July 21, 2020
Join Shatterproof, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to reversing the addiction crisis in the United States, as it celebrates the launch of ATLAS™, a new platform for locating appropriate, high-quality substance use disorder treatment.

Time:  11:00 am thru 12:30 pm
Wednesday:  July 22, 2020
Series:  Hurricane Season and COVID-19: How Families of Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs Can Be Prepared

Part 2:   How State and Local Officials are Preparing during COVID-19

Time:  11:00 am
Thursday, July 23, 2020
Autism and Covid-19:  Teaching the rules in this new norm

Time:  11:30 am thru 1:00 pm
Thursday, July 23, 2020
Information Session Care Review Team

Time:  11:00 am thru 12:30 pm

New:  Thursday, July 23, 2020
COVID-19 Q&A Webinar for Behavioral Health Care

Time:  1:30 pm to 3:00 pm EST

New:  Wednesday:  July 29, 2020
A to Zs of COVID-19 for Families and Individuals
with I-DD 

Time:  12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
Wednesday:  July 29, 2020
Series:  Hurricane Season and COVID-19: How Families of Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs Can Be Prepared

Part 3:  Recovery, Resources, and Questions Answered about Preparing during COVID-19

Time:  1:00 pm thru 2:00 pm EST
Wednesday:  July 29, 2020
Accreditation for the Changing Face of Addiction Treatment

Time:  1:00 pm thru 2:00 pm EST
LME/MCO Updates
Please click on each of the following links to view details sent out from each LME/MCO.

Benchmarks' wants to be sure to make the following list handy for our members to visit and suggests a peek at least once per week to find information that may be pertinent to your agency and contracts.