Office of Community Living Updates: June 14, 2023

June 14, 2023

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

Announcements:

Join the Second Stakeholder Forum to Discuss Hospital Community Benefit: June 20, 2023

National Core Indicator (NCI) State of the Workforce Survey-IDD: Deadline Friday, June 30, 2023

Apply Now to Become a Member of the Nursing Home Innovations Grant Board: Deadline Friday, June 30, 2023

Group In-Reach Implementation Survey for Stakeholders: Deadline Friday, June 16, 2023

General OCL Meetings:

Nursing facility Stakeholders Meeting

Health Equity Public Meeting: African American Community Focus

American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)-Related Meetings:

ARPA 4.03 Child and Youth Step-down Options Qualified Residential Treatment Program (QRTP) Track Request for Application (RFA) Question & Answer Meeting

ARPA 4.03 Child and Youth Step-down Options Children’s Habilitation Residential Program (CHRP) Track Request for Applications (RFA) Question-and-Answer Session

ARPA 2.02 Statewide Mobile Crisis Response Bi-Weekly Technical Assistance

Announcements

Join the Second Stakeholder Forum to Discuss Hospital Community Benefit: Tuesday, June 20, 2023

HCPF, in partnership with the Colorado Health Institute (CHI), is seeking feedback on how nonprofit hospitals should prioritize their community benefit investments.

We invite you to join the second of two stakeholder feedback sessions listed below. We are seeking feedback from community-based organizations and advocacy groups, local public health agencies, and health care providers outside of hospital and health systems, including home and community-based service providers, behavioral health providers, Federally Qualified Health Centers, and others. A separate session will convene hospitals and health systems.

Session #2 will be held:

Tuesday, June 20, 2023

4 to 5 p.m. MT

The second meetings will take place virtually. Please register to receive details and materials prior to the meetings. The same information will be shared at the second meeting.

CHI will facilitate these sessions and is accepting written feedback or questions in advance at focusgroups@coloradohealthinstitute.org.

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National Core Indicator (NCI) State of the Workforce Survey-IDD:

Deadline Friday, June 30, 2023

HCPF launched the NCI State of the Workforce Survey (formerly known as the Staff Stability Survey) in mid-March, for agencies providing services to individuals enrolled in the Supported Living Services (SLS) and the Developmental Disabilities (DD) waivers. The NCI State of the Workforce Survey is conducted across the country and will help Colorado measure improvement in the quality and stability of the workforce of direct support professionals assisting adults with Intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).

Agencies included in the survey sample received the link via email to complete the NCI State of the Workforce Survey online. Each agency will only fill out one survey about their direct care workforce. We ask that the survey be completed by Friday, June 30, 2023.

HCPF thanks agencies for assisting us with completing this mission-critical work. It will help evaluate the stability of staff and services provided to the members we serve. For more information, please visit HCPF’s NCI Survey webpage.

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Apply Now to Become a Member of the Nursing Home Innovations Grant Board: Deadline Friday, June 30, 2023

The Nursing Home Innovations Grant Board reviews and makes grant approval recommendations for projects funded by Civil Money Penalty funds. The projects focus on innovative ways to improve the quality of life and quality of care for nursing home residents. Your experiences, knowledge and insight may help support these projects.

The Board is looking for five representatives: one who is a resident of a nursing facility, three who are long-term care employees, and one representative from the business community.

To Apply

To apply to become a member of the Board, please fill out the application at the Colorado Boards and Commissions webpage ("Apply Now" box on the bottom of the page and select "Nursing Home Innovations Grant Board"). The application deadline is Friday, June 30, 2023.

For More Information

For more information about the Nursing Home Innovations Grant Board, please visit HCPF's Nursing Home Innovations Grant Board webpage. If you have questions, please contact Richard Clark at Richard.Clark@state.co.us.

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Group In-Reach Implementation Survey for Stakeholders:

Deadline Friday, June 16, 2023

In March 2022, the Department of Justice sent HCPF a letter regarding shortcomings within the state's Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) system and transition services for individuals currently residing in a nursing facility setting. As part of the BA-07 Budget Request, HCPF requested funds to proactively implement Group In-Reach in the Nursing Facility setting.

About Group In-Reach

The purpose of Group In-Reach is to educate individuals living in a nursing facility and their natural supports (family, guardians, friends or caregivers) about community-based living options, waivers and supports in a group setting. The first year, Group In-Reach will be completed by the internal HCPF In-Reach coordination team. After this first year, HCPF will request stakeholder feedback about:

Whether Group In-Reach should continue

Which agency would be best to assume management of the Group In-Reach program after the first year of this project

About the Survey

HCPF is now conducting a stakeholder survey to collect additional feedback regarding Group In-Reach implementation and ensure the In-Reach team is providing members with extensive, correct and pertinent information to support making an informed decision regarding their community living options. The survey deadline is Friday, June 16, 2023.

We thank all survey respondents for helping us ensure that Group In-Reach is helpful to members, their natural support and agency staff.

Take the Survey

General OCL Meetings

Please find a general OCL meeting announcement listed below. Other OCL meeting information is on the OCL Stakeholder Engagement and Calendar webpage.

Nursing Facility Stakeholders Meeting

This meeting focuses on Medicaid-related developments related to Nursing Facility reimbursement and benefits. This includes, but is not limited to, procedural reviews, benefit interactions, policy clarifications, and cyclical business operations.

The Nursing Facility Stakeholders Meeting meets on the third Wednesday of the month. All interested stakeholders are welcome.

The meeting will be held:

Wednesday, June 21, 2023

1 to 3 p.m. MT

Join by Google Meet

Join via Phone:

Join by Phone: 1-401-379-3164‬, PIN: 406 137 468#‬

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Health Equity Public Meeting: African American Community Focus

HCPF is committed to ongoing and sustained health equity for all our members.

The purpose of the health equity public meeting is to provide space for providers, members, and community stakeholders to learn about HCPF’s Health Equity Plan, and to provide input and feedback. Our goal is to establish the current state of health equity, and strategically look at innovative ways to improve health outcomes and decrease health disparities for our members in Colorado.

To achieve better health outcomes, stakeholder engagement is critical.

Feedback from sessions will inform HCPF’s health equity strategy and implementation.

Health equity happens when everyone has equal opportunity to be as healthy as they can be. No one's race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic status, geography or preferred language should negatively affect their health care. Health equity work includes removing obstacles to health care access and positive health outcomes.

The meeting will be held:

Wednesday, June 21, 2023

1 to 2 p.m. MT

American Rescue 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 and Calendar webpage.

ARPA 4.03 Child and Youth Step-down Options Qualified Residential Treatment Program (QRTP) Track Request for Application (RFA) Question-and-Answer Meeting

HCPF will work with several providers to develop a viable step-down treatment program, to create models of care that are financially viable and person-centered, with a focus on those children and youth who are currently being sent out of state for services. This project will also look at the creation or expansion of a step-down service between hospitals and a short-term residential placement. Please join us for a program overview and a question-and-answer session.

The meeting will be held:

Wednesday, June 21, 2023

10:30 to 11:30 a.m. MT

Join via Zoom

Join via Phone:

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

Meeting ID: 969 4053 6000, Passcode: 115140

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ARPA 4.03 Child and Youth Step-down Options Children’s Habilitation Residential Program (CHRP) Track Request for Applications (RFA) Question-and-Answer Session

HCPF will focus on those areas in which there are currently gaps in services and treatment programs for children and youth. These include members with Autism Spectrum Disorder, intellectual and developmental disabilities, severe emotional disturbance, as well as those with dual behavioral health and physical or developmental diagnoses. Please join us for a program overview and question and answer session. All interested stakeholders are welcome.

The meeting will be held:

Wednesday, June 21, 2023

2 to 3 p.m. MT

Join via Zoom

Join via Phone:

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

Meeting ID: 969 4053 6000, Passcode: 115140

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ARPA 2.02 Statewide Mobile Crisis Response Bi-Weekly Technical Assistance

This is an opportunity for Administrative Service Organizations (ASO) / Regional Accountable Entities (RAE), community and members, providers, and any interested stakeholder to ask questions and receive technical assistance related to implementing the Mobile Crisis Medicaid Benefit. These meetings will occur bi-weekly starting March 16, 2023, through at least July 2023.

For more information, contact Emily Holcomb at Emily.Holcomb@state.co.us.

The meeting will be held:

Thursday, June 22, 2023

11 a.m. to 12 p.m. MT

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.us or the 504/ADA Coordinator at hcpf504ada@state.co.us at least one week prior to the meeting to make arrangements.

General OCL Meetings are on the OCL Stakeholder Engagement and Calendar webpage.

ARPA-Related Meetings are on the ARPA Stakeholder Engagement and Calendar webpage.

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