Benchmarks' Upcoming Events & Webinars

Benchmarks' Friday Membership Webinar with Jay Ludlam

Date: Friday, August 18, 2023

Time: 8:30 am thru 9:30 am

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Benchmarks' Child Welfare Webinar with Katie Swanson & Kimaree Sanders

Date: Thursday, September 7, 2023

Time: 8:00 am thru 9:00 am

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Benchmarks' Foster, Adoption, Residential (FAR) Meeting

IN PERSON!

Date: Friday, September 8, 2023

Time: 10:30 am thru 2:30 pm (includes lunch)

Place: Children's Home Society, 604 Meadow St., Greensboro

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Benchmarks' Collection of Past Updates

Updated DHHS Organizational Chart: July 2023

Eastpointe Reaches Agreement to Consolidate with Sandhills Center

To: Eastpointe Network Providers

From: Sarah Stroud, Eastpointe CEO

Subject: Eastpointe Reaches Agreement to Consolidate with Sandhills Center

I am excited to announce that Eastpointe has reached an agreement to consolidate with Sandhills Center. The major parts of this agreement include:

• The staff from both organizations will be retained
• All physical office locations will be maintained, operating just as they do today
• Eastpointe will be the surviving LME-MCO
• The consolidated organization’s CEO will be Sarah Stroud

The proposed consolidation agreement is subject to Secretary Kinsley’s approval. I know this creates a lot of additional questions, most importantly, how this will affect both our current operations and Tailored Plan preparation.

For now, your engagement with both Eastpointe and Sandhills will remain status quo. We understand that the quality of our engagement with providers will determine the quality of our Tailored Plan members’ experience.

Provider engagement will be our combined organization’s priority as we launch our Tailored Plan. As provider relations details are available, our Provider Relations team, and your PRAR, will distribute them ASAP. Thank you.

Read Here

Update on Olmstead & Samantha R  

Thank you for your work and collaboration to empower people with disabilities with the tools and resources they need to live healthy, independent lives in their communities. NCDHHS could not do this work without your engagement, guidance, and insight. As you know, the Department is investing in many initiatives to build a strong and coordinated infrastructure to advance choice and autonomy for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). This is also the subject of ongoing litigation known as Samantha R, a process we continue to work through.

A particular focus of debate recently has been the issue of ending admissions to institutional facilities across the state. Consistent with both the Olmstead Plan and the more specific roadmap released earlier this year, the Department has prioritized the life and safety of individuals with IDD, growing services in home and community-based settings, and enabling choice. These priorities are guiding both our legal response and our programmatic work across the Department.

Regarding admissions to institutional settings, the Department has already ended long-term admissions to state-operated ICFs (i.e. Developmental Centers); that is not in contention. The State’s Developmental Centers do have time-limited respite and stabilization programs that help keep individuals in community-based settings for the long-term. Those programs are important parts of the continuum of care that help people thrive in their communities.

NCDHHS has also invested in a series of programs and tools to transition individuals out of institutional care or redirect them away from those settings at the outset. These include In-Reach, Referral Screening Verification Process (RSVP), and Pre-Admission Screening and Resident Review (PASRR). These are important tools that help reduce and prevent unnecessary placements in institutional settings.

The Department continues to push forward to increase program and support options for people with IDD. We have asked the General Assembly for significant investments to support community-based care, including increased wages for direct support professionals and increased Innovations waiver slots. In July, NCDHHS rolled out the 1915(i) option, which means many more individuals with IDD who are on Medicaid can receive home and community-based services without a waiver slot. There is more to do, but these are meaningful steps forward.

We need more of these tools and programs. Our focus should not be on eliminating options but investing resources to build out additional services and supports. Closing off options for individuals with IDD without a robust and sufficient network of community-based care will lead to an unnecessary risk of harm. It has, unfortunately, happened before.

A cornerstone of NCDHHS’s Olmstead Plan work has been community engagement and consultation. Ideally, changes to options available to individuals with IDD should have the benefit of your feedback. As NCDHHS navigates through the legal process on these important issues, we want to reinforce with you, our valued stakeholders, that NCDHHS is focused on supporting access to services in the setting that best fits the individual’s needs.

Thank you again for all you’re doing as we work toward a strong system of care that helps all of us thrive. 

NC Medicaid 1915(i) Option Draft Policies 

NC Medicaid 1915(i) Option draft policies for CCP 8H-1, Supported Employment for IDD and TBI and CCP 8H-5, Community Living and Supports, have posted for 45-day public comment periods. Public comment ends August 28.

These policies can be accessed at Proposed Medicaid and NC Health Choice Policies and comments can be submitted to medicaid.public.comment@dhhs.nc.gov. 

Consumer Perceptions of Care Survey

North Carolina’s annual Consumer Perceptions of Care Survey gives individuals who have received publicly funded behavioral health services, and their families, the opportunity to share their experiences with LME/MCOs and NCDHHS.

Adults ages 18 and older, youth ages 12-17, and parents of children under age 12 complete the confidential surveys, in English or Spanish, at their provider organizations during a specified time period each year. Survey results inform policy decisions aimed at improving the service system.

The NC Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services (MHDDSAS) oversees survey administration and will contact providers directly.

Slidedeck

Reminder: How to Address the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Certification Requirement if You Do Not Have a DEA Certification

If a provider designated as a prescriber on the Provider Permission Matrix (PPM)* does not have a DEA certification, they must:

1. Enter 123456789 as the DEA certification number.

2. Complete the DEA Designation Form (found on the Provider Policies, Manuals, Guidelines and Forms page under Provider Forms) indicating the reason for not having a DEA certification, selecting one of the following reasons on the form:

• The prescribing provider is currently working on obtaining their DEA license (it is in process or is still pending). They must elect a temporary alternate prescriber to write prescriptions for controlled substances on their behalf until they have a valid certification. The form must be completed providing the alternate prescriber’s information.
• The prescribing provider elects not to prescribe controlled substances themselves but prescribing controlled substances is in their scope of practice. They must identify another doctor to write these prescriptions on their behalf. The form must be completed providing the alternate prescriber’s information.
• The prescribing provider does not prescribe or refer prescriptions for controlled substances because they believe their patients do not require controlled substances. In this circumstance, the provider must sign the statement on the form indicating this and describe their process for handling instances when a patient requires a controlled substance.
• The prescribing provider is in an ACGME accredited training program and does not practice independently. Note: This information must be updated once the program is complete.

3. Upload this form to the Upload Documents page under Status Management when submitting an application.

Providers are encouraged to check their email and NCTracks provider announcements regularly. More helpful information can be found on the DEA Certification FAQs page.

*The PPM may be found under Quick Links on the Provider Enrollment page.

New Medicaid Bulletin Articles

• Health Information Exchange Reminder - All providers who have not yet connected are encouraged to sign a Participation Agreement and participle in the onboarding process. 
• 2022 Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Report Available - This patient experience survey serves as a national standard for measuring and reporting respondents’ experiences with their health care.
• Donation of Abandoned Long-Acting Injectable Antipsychotics to a Registered Drug Repository Program - Clinical Coverage Pharmacy Policy 9 will allow for donation of abandoned Long-Acting Injectable Antipsychotics to a registered Drug Repository Program.
• Expanded NCTracks Contacts for Optical Providers - Provides information for providers of beneficiaries enrolled in NC Medicaid Direct and NC Medicaid Managed Care. 

Providers are encouraged to review this information. All bulletin articles, including those related to COVID-19, are available on DHB's Medicaid Bulletin webpage.

• Download the Slides

• Discussing Racial Identity in Support Groups
• NTDC Curriculum: Includes New Resources for Parents, Parent Groups & Agencies
• Peer Support Matters: Strategies to Incorporate & Elevate Those With Lived Experience

CDC Finds ‘Significant Increase’ In Kids With Developmental Disabilities

The number of children with developmental disabilities is on the rise with new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showing that nearly 1 in 11 kids are diagnosed with autism, intellectual disability or developmental delay.

Between 2019 and 2021, incidence of developmental disabilities grew from 7.4% to 8.56% among children ages 3 to 17 across the country, according to a report issued this month from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.

During that time, the prevalence of autism and intellectual disability remained relatively flat, but the uptick was driven by an increase in kids diagnosed with other developmental delay, the federal agency said.

Read Story Here

CDC Report Here

Upcoming Webinars & Events

New: Monday, August 14, 2023

MFP Lunch and Learn: Universal Design-Why and for Whom?

Time: 12:00 pm thru 1:00 pm



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New: Tuesday, August 15, 2023

Introduction to the Faith and Recovery Community Collaboration Model

Are you a person who is interested in the faith community 

and who has a heart for people struggling with substance use disorders?  

The Southeast Addiction Technology Transfer Center and the Center of Excellence for African American Behavioral Health have come together to help equip faith leaders and leaders in the recovery community to better support people struggling with substance use. 

August 15 - We are offering a free training from 9:00-4:00 p.m. on the Faith and Recovery Community Collaboration Model. This model helps people from the faith and/or recovery communities to walk through common challenges, common ground, and form steps to help be more effective in caring for those impacted by substance use. This training is appropriate for anyone from beginners to expert level.  

August 29 - 9:00-12:30 p.m. Those who attended the training on August 15 will be eligible to become a Trainer of the Faith and Recovery Community Collaboration Model by providing a brief sample of teaching from the model and receiving feedback from the team. Space is limited for the August 29 training. 

Date/Time: Tuesday, August 15, 2023, 9:00-4:00 p.m. 

Click here to register 

New: Tuesday, August 15, 2023

Monthly CMS NC Stakeholder Call

Time: 11:00 am thru 12:00 pm



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New: Tuesday, August 15, 2023

Time: 12:00 pm thru 1:00 pm



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New: Wednesday, August 16, 2023

NCCDD's Self-Advocate Discussion Series August's Topic: Living Setting Choices/Housing Options Panel Discussion

Time: 1:00 pm thru 2:00 pm



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New: Wednesday, August 16, 2023

Interactive Monthly Update

Time: 2:00 pm thru 3:00 pm



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New: Wednesday, August 16, 2023

How Child Welfare and Early Head Start Can Work Together to Better Serve Families

Time: 2:00 pm thru 3:00 pm



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New: Wednesday, August 16, 2023

NCGA 2023 Session and People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD)

Time: 7:30 pm thru 8:30 pm



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Friday, August 18, 2023

Benchmarks' Friday Membership Webinar



Time: 8:30 am thru 9:30 am

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New: Monday, August 28, 2023

Joint DMH/DD/SUS & DHB Consumer Webinar

Time: 2:00 pm thru 3:00 pm



Registration link not yet available

New: Friday, September 8, 2023

TREC Reentry Simulation Event

Time: 9:00 am thru 12:00 pm



Webpage and Registration