MACSP Webinar-Understanding Bias and Prejudice: Bringing the Unconscious Conscious 3/24 1-4pm2/25/2022
Upcoming Webinar
Thursday, March 24, 2022. 1:00 - 4:00 pm (EST) Understanding Bias and Prejudice: Bringing the Unconscious Conscious As a network of leaders and providers, who champion people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their right to live lives fully integrated in the community, free from institutionalization, MACSP recognizes the intersections of discrimination among all people who are marginalized, and the deep impact that acts of neglect, hatred, and violence have on the human spirit. The Professional Development Committee is pleased to offer this session for MACSP members and interested peers and allies. REGISTER TODAY! SESSION DESCRIPTION This webinar will support participants in increasing their awareness of their own personal biases - both explicit and implicit - and how these biases impact the ways in which we navigate the world. Mandy will use a combination of videos, polls, storytelling, and slides to define and explore some of the biases and prejudices that impact many of us, oftentimes outside of our conscious awareness. Participants will explore effective techniques of challenging some of the scripts that have been inherited and as well as practical strategies for being a better ally and interrupting others’ biased and prejudicial language. This session can serve as the catalyst for a lifelong journey of exploring and challenging our biases and prejudices and a vital step towards building more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplaces and communities. PRESENTER BIO Mandy Levine, owner of Mandy Levine Consulting Mandy Levine is the owner of Mandy Levine Consulting (mandylevineconsulting.com), facilitating interactive classes and consulting for organizations large and small on myriad diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) related topics. Mandy is also licensed in the State of Maine as a Professional Investigator and discreetly and efficiently conducts workplace investigations into allegations of harassment and discrimination. Before starting her own consulting business in 2020, Mandy spent several years practicing employment law in Boston and Burlington, Vermont. She then transitioned to civil rights work, advocating on behalf of victims of hate crimes and hate incidents as the Assistant Director of Civil Rights at the New England regional office of the Anti-Defamation League in Boston. Upon returning home to Maine after nearly 20 years away, Mandy spent four years as an HR Business Partner at Maine Medical Center and more recently worked at the City of Portland, spearheading DEI initiatives for the city’s staff. Mandy received her Bachelor of Arts from Middlebury College in Vermont and her J.D. from Boston College Law School. Register Here MACSP and ANCOR Member: $60 NON-ANCOR/ MACSP Member: $75 Corrected Rate Table: Updates on Part AAAA Reimbursement Rates
On Monday, January 31, 2022, the Office of MaineCare Services sent an e-message with a link to a table that listed reimbursement rates for Sections 12, 18, 19, 20, 21, 29, and 96 associated with Part AAAA of the biennial budget that will be effective for January 1, 2022. MaineCare has since identified a few errors in the rates listed for the following services: 1. Section 21 Family-Centered Home Support 2. Sections 20, 21 and 29 Community Membership – Individual and Community Membership 3. Section 21 H0004, SC – Counseling is no longer a covered service so has been removed from the table. The table has now been corrected and is linked here. See rows highlighted in yellow for the corrected rates. As a reminder, these rates will take effect retroactive to January 1, 2022; however, they are not yet in effect and are being provided for informational purposes only at this time. The Department will notify providers and provide instructions when MaineCare has added the January 1, 2022 rates to the system for billing purposes. For questions regarding these January 1, 2022 rate adjustments for Sections 20, 21, and 29, please contact MaineCare Provider Relations Specialist Tammy Usher. OADS Direct Care and Support Worker Portability & Advancement Training Initiative Listening Sessions2/14/2022
Direct Care and Support Worker Portability & Advancement Training Initiative
Listening Sessions Please join us for a virtual listening session hosted by the Department on training needs for direct service workers. This initiative is one of many in a multi-phased effort focused on the development, growth, and retention of direct care workers. Your input will be helpful as the Department works to improve and streamline training for front-line workers providing essential services and supports. These listening sessions are focused on services provided by Personal Support Specialists (PSSs), Direct Support Professionals (DSPs), and Mental Health Rehabilitation Technicians (MHRTs). These front-line workers provide a range of services to older adults, people with physical and intellectual disabilities, including autism, and individuals with serious mental illness. We are hosting 3 separate sessions with different focus areas:
We are interested in hearing your suggestions and ideas about entry-level skills and training that are needed for these front-line workers. We are also interested in hearing your ideas about what specialty training topics are important for workers who serve people with complex needs or for workers interested in advancement. Whether or not you attend one of these sessions, we encourage you to provide input by completing the brief survey that we have included as part of this invitation. To participate in the survey, please click here: Direct Care and Support Worker Portability and Advancement Training Initiative Survey To attend one of these sessions, please register in advance by visiting: https://forms.office.com/g/vSxdcz94jy. If you require accommodations to attend these sessions (for example sign language or other language interpreters), please contact Joseph Zamboni at [email protected]. Attention Providers of MaineCare Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS): Payment Details for Recruitment and Retention Payments
This is a follow up to the DHHS August 4th blog post regarding our HCBS Workforce and System Improvements Plan under Section 9817 of the American Rescue Plan Act and our November 24th, December 6th, and December 10th e-messages regarding HCBS Recruitment and Retention payments for Sections 2, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 26, 28, 29, 40, 65, 92, 93, 96, 97B, 97D, 97E, and 97F. The Department will issue the first round of recruitment and retention payments with this week’s claims payment cycle on February 9, 2022. The first payment will be half (50 percent) of the total that participating agencies will receive. We currently anticipate that we will issue the second round of payments later this month. Providers will receive a payment as part of the provider’s weekly payment cycle; we will indicate the payment as an “OTHER” payment on the Summary page of the remittance advice (RA). If the Department is not reimbursing a provider for any claims this week, the provider will still receive the recruitment and retention payment, but without an RA. For providers receiving an electronic 835 remittance, the invoice number will have the special prefix “BON” for “bonus payment.” Participating agencies registered for the initiative in December, per the e-messages linked above. The Department will send a separate e-mail to the point of contact the provider listed during registration with instructions on how to log into a portal (different from the MIHMS HealthPAS portal) to view the total payment amount due to the provider. The e-mail will come from [email protected]. Previously, we instructed providers to make bonus payments to eligible workers by March 31, 2022. We are extending that deadline to June 30, 2022. The Department will now recognize bonus payments made to eligible existing and new workers between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022 under this initiative. We are also extending the reporting deadline to August 1, 2022. Please note that all other guidance remains as written in the previous communications. We have updated the FAQ to reflect the deadline changes. Thank you for your commitment to Maine’s frontline workers and the people they support. Please contact Provider Relations Specialist Tammy Usher with questions. Maine Department of Health and Human Services
Jeanne M. Lambrew, Commissioner www.maine.gov/dhhs February 9, 2022 FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Jackie Farwell, Maine Department of Health and Human Services [email protected] NEWS RELEASE Maine DHHS Distributes Payments to Fund Bonuses for 20,000 Direct Support Workers Mills Administration’s provides $116 million for new-hire and retention bonuses for home- and community-based employees AUGUSTA—The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) announced that it is distributing this week the first half of $116 million in MaineCare payments to home- and community-based services (HCBS) providers to fund bonuses for more than 20,000 direct support workers. The second half will be distributed later in February. The bonus payments, first announced in November, are available through the American Rescue Plan and represent a major component of the Department’s plan to improve access to high-quality services that help ensure Maine people of all ages, including those living with disabilities and behavioral health challenges, can remain in their communities. The Department's plan has received full federal approval, bringing federal matching Medicaid funds to Maine for these bonuses and other elements of the plan. These HCBS services include a broad range of personal care, home health, and behavioral health, shared living, and community and work supports. The bonuses will benefit 20,184 current direct support workers at 311 providers throughout the state. In addition, the providers may pay recruitment bonuses to fill vacancies with new workers. The bonuses aim to address COVID-related, short-term health care worker shortages and are also closely aligned with the health care workforce priorities included in Governor Janet Mills’ Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan. “Direct support workers are a vital part of the health care workforce that has been the backbone of Maine’s response to COVID-19,” said Governor Mills. “They’ve risked their own health for nearly two years to care for Maine people so they can stay in their homes and communities throughout the state. These bonus payments are a recognition of their vital work and central to our broader investment in strengthening our system of care and services for older adults and those with disabilities and mental health challenges now and into the future.” “These payments are aimed at providing much-needed relief to Maine’s dedicated direct support workers and an incentive to anyone considering a career caring for older Mainers as well as for Mainers of all ages with disabilities and behavioral health challenges,” said DHHS Commissioner Jeanne Lambrew. “Beyond their extraordinary care during the pandemic, the direct support workforce is central to our ongoing work to provide accessible, high-quality services to help Maine people maintain health and fulfill their goals.” “These bonus payments are very good news for direct care and support professionals who provide essential care to older Maine people and those with disabilities,” said Brenda Gallant, Maine’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman. “These dedicated professionals have expressed to us that wages are among their top concerns, and they deserve compensation that reflects the difficulty and importance of the work they perform. The bonus payments are a greatly needed investment in a workforce that is critical to the wellbeing of so many Maine people who need care.” “This funding is crucial to attracting and retaining Maine’s behavioral health workforce, who help Maine people with mental health and substance use disorders stay in their homes and communities,” said Eric Meyer, Board President of the Alliance for Addiction and Mental Health Services and President and CEO of Spurwink Services. “The Alliance applauds the Mills Administration for providing this funding for direct support workers as part of its broader plan to improve access to services for people with behavioral health challenges, particularly as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to stress the residents of our state. We look forward to these bonuses reaching the hardworking employees on the front lines.” “We are thankful to share the great news of these payments with our staff, the people we support, our Board of Directors and others looking forward to this relief,” said Melinda Ward, CEO of OHI in Bangor. “It is our hope that these dollars will help retain our staff who have worked many, many hours with some of the state’s most vulnerable citizens with intellectual and developmental disabilities and mental illness, and who have successfully kept them safe from serious illness with COVID-19 over the past two years. The bonuses will be just the lift that many of our staff need right now, and hopefully will attract new applicants to our organization. We’re grateful to the Mills Administration for delivering on this promise.” “Providers of Home and Community Based Services across Maine welcome the release of these ARPA-funded bonuses and will put these monies to good use to retain and recruit staff,” said Michael Stair, Secretary for the Home Care and Hospice Alliance of Maine and Chief Integration Officer for Androscoggin Home Healthcare and Hospice. “Speaking both on behalf of licensed and registered members of the Home Care and Hospice Alliance of Maine, and as a statewide provider of home and behavioral health services, we know all too well how acute the workforce shortage has become. We look forward to putting these dollars to work immediately to keep staff on the job, and to attract new employees to care for those we serve.” Starting this week, DHHS is distributing the funds to qualified provider agencies in two phases. Provider agencies will receive a payment amount based on their HCBS MaineCare revenue and will pay bonuses directly to workers, shared living providers, therapeutic foster care providers and supervisors by June 30, 2022. Individual employee bonus amounts will be determined by the provider agency in accordance with a bonus policy that the agency will adopt and share with its employees. DHHS developed this system in consultation with provider agencies to reduce the administrative burden, give agencies more certainty about available funding and allow agencies to create specific bonus policies that are best for their employees. All provider agencies that receive funds for bonuses are required to pay at least 80 percent of funds in direct payments to staff, not including agency leadership. Agencies will be subject to both Federal and State audit. The $116 million allocated for bonus payments, based on registration and 2019 data, is part of DHHS’s broader plan to invest approximately $229 million in Federal Medicaid matching funds for Maine’s HCBS system improvement plan. This plan was developed in consultation with stakeholders, including providers and families. The plan reflects the consensus that the most immediate challenge facing Maine’s HCBS system is attracting and retaining direct support workers. As part of the HCBS system improvement plan, the Department is also creating a direct support worker council, developing career ladders, making worker certification more portable and pursuing other longer-term initiatives. The Administration has summarized these and other workforce initiatives in a report submitted earlier this month to the Legislature. Governor Mills’ Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan includes a slate of initiatives to encourage people to pursue health care jobs in Maine and strengthen the state’s health care workforce. This includes $4 million to provide scholarships and student loan relief to enable more people to become behavioral health specialists, long term support workers, emergency medical services staff, and other health professionals. An additional $8 million supports a program to help people who work in the health care field gain skills and advance with their employer. The Jobs and Recovery Plan also includes a $1.5 million recruitment effort, with $500,000 dedicated specifically to promoting direct support worker jobs, such as aides for older Mainers or individuals with disabilities. The Mills Administration has taken a number of actions to support HCBS providers during the pandemic. The Department recently proposed to raise MaineCare rates effective in January for many home- and community-based services, accelerating higher rates initially planned for July 1, 2022 and supporting providers in increasing pay for direct care workers to at least 125 percent of the state’s minimum wage. As provided in the biennial budget, the Administration allocated $160 million primarily for workforce recruitment and retention support: $14 million for behavioral health providers (Sections 17, 8 and 65), $123 million for nursing facilities, residential care facilities (Private Non Medical Institution (PNMI) Cs), and adult family care homes, and $23 million for hospitals. This is in addition to the award of $25 million in Coronavirus Relief Funds to health care organizations to help them recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. In November, Substance Use Treatment facilities (PNMI Appendix B providers) received MaineCare rate increases for a variety of services. Children’s Residential Care Facilities (PNMI D providers) also received rate increases, effective November 1, 2021 to help providers meet new requirements associated with the federal Family First Prevention Services Act. Additionally, during the pandemic, Maine DHHS adopted emergency provisions in MaineCare to give agencies more flexibility with staffing and outbreak rates for residential care facilities, which remain ongoing. The Department has also connected providers to potential sources of staff, including the state’s ASPIRE program, vocational rehabilitation services, college job boards and the Department of Labor’s Maine JobLink. These and other resources are available in a Recruitment and Retention Tool Kit. *Rescheduled Date* for the OADS Listening Session Regarding HCBS Transition to Compliance Grants2/8/2022
Attention *Rescheduled Date* for the Listening Session Regarding HCBS Transition to Compliance Grants
Office of Aging and Disability Services Virtual Listening Session HCBS Transition to Compliance Grants The Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Aging and Disability Services is hosting a virtual listening session to gather input on providing eligible Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) providers with Section 9817 American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to assist with the costs of complying with the HCBS Settings Rule. The goal of this initiative is to support HCBS providers with costs they have incurred to implement the requirements of the HCBS Settings Rule, including systemic reforms, workforce skill development, and some specific capital improvements. The Department will provide these one-time funds to assist with some of the costs of complying with the HCBS Settings Rule, based on approved Transition to Compliance Plans, using Section 9817 authority. Listening Session Date: Thursday, February 17, 2022, at 11:00 AM -12:30 PM All are welcome to attend. To register, please use the link below. Interpreter services will be provided during the listening session. Written comments may also be submitted to [email protected] until Friday, February 25, 2022. To support this discussion, we ask participants to consider the following:
Please register in advance for this meeting: (If you registered previously, you may have already received an updated link) Register in advance for this meeting: https://mainestate.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIkduqhrTgvHN1xchQAXLAAFCaxj4sq2LdM After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Upcoming Webinar
Thursday, February 24, 2022. 1:30 - 3:30 pm Self-Directed Services - How It Works and What's To Come In Maine Learn from a panel of experts about self-directed service models and how this promising practice will be implemented in Maine REGISTER TODAY! SESSION DESCRIPTION Self-directed care services, often referred to as consumer-directed services is a philosophy and practice that assumes that consumers have the right and ability to assess their own needs, determine how and by whom those needs are met, and evaluate the quality of the services they receive. Join this webinar to learn more from a panel of experts about self-directed service models being used nationally, a parent-advocate's perspective on what successful self-direction looks like and what’s to come in Maine. This session is a panel discussion featuring Ben Bledsoe, CEO of Consumer Direct Care Network, Maggie Hoffman, parent-advocate and Derek Fales, Waiver Services Director of Maine DHHS-Office of Aging and Disability Services. OUR EXPERT PANEL Ben Bledsoe, CEO of Consumer Direct Care Network Ben developed his expertise in-home and community-based services through education, experience, and hard work. Starting out at Consumer Direct Care Network as a caregiver in 2004, Ben quickly applied his compassion for people and interest in business efficiencies to roles across the company including human resources and program management. Six years after being named CEO, Ben remains committed to ensuring all individuals have choice and control over the lives they lead. Ben has recently been invited to join the Administration for Community Living as a RAISE Family Caregiving Advisory Council member. Since 1990, the Consumer Direct Care Network (CDCN) has been assisting people who choose to self-direct their care in their homes. Serving more than 31,000 clients and supporting over 47,000 caregivers in 14 states, CDCN is a national leader in the various models of Medicaid personal care. In this webinar Ben Bledsoe, CDCN CEO, will share a little more about CDCN’s story, the nuances of self-direction, as well as the challenges and opportunities that exist within self-direction. Maggie Hoffman, Parent-Advocate Maggie has worked for 30+years to strengthen and support families of children & adults with special health care needs, encompassing children & adults with disabilities and/or chronic medical conditions. Her efforts have been put toward three main goals: (1) Teaching parents how to tell their story to professionals to get the care, support and services their child/adult child needs, (2) Helping medical, educational and community providers understand the challenges children/adult children with special health care needs and their families face in their homes and communities, (3) Shaping and influencing policy to make it more responsive to children/adult children and their families. She served on several NY State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities’ Design Teams and Work Groups. She also served on the NYS Department of Health Committee on Community First Choice. Now in Maine, Maggie serves on the Board of the Maine Developmental Disabilities Council, and on the OADS Disability Services Reform Innovation Work Group. Derek Fales, Waiver Services Director of Maine DHHS - Office of Aging and Disability Services Derek is the waiver services director within the Developmental Disabilities and Brain Injury Services Unit, under the leadership of Associate Director Elizabeth Hopkins for the Office of Aging and Disability Services. He oversees the day-to-day operations for four out of five Home and Community Based Services for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities, Other Related Conditions and Brain Injury in partnership with the State Medicaid Agency, the Office of MaineCare Services. He is an accomplished senior manager, facilitator and an experienced social worker serving in a variety of roles within policy development and implementation, project management, and protective services both in the State of Maine and in the Northern Territory of Australia. His 17 years of health and human services experience has been working towards increasing positive social outcomes for children and families affected by violence, poverty, substance abuse with a focus on supporting inclusion and maximizing opportunities for people with disabilities to live and work in their communities to the same degree as a non-disabled person. Register Here MACSP and ANCOR Member: $35 NON-ANCOR/ MACSP Member: $50 MPF 2022 Annual Virtual Conference
March 16, 2022 10:30 AM to 5:00 PM via Zoom True Inclusion for Individuals with Disabilities and/or Special Health Care Needs The how, when, and why to making inclusion work for you and your family. Sessions include:
To view the conference brochure, click here: https://www.mpf.org/2022-virtual-annual-conference/ Southern Maine Advisory Council on Transition
WHEN: FRIDAY, February 4, 2022 TIME: 1:00 – 3:00 Due to the pandemic this meeting will be held via ZOOM: https://zoom.us/j/91875563619?pwd=WUdFUUNyNHpqZituSld4eE1QVEhDQT09 Join Us for SMACT’s February Meeting Presentation “Serving the Homeless Youth Population” Gabe Smith, Community Services Department Street Outreach Coordinator, from New Beginnings will be our presenter. Each year New Beginnings provides hundreds of children, teens, and young adults with opportunities for the safety, connection, and growth that all people need to thrive. New Beginnings has served runaway and homeless youth and Maine families in crisis since 1980. Their complete continuum of services provides an essential “safety net” for young people in Maine who donʼt have stable family support and are at risk of homelessness. Come hear about their mission and vision for this population of youth. ✔ Wish to attend but require an interpreter? Please forward your request for an interpreter two weeks prior to the monthly meeting to [email protected] and one will be provided for your party. ✔ Please, feel free to distribute this flyer to anyone interested in joining us and/or receiving these e-mails. You can also now follow us on our Website or Facebook Page! Website: Https://sites.google.com/portlandschools.org/smact Thank you all for doing such wonderful work on behalf of students! Virtual Family Support Navigator Training
Are you the parent of, or caregiver to, a child with a disability or special health care need? Would you like to share your knowledge to help other Maine families? If so, this opportunity may interest you! Maine Parent Federation (MPF) is seeking parents, grandparents, and caregivers of children with disabilities and/or special health care needs who would like to become a Family Support Navigator (FSN) to provide peer support to other families in your area. The FSN program matches experienced parents with other parents who need support while learning to navigate systems such as Special Education, Vocational Rehabilitation, MaineCare, Adult Services, etc., and assists in locating local and statewide resources while helping parents learn to advocate for themselves. During the COVID-19 Pandemic all support is provided through phone, text, email, and social media platforms such as zoom. One-on-one support will resume once the pandemic is over. As a parent who has been involved with MPF in the past, we are contacting you to see if you would like to use your skills and knowledge to support other Maine families. A Family Support Navigator is a part-time independent consultant position. MPF contracts with you to provide up to 10 hours of support to each family you help. We pay $15.00 per hour of direct support to a family, a $40 monthly stipend for phone/internet, and .44 cents per mile travel reimbursement. This is a flexible opportunity as you set your own hours/schedule. MPF provides on-going supervision and technical assistance. We have divided the virtual training into five modules. The dates/times are: Wednesday, Feb. 23 - 10 AM to 2 PM Thursday, Feb. 24 - 10 AM - Noon Thursday, March 3 - 10 AM - Noon Tuesday, March 8 - 10 AM - Noon Wednesday, March 9 - 10 AM - Noon We offer a $150 stipend after completion of the training. Please contact Deborah Newcombe at (800) 870-7746 or E-mail: [email protected] to receive an application and job description and/or to answer any questions. |
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