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External Program Review Committee (EPRC) agenda

Date of meeting: 2-4 p.m. on February 4, 2021

DSD liaison: Stacie Enders, Linda Wolford and Ari Dionisopoulos

Type: Whole committee

Location: Remote only due to the COVID-19 health pandemic

Accommodations: If you need an accommodation for this meeting, you must notify a DSD liaison three days prior to the meeting by emailing PositiveSupports@state.mn.us or calling (651) 508-2321.

Common acronyms used by the committee

We ask committee members to avoid the use of acronyms. Here are common acronyms:

· RA or Request: DHS form 6810D: Request for Authorization of the Emergency use of Procedures

· FBA: Functional behavior assessment

· PSTP: DHS form 6810: Positive Support Transition Plan

· DHS: Minnesota Department of Human Services

· DSD: Disability Services Division

· EUMR: Emergency use of manual restraint

· BIRF: DHS form 5148: Behavioral Intervention Report Form

· IRP: Interim Review Panel (Predecessor to the EPRC)

· CABC: Context, antecedent, behavior, consequence

· PS Manual: DHS form 6810C: Guidelines for Positive Supports in DHS-Licensed Settings

· MDH: Minnesota Department of Health

· HCBS: Home and community-based services

· PSR: Positive Supports Rule: Minnesota Rule 9544

General reminders for committee members

· Before speaking, please state your name.

· Committee members are expected to:

o Be on time

o Read the minutes, agenda and supporting documents before each meeting

o Participate in ideas and conversations, as well as pause to allow others to share input

o Commit to spending the whole meeting time present and not engage in other activities during the meeting.

Agenda items

Technology

The first few minutes will be dedicated to addressing any connectivity issues.

Public comments

The committee encourages public participants to share their thoughts and ask questions about committee activities at the beginning of each meeting. The committee will continue on to the next agenda item when either 1) 30 minutes have passed or 2) when there are no additional comments or questions, whichever comes first.

Vote

The committee will discuss the minutes from January and vote.

Updates to share

· The new secure drop box and updated Positive Support Transition Plan materials are now online.

· #StayConnectedMN is a new resource for mental well-being.

· Emergency Use of Manual Restraint (EUMR) Subcommittee update: To address sexually aggressive behaviors:

o It is helpful to be specific in behavior plans and to operationally define each behavior.

o EUMR should not be used unless there is imminent risk of physical harm. For example, EUMR should not be used in response to verbal behaviors.

o Resources are available in the committee’s resources folder for teaching a person about sexuality, boundaries, puberty, relationships, etc.

· Requests for Approval Subcommittee update:

o At least three businesses have closed during the pandemic, and several people receiving services are in search of new service providers.

Discussion

· Annual update and clean-up of EPRC documents: the committee will review one item or topic per month until everything is updated for 2021.

o This month’s topic is cleaning up the SharePoint folder. The committee coordinator proposes we delete the resources listed in SharePoint since 1) it does not appear that anyone is using those resources and 2) the documents are duplicative of resources available on https://mnpsp.org and https://www.apbs.org.

· Committee members will review their 2020 Olmstead recommendations and consider if there are any additional steps that can be taken each month to achieve them – see below.

· Committee members may share additional information and discuss.

· What is going well? What should we change? What have we learned?

Closing

· Members are welcome to recommend topics for upcoming committee meetings.

Committee recommendations from their 2020 Olmstead report

· The EPRC recommends continuing the past recommendation to collaborate and build connections with expanded support teams, so committee members can continue to assist with the development of effective fading plans on mechanical restraint, emergency manual restraint and other targeted interventions listed in PSTPs.

· The committee continues to recommend helping service providers connect with other professionals that can inform supports and services.

· As opportunities for edits arise, it might help to review public communication related to increasing community participation/integration, to better communicate that community activities and interactions with other people should not be forced on a person, and to better communicate that community integration efforts should meet the preferences of the person.

· The EPRC recommends continuing to focus their technical assistance on each person’s wellness and quality of life. Improved quality of life has been shown to reduce the occurrence of interfering behaviors.

· When it is safe to do so, given the Covid-19 risk, EPRC members will increase their in-person technical assistance to service providers who are using mechanical restraint.

· The EPRC recommends continuing to offer service providers, beyond the end of the Covid-19 pandemic, the ability to connect with committee members and other support providers or team members electronically, using secure communication tools. These tools have a variety of benefits including access to expertise for people who live in remote areas, quicker response times, and flexibility for team members (such as family members) who might not have easy access to transportation (note: this is not a comprehensive list of all the potential benefits).

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