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External Program Review Committee (EPRC) minutes

Date: July 7, 2022

DSD liaisons: Stacie Enders, Linda Wolford and Ari Dionisopoulos

Attendees: Kim Frost, Lindsay Nash, Jodi Greenstein, Melanie Eidsmoe, Stacy Danov, Dan Baker, Susie Haben and Laura Daire

Not present: Liz Harri, Mary Piggott, Danielle Bishop and Tatiana Kerestesh

Agenda items

Public comments

There were no public comments at this meeting.

Vote

Vote to approve the June whole committee meeting minutes:

· Dan Baker: yes

· Laura Daire: yes

· Melanie Eidsmoe: yes

· Stacy Danov: yes

· Jodi Greenstein: yes

· Lindsay Nash: yes

· Kim Frost: yes

Updates to share

Onsite visits and the COVID-19 pandemic

There were no concerns shared at this meeting.

Direct care workforce shortage

See the meeting agenda for additional information.

· We are waiting for 2022 updates from the different policy areas and will share those with the committee in August or September.

· For 2023, the workforce shortage co-leads recommended to leadership to move forward with policies that:

o Respond to data gathered in the cost and labor market reports.

o Support people in reducing their reliance on direct care workers.

o Support long-term workforce solutions with big impacts.

· DHS is working to add workforce shortage considerations to policy evaluation tools. While this evaluation is already being done, we want to formalize it and provide guidance for consistency across different teams.

· The July eList for lead agencies will be targeted toward helping people who speak English as a second language to access technology.

· Grants that might help with the workforce shortage:

o DHS is gathering information from multiple state agencies and will post grant information on our workforce webpage in August.

o The DHS GEAR Division is reviewing 120 provider capacity grants and will be making awards in the next week or two. An additional round of these grants will be available later this year.

o DHS is working to advertise the HCBS grants to underrepresented groups. We will target popular communication channels for underserved communities and translate our materials in both written and video formats.

· Direct Support Connect did a usability study and will be using that feedback to update their website.

· DHS is reviewing requests for proposals to update the learning management system DirectCourse, which will include strategies to address language and cultural barriers.

· Several DHS staff are working to create recruitment materials that can be used by any university in Minnesota to recruit students into health, human service and education fields. One example is a person-centered decision tree/self assessment tool students can use to figure out what type of position they might most enjoy. The project leads are specifically paying attention to not being biased toward any specific type of employer or service.

· DHS and DEED met with the workforce shortage public stakeholder group this past month. One of the members, Diane Drost, in partnership with other group members, received $350,000 from the Margaret Cargill Foundation to support 50 students with stipends and a loan forgiveness program for direct care workers.

Positve Supports Rule 100 assessment

There was nothing new to report for this month.

Discussion

The committee reviewed recommendations from their most recent annual evaluation report:

· The committee would like to see Technology for Home or similar services available to more people, particularly all people who need additional support with communicating. While technology devices alone can be very helpful to some people, for others, use of technology requires ongoing training, follow up and a hands-on approach to determine the right type. Creativity, flexibility and trying different things has been helpful to teams.

o The upcoming communication about how to help people who speak English as a second language to access technology might be helpful for this. It will include information on things like how to pay for translation through existing services.

o MN-NEAT is hosting a training this month: See past and upcoming trainings on their events page.

· The committee would like to see increased access to telehealth and remote supports, as well as training and assistance when needed to address barriers to or knowledge gaps for using these types of supports. It may be helpful to providers to explore creative ways of using telehealth, particularly in relation to staffing shortages. Use of remote supports might lessen the need for in-person staff, and might help retain staff that would like the option to occasionally work from home. People should be given opportunities to try these supports before making a decision, and teams should collect data during that time to see what does and doesn’t work. Some people prefer more independence and engage in fewer interfering behaviors when given opportunities to be independent.

o In the June direct support professional (DSP) eList announcement we shared information about remote supports to that audience as part of a workforce strategy.

· EPRC members will increase their in-person or remote technical assistance with service providers who are using restraint. When determining which approach to take, members will use the least intrusive and most valuable approach to the entire team:

o The committee reviewed the current policy for in-person work.

o Leadership is working on a plan for the likely surge of infections in the fall and winter.

· The committee recommends DHS do what is feasible to build capacity and ensure that qualified professionals are competent to develop and implement positive support transition plans and other relevant support documents. DHS efforts to translate training materials might be helpful for this.

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