Minnesota Minnesota

Community-Based Services Manual (CBSM)

Community-Based Services Manual (CBSM)


External Program Review Committee (EPRC) minutes

Date: Aug.4, 2022

DSD liaisons: Stacie Enders, Linda Wolford and Ari Dionisopoulos

Type: Whole committee

Attendees: Mary Piggott, Melanie Eidsmoe, Dan Baker, Lindsay Nash, Stacy Danov, Liz Harri, Jodi Greenstein and Kim Frost

Not present: Danielle Bishop, Tatiana Kerestesh, Susie Haben and Laura Daire

Agenda items

Public comments

There were no public comments at this meeting.

Vote

Vote to approve the July 2022 whole committee meeting minutes:

· Dan Baker: yes

· Stacy Danov: yes

· Mary Piggott: abstain

· Liz Harri: abstain

· Jodi Greenstein: yes

· Kim Frost: yes

· Lindsay Nash: yes

· Melanie Eidsmoe: yes

Updates to share

See the agenda for additional information.

Direct care workforce shortage

· We will publish a request for proposals Aug. 8 for a vendor to administer the workforce shortage grants that will cover:

o The cost of trainings and employee time for the PCA enhanced rate program – this one is just for PCAs.

o Bonuses for direct care workers who have worked in the profession for at least two years with the same employer – this one is for all types of direct care workers in home and community-based services.

  • · Additional details about the grant can be found on this webpage: DHS HCBS Workforce Development Grants

    • · The DHS workforce webpage and linked pages have been updated with such things as workforce data, grant information and more. We will add further information later this month.

    Subcommittee updates

    See the agenda for additional information.

    Discussion

  • The committee reviewed recommendations from their most recent annual evaluation report:
  • · Nothing new was shared for the past month on this topic.
  • · There was a question a couple weeks back about barriers to offering positive support services remotely. Information was provided by the DHS disability waiver team:
  • o The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) required Minnesota to include within remote support policy that remote support cannot replace in-person support provided as a core service function. However, there are ways to meet the requirement and be flexible when developing support plans with people.
  • o The only services with additional requirements to deliver remote support, such as having in-person support occurring weekly, is ICLS and the three IHS service options. For the IHS service options, CMS requires in-person support to be scheduled weekly, not just that it occur. That’s intentional to allow for flexibility when in-person support does not occur or is not needed weekly. ICLS uses similar language. All other services with remote support allowed must follow the general requirements as outlined on the remote support policy page.
  • · The EPRC’s mechanical restraint subcommittee is offering in-person meetings with all the groups they are working with. The other subcommittee is also offering this option to some of the providers they have been working with and have been conducting in-person observations as needed.
  • · DHS is exploring the possibility of making positive support, crisis and specialist services a state plan service, which would give more people access to those services. Disabilty services staff are working with multiple teams to figure out who could benefit from this type of service but currently don’t qualify for it. This work is anticipated to take several years and would require legislative and CMS approval for implementation.
  • · If the positive support, crisis and specialist services modernization project is approved by the Legislature as currently written, it will include budgeting for community outreach, including to underrepresented groups.

    • Report this page