Invitation from Community Connect: Invisible: Personal Stories from the Front Lines of Disability I’d like to invite you to a screening of Invisible: Personal Stories from the Front Lines of Disability, a collection of short videos about the lived experience of Mainers with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families and caregivers. The screening, followed by a conversation with the filmmakers, will take place at 6:30 p.m. Monday, March 25, in the St. Francis Room, Ketchum Library, 11 Hills Beach Road, on the campus of the University of New England. This ongoing, multi-year project was developed, with grant funding from the Maine Developmental Disabilities Council, by Community Connect Maine, a non-profit organization dedicated to the vision that all people have the support they need, when they need it, to live a full life in their communities of choice. A barrier to achieving that goal is that many people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are invisible in their community. We hope to overcome that barrier by helping people in the disability community share their stories. As Maine prepares to completely overhaul the system of care for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, it is more critical than ever that their voices are heard. Admission to the screening is free, but attendees are strongly encouraged to register in advance at https://communityconnectme.org/events-and-workshops. Everyone has a story to tell, and stories are meant to be heard. Come hear our stories. Attention Section(s) 18, 21, and 29 Providers: Updated Section 1915(c) Waiver Appendix K Flexibility Guidance
Feb 20, 2024 As previously shared in our October 31, 2023 provider bulletin, certain Appendix K flexibilities for sections 18, 21, and 29 have continued beyond November 11, 2023. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) plans to approve the corresponding 1915(c) waiver amendments necessary to make these changes permanent effective March 1, 2024. Listed below are the Sections 18, 21, and 29 Appendix K flexibilities that MaineCare intends to continue as permanent provisions and those that will expire March 4, 2024. Please reference the MaineCare Benefits Manual (MBM) for complete descriptions of MaineCare service policies. Following CMS approval of 1915(c) HCBS waiver amendments, the Department will engage in rulemaking to incorporate any waiver changes not yet adopted within the corresponding MBM section. The Department will exercise enforcement discretion with respect to provisions where the rule has not yet been updated. HCBS flexibilities the Department will continue as permanent provisions through corresponding waiver amendment: Continuing HCBS Flexibilities Across all HCBS 1915(c) Waiver Sections:
HCBS Flexibilities that will End Across all HCBS 1915(c) Waiver Sections
For questions related to this document and the End of the PHE, please email DHHSMaineCareEndofPHE@maine.gov. Maine Parent Federation will be hosting two Transition Resource Fairs this spring. Dates and Locations: Wednesday, March 6 at Kennebunk High School, Exhibits Open 10 AM to 1:30 PM Thursday, April 4th at Scarborough High School, Exhibits Open 9:00 AM – 1:30 PM If your agency would like to have a display table, please complete the form below and E-mail to: abourque@mpf.org, fax to: (207) 588-1938 or mail to: MPF, 484 Maine Avenue, Suite 2D, Farmingdale, ME 04344. Once I have received your information, I will be in touch to confirm your attendance. Tables and chairs will be provided. The target audience is youth with disabilities and/or special health care needs, (grades 7 to 12), families, educators, and providers. Food will not be provided during this event, so please plan accordingly. If you have any questions, please call Anne Bourque at (800) 870-7746 or E-mail: abourque@mpf.org. We hope to see you at both locations! A Path for ME Highlights - February 2024
In this new quarterly newsletter, we will be highlighting important information about the SIS-A assessment tool, the Lifespan Waiver, and other services relating to A Path for ME. We hope you find this newsletter helpful and welcome your feedback. REMINDER: $100 Assessment Incentive Still Available for Section 21 or 29 or Waitlist MembersIf you or a member that you support has not taken the SIS-A assessment yet, there is a recent SIS-A member incentive to take the SIS-A right now. The SIS-A is high-quality data that helps inform the Person-Centered Planning process. It also provides OADS with support information for the design of innovative service options through the new Lifespan Waiver. This SIS-A member incentive is available for people who are:
Contact the Maximus Help Desk to schedule a SIS-A assessment: Call 833.771.4639 or email Maine-SIS@maximus.com. SHARING YOUR FEEDBACK: A Case Manager Discusses Her SIS-A ExperienceOADS and the SIS-A team at Maximus appreciate all the continued feedback received from members, families, CCMs and others involved in the assessment process. We recently heard from LEAP (Life Enrichment Advancing People) Case Manager, Kelly DeRoche. Based in Farmington, Kelly has participated in several SIS-A assessments with Assessor, Donna Umbro over the past few months. She’s kindly shared some thoughts with us about her experiences. The assessment process was transparent and very easy. I have done several assessments with Donna and continue to be incredibly pleased. She is professional, thorough, and caring for the individuals that exhibit anxiety or concern with the process. The assessment continues to be a tool for me to learn new things about the individuals that I provide support for. This assessment is overall a wonderful experience. I hope it is effective in providing more person-centered support in the future. MEET THE TEAM: Lisa Horan, Operations Manager For this edition of “Meet the Team”, we introduce you to Operations Manager, Lisa Horan. In her role, Lisa works with all program stakeholders, and providing ongoing training for the Assessor team and providing support for Members, CCMs, family members, guardians, and others. Tell us in a few sentences about your professional background/work history as related to your current role: I have worked in the field of human services for over 30 years. I have a Master’s Degree in Special Education. I have worked for Maximus since 2015 and have worked with SIS since that time as a trainer. What area(s) of the state do you service in your role? I provide support to all Maine SIS Assessors, so essentially cover the entire state in my role. What is your favorite part of the work you do? I enjoy getting to meet so many different people. It is important to me to ensure that people have a meaningful experience during their SIS Assessments. Where have you lived besides Maine – other states, countries? Over the years, I have lived in seven states to include Maryland, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina, and Texas. I have actually never lived in Maine.
SUPPORT: Contact the Maine SIS Assessments Help DeskInterested members should contact the Maine SIS Help Desk and ask that an assessment be scheduled: (call 833.771.4639 or email: Maine-SIS@maximus.com). Maximus will follow up to schedule an appropriate date/time and location. If you have other SIS assessment related questions: Contact the Maximus – Maine SIS Help Desk team from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST, Monday – Friday to learn more:
The Maine Children’s Alliance is pleased to announce that our 2024 County Profiles are now available. These two-page profiles include a summary of each county’s strengths and challenges, demographic data, and progress on 14 indicators of child and family well-being in Maine. By understanding the data and making informed policy decisions in response, we can help ensure children and families in Maine have the best opportunity to thrive.
To see the most up-to-date county and state data on these indicators and many others, please view the KIDS COUNT Data Center. Please reach out to me if you have any questions on the information. The Maine Children's Alliance is a nonpartisan, nonprofit advocacy organization that for 29 years has advocated for sound public policies to improve the lives of Maine's children, youth, and families. We are an independent voice that is committed to using, analyzing, and amplifying data for effective policy and practice. Maine Parent Federation 2024 Annual Conference
March 25, 2024 - 9:00 AM - 2:30 PM Join us on March 25th for our 2023 Annual Conference at the Governor Hill Mansion 136 State Street, Augusta, ME Keynote Speaker: The LifeSpan Waiver, Elizabeth Hopkins, Office of Aging and Disability Services Breakouts Sessions: Education is Special - Maine Parent Federation Transition Maine - Maine Parent Federation & Maine Department of Education Parent Engagement - Maine Parent Federation & LEND Parents Healthcare Transition - Maine Parent Federation & LEND Parents Register here Download Flyer & Agenda Please note - In order to offer a light breakfast and lunch we need to charge a small fee of $9.99/person. If you have dietary restrictions, allergies, or sensitivities, please contact Oleta Connors, so we can notify the caterer. SIS-A Updates and Question and Answer Session
Please join the Office of Aging and Disability Services (OADS) and Maximus, our SIS-A assessment vendor for a SIS-A Question and Answer session. The session will focus on the Supports Intensity Scale for Adults 2nd Edition (SIS-A) needs assessments and will also offer updates. The SIS-A needs assessments will be for Sections 21 and 29 members and those on the waitlists. The SIS-A needs assessment will eventually be required for participation in the Lifespan Waiver. We invite you to attend this session to learn about the SIS-A in Maine. There will also be time for attendees to ask questions. All attendees are required to register for the session using the link below. A link to join the Zoom session will be sent to your email after you have registered. February 22, 2024 from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Registration Link: https://mainestate.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEqcOmopjIuGd2I0OSn4m1tIpGvdevYLSVn If you need an accommodation, such as real time transcription and captioning (CART), American Sign Language (ASL) or other language interpretation, please contact Miranda Whalen at miranda.whalen@maine.gov. In June 2023, the Department announced that future updates about the Lifespan Waiver would be published in regularly updated Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) documents.
The latest Lifespan Waiver FAQ is now released. You can find this document in the Resources section of the Lifespan webpage: Lifespan 4th Edition FAQ As new information is developed, there will be additional Stakeholder Information sessions provided. The Lifespan Waiver is expected to start in 2025, with additional public comment periods. For more information about the public comment opportunities, please see question 7 of the FAQ. NASHP is hosting a state-only health and housing learning community that provides a platform for state health policymakers to learn from experts and one another about health and housing approaches at the state level, as well as stay abreast of emerging guidance and opportunities from federal agencies. This learning community is intended to support policymakers in strengthening their foundational understanding of health and housing approaches, as well as provide opportunities to go in depth on housing and services elements that must come together to support the health of individuals and communities.
The series of conversations will take place approximately once every other month, beginning in January 2024, with the opportunity to communicate via listserv in between meetings. While the primary audience will be state health policymakers, there will be conversations where health policymakers will be encouraged to bring their housing counterparts into the conversation. Learning community topics will include:
Introduction to Supportive HousingWednesday, January 31, 2024, 4–5 p.m. ET Robust supportive housing approaches require collaboration and alignment across federal, state, and local partners. The first session of the Health and Housing Learning Community will provide a high-level overview of supportive housing models and an introduction to the relevant partners, policy goals, services, and funding streams across the health and housing sectors. Click here to register OADS: Community Resource Coordination, Information & Listening Session for Self-Advocates- Feb 16th1/26/2024
Proposed HCBS Lifespan Waiver Service:
Community Resource Coordination Stakeholder Informational and Listening Session for Self-Advocates Please join the Office of Aging and Disability Services as we host an informational listening session. This session is focused on individuals who are self-advocates for services related to Intellectual Disabilities or Autism. During this session we will provide a brief overview of the Community Resource Coordination (CRC) Service being proposed within the Lifespan Waiver. We would like to hear about any feedback this group has about their current case management services and get input on how the proposed Lifespan Waiver service of Community Resource Coordination could improve this experience. Please use the link below to register for the Zoom session. Friday February 16th, 2024 from 1:00PM to 2:00PM Zoom Registration https://mainestate.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYvcu2opjkvG92Qr0SmQZw-wiE8fQtxh8rA Real-time transcription and captioning (CART) as well as American Sign Language (ASL) will be available for all attendees. If you need other accommodations to attend, please contact Miranda Whalen at miranda.whalen@maine.gov. |
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