July 25, 2024 Minutes

Weld County Case Management Agency - Community Advisory Committee  Meeting Minutes

Meeting: July 25, 2024

Committee Members

  • Victoria Maul; person with lived experience- Absent
  • Regina Weisman; person with lived experience- Absent
  • Cathy Kellogg; Support Inc.
  • Brittany Logue; person with lived experience
  • Leticia Arguello; Arc of Weld County (Virtual)
  • Dawn Simmons; Adult Protective Services (Virtual)

CMA Agency Representatives

  • Angela Korthaus; CMA Program Manager
  • Jill Colavolpe; Deputy Division Director, HCSD Weld County
  • Cassie Bixler; CMA Case Aide
  1. Welcome and Introductions
    • First meeting of fiscal year (July 1- June 30)
    • Round table introductions
  2. Kickoff Meeting for Fiscal Year 2024-2025
    • CMA Updates
      • On Feb 29, 2024 the SEP had a staff of 30. One day later the SEP became the CMA and the staff increased to 67.
      • The CMA manages all 10 Medicaid waivers available in the state of Colorado.
        • On July 1st the final of three transitions occurred and the CMA had 180 children on the CHCBS waiver transitioned to Weld County.
        • Most of the children had been previously served by: Special needs, Rise Above, Access and Ability.
      • On July 1st 20 individuals on the DD and SLS waiver transitioned to Weld County CMA.
        • 200 individuals total for final/phase 3 transition (July 1st)
      • Current CMA Staffing:
        • 43 case managers
        • 4 case aides
        • 4 specialists
        • 8 supervisors
        • 2 Program Managers
        • 1 UR nurse
        • 1 billing specialist
      • Currently hiring: 4 case managers, 1 assistant billing specialist
      • Caseload count for all waivers and programs: 2716 individuals served.
        • Averaging 234 referrals each month for all waivers/programs
          • Anticipation referrals will continue to increase.
      • New case management tracking system will go live 8/5/2024 (TIM)
        • TIM stands for Tracking and Information Manager
        • TIM will allow the CMA to capture additional metrics and will assist case managers in tracking their work completed and upcoming requirements.
      • CCM (Care and Case Management system)
        • Launch July 5th, 2023.
        • Discussed concerns with the system and case managers navigating workarounds to ensure all receive services timely.
        • CCM interfaces with CBMS and PEAKPRO
          • This should send transmittals to additional systems to streamline eligibility.
          • The goal is for this to tell CM's financial denial or acceptance faster.
        • State continues to work toward a new assessment tool and support plan.
          • The CCM Superuser Workgroup is receiving training on the new assessment tool.
          • Last reported go-live date is November of 2024 but may be delayed.
          • Trainings for case managers on the new assessment tool has not yet been scheduled.
          • The new assessment tool is a replacement of the 100.2. It will be housed within the CCM.
          • The new tool is less narrative based in comparison to the 100.2. It is anticipated the assessment and support plan will take longer to complete.
        • Changes to CMA Intake Process:
          • On March 1st, 2024, Weld County transitioned from the SEP to the CMA.
          • Most individuals served transitioned from Envision.
          • During the initial phase of the transition Weld County maintained the intake process Envision has established for IDD and Children’s waivers.
          • Now that the initial phase of transitioning has settled, the CMA will be integrating the previous SEP intake process and the Envision intake process into one process for all waivers across the CMA.
          • One team (Supervised by Meg McWilliams) will process all referrals received.
          • The intake team is being cross trained on all waivers and is adding 2 additional CMs to the team to assist with the change.
          • This is the first step in the CMA operating as a team and not in siloed parts.
        • Weld County CMA submitted and was awarded grant for a Long-Term Care Coordinator position.
          • This position will assist individuals with the Medicaid application and redetermination process.
          • The position will start 8/1 with Case manager Katrina Hocking being hired into the position.
          • Katrina was a case manager in Larimer County prior to the transition to a CMA. She is familiar with the concept and goal of the position and will be able to “hit the ground running” on 8/1/2024.
        • CAC Website:
          • Weld.gov > Human Service > Home and Community Supports Division > Case Management Agency > Case Management Agency Committee’s and Councils >Community Advisory Committee (CAC).
          • CAC materials including a membership list, meeting agenda and meeting minutes have been added to the website.
          • Meeting minutes will still be sent out to attendees at the time they are being added to the website.
        • Confidentiality Agreements:
          • Have not received the confidentiality agreements from everyone. CAC members will be required to sign a new confidentiality agreement annually.
          • If you receive an email with confidentiality agreement, please respond back with your signature.
  3. Review of Complaints/Trends
    • 3 complaints have been recorded since 3/1/2024.
      • Two of the three complaints were reviewed at the first CAC meeting on 5/23/2024.
    • Reviewed newly recorded complaint.
      • Concern that a Case manager did not find an individual services as soon as the individual needed.
      • They requested a new CM be assigned and this request was granted.
      • New CM was briefed on concerns and was able to assist individual.
      • The Complaint was resolved.
  4. Review of CMA Policy and Procedure
    • All comments will be taken back to Kelly for review with discussion notes.
    • Complaint Policy and Procedure:
      • Comment: "Would it be helpful to provide a physical address to each complaint process that mentions an in-person option?"
        • Regarding:(Page 3, Complaint Process, Submission of Complaints to WCCMA Personnel, "Complaints can be submitted by phone, email, fax, or in person.")
      • Comment: "Are there translation or alternative language options for the online complaint form?"
        • Regarding: (Page 3, Complaint Process, Submission of Complaints to WCCMA Personnel)
        • The committee discussed several options available, and it was agreed then next step would be to discuss with the Weld County Logistics team regarding options available.
      • Comment: "Is this within two business days of initial contact, or within two business days of an update being available, or both?"
        • Regarding: (Page 4, Complaint Process, Initial Response and Resolution of Complaints, "Once initial contact is complete, if necessary and depending on the complaint, either the Supervisor or Program Manager will investigate it internally. Any updates and follow-up communications with the member or individual will happen within two business days.")
        • Intent- When supervisor makes contact, they need time for investigation. They will follow up within 2 days of the initial contact with an update.
        • Committee agreed the paragraph needs to be reworded for simplicity.
      • Comment: "Should this be Committee or is the Community Advisory Council different then the Community Advisory Committee?"
        • Response: The error in terminology was noted and will be fixed on the website.
    • Policy Comments:
      • Comment “Consistency- Numbers are displayed differently (Numerical vs spelled out) between different policies.”
        • It was agreed there needs to be consistency. This will be reviewed by the CMA.
    • Member Communication Response Policy
      • Comment: "Will WCCMA staff be communicating with Members and their families during the first 60 days of hire? If so, they may need this training earlier in their onboarding process to ensure the expectation is set as soon as any communication would occur. If not, please disregard this note."
        • Reference: (Page 2, Training, "WCCMA will provide all staff with training on this policy and the procedures for responding to communications from Members and families within 60 days of hire."
        • Response: This should be revised, before a case manager is assigned a case load, they will be trained on the policy.
        • Agreed that removing the time frame would be best and make it clear training is expected before case load assigned.
    • Telephone Access and After-Hours Communication Policy 
      • Comment: "Should this include "county", as the Member Communication Policy states?
        • "This policy will be updated as needed based on feedback and changes to contractual, county, and regulatory requirements."
        • Regarding: (Page 3, Policy Review, "This policy will be updated as needed based on feedback and changes to contractual and regulatory requirements.")
        • Response: Add "county" into policy with contractual and regulatory requirements.
    • Discussion
      • How many policies and procedures can be sent in a time?”
        • Agreed up to 10 policies at a time depending on length of policy and review time.
      • Is there a deadline for all policies to be reviewed?
        • No internal deadline but goal is to have all reviewed within the first year as a CMA.
        • It was agreed upon by the team policies would be sent 30 days prior to the next CAC meeting for in depth review by each CAC member.
      • Will continue virtual option with sharing policies via screen share for remote members.
  5. Review of Exceptions to the Defined Service Area
    • Currently no exceptions/denials since last meeting 5/23/24
    • Exception policy to be reviewed at next CAC meeting.
  6. Member Updates
    • None
  7. Discussion
    • Info to be provided/Discussed at next meeting:
    • Agreed- Statistics and info provided was helpful.
    • Email Angela if there are any requests for information and she can add it in
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