Comprehensive Class Member Transition Program

The overarching goal of the Comprehensive Class Member Transition Program is to achieve compliance with the requirements of both the Williams and Colbert consent decrees. DHS believes that ensuring the availability of integrated, high-quality services for Class Members and minimizing the number of handoffs between providers holds the greatest promise to achieve and increase quality and sustained transitions to the community. The program will allow the State to:

1. Maximize continuity of services by prioritizing agreements with providers who, either directly or through subgrantees, can work with class members along the entire continuum of services. The continuum includes the three core services required by both consent decrees (Outreach, Resident Review/Evaluation, and Transition Coordination) as well as an array of ancillary services that address various barriers to transition. This will reduce the number of handoffs between unconnected providers, reduce the administrative burden, and create efficiencies. 

   The grant funding approach allows DHS the flexibility to provide grants to providers who, either directly or through subgrantees, can provide this broad, comprehensive service array. If necessary, the State may continue to provide grants to providers for a narrower service array to preserve access to required services in certain parts of the state where comprehensive agreements may not be feasible.

2. Increase and maintain the capacity of providers to serve class members by offering an expenditure-based funding model with advance-and-reconcile payments for FY20 and for future fiscal years if providers have adequate financial management systems under GATA. Smaller outcome-based payments may be offered as a supplemental incentive for high performance.
3. Better integrate and align services and reporting requirements for Colbert and Williams class members, ensuring that all class members can access appropriate services regardless of current, institutional placement.
4. As part of this pilot program, investigate the actual cost and effort associated with serving class members by studying provider expenditures along with performance metrics and outcomes. The program will allow DHS to ascertain the cost of maintaining system capacity to serve class members.
5. Identify opportunities to better align the Olmstead service system with the Medicaid program, both in terms of covered services and the managed care service delivery system. Because care coordination and management and transition support are expectations of the Medicaid managed care plans, DHS will work closely with HFS to identify and avoid or resolve any duplication of services.