 |
|
Updates and Announcements
|
DSS Dear Director Letter and Guidance
Guidance for in-person visitation in congregate care settings
On March 20, 2020, the North Carolina Division of Social Services (NCDSS) issued a Dear County Directors' Letter providing guidance to local Departments of Social Services on court-ordered visitation between parents/caregivers, children and youth receiving foster care services. The guidance recommended that counties contact parents/caregivers and families with court-ordered visitation and request their consent to temporarily cease in-person visitations due to health and safety concerns caused by COVID-19. County child welfare staff worked diligently to transition to virtual visitations, helping children and youth in congregate care placements maintain connections with their parents/caregivers and families while adhering to guidance informed by federal and state health officials.
On May 20, 2020, Governor Roy Cooper signed Executive Order No. 141 to modify the current stay-at-home order and to transition the state into "Safer At Home" Phase 2 of lifting COVID-19 restrictions. As part of this structured, phased approach towards community reintegration, safety precautions are still promoted to support flattening of the curve and slowing the spread of COVID-19.
NCDSS is aware that some agencies have returned to, or are preparing to resume, in-person visitations. NCDSS is providing updated guidance on in-person visits for children and youth living in congregate care in order to promote consistency statewide while maintaining local flexibility to handle exceptional cases and/or localized outbreaks of the virus. It is well known that congregate care living can pose a great risk for transmission of the virus and we encourage you to use every precaution available during this time.
Face-to face contact between parents/caregivers and children in congregate care is essential to the welfare of both children and their parents, and contributes to timely, positive permanency outcomes for children. While protecting the health and safety of children, youth and families is of paramount importance, so too is ensuring that parents/caregivers and children have time together to maintain and strengthen connections. Towards that end, in-person visitations should resume whenever best-practice safety measures allow and the risk for spreading the virus throughout a congregate care setting can be minimized.
Read More Here:
|
Information on Maintaining Eligibility
In October 2017, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) implemented a quarterly Maintain Eligibility Process through NCTracks. This process identifies enrolled providers with no claim activity within the past 12 months. NCTracks notifies the provider by a Notification of Inactivity Letter posted to the secure provider portal mailbox.
When a provider is identified as having no claims activity in 12 months, a Maintain Eligibility Due Date will be set. Providers will be notified 30 days before the due date that they must submit a Maintain Eligibility Application via a Notification of Inactivity Letter. Providers will not receive reminders about Maintaining Eligibility past the initial notification letter.
The Notification of Inactivity Letter provides guidance for completing the Maintain Eligibility Application on the secure NCTracks provider portal. Providers can see the application on the Status and Management Page in the Maintain Eligibility section located in the Secure Provider Portal. Upon submission of the Maintain Eligibility Application, the provider's enrollment record will be updated with the current date.
If the provider does not submit the application by the due date, the provider's participation in the North Carolina Medicaid and NC Health Choice programs will be end dated and a Provider Termination Letter will be sent by certified mail. The Maintain Eligibility Process will help prevent fraud, waste and abuse in the Medicaid and NC Health Choice programs.
The Maintain Eligibility Process reviews NCTracks history to see if the provider has been included on any claims over the last 12 months.
- Attending
- Billing
- Ordering
- Operating
- Other operating
- Prescribing
- Rendering
- Referring
- Service facility
*Keep in mind that providers who have a Manage Change Request (MCR) in review or a re-verification application submitted within the past year will not receive a letter for that quarter.
*Rural Health Clinics and Federally Qualified Health Centers are excluded from this requirement.
NC Medicaid COVID-19 Bulletin #95 Available
The NC Division of Health Benefits (DHB) has recently published another Medicaid Bulletin related to COVID-19:
SPECIAL BULLETIN COVID-19 #95: HIV Case Management Policy Allowances
NC Medicaid will allow temporary changes to
Clinical Coverage Policy 12B
(Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Case Management) for written physician orders, use of remote technology and signature requirements. This bulletin provides details on written physician orders, temporary COVID-19 allowances and core components (assessment, care planning, monitoring and follow-up activities and reassessments).
View details.
|
This month's issue features National Reunification Month. Safe and timely reunification is the most desired outcome when children are placed in out-of-home care, and supportive partnerships between parents, caregivers, agencies, and other stakeholders are an integral part of strengthening the capacity of families and bringing children home. Read a message from Jerry Milner, Associate Commissioner of the Children's Bureau, about how the child welfare system should proactively seek to strengthen, support, and celebrate families and promote safe reunification. We also feature a message from David Kelly, special assistant to the Associate Commissioner, that emphasizes the importance of recognizing the need for family, especially during trying times such as these. Also included in the issue are research, publications, and tools centering on reunification for professionals and families.
Read an article about the importance of family supports in ensuring successful reunification and avoiding reentry.
|
Reminder, Please Consider
Supporting
This Important Campaign
Please don't forget that CareForNC is launching a COVID-19 #FacesOfTheFrontline campaign during May and June. We work amongst healthcare warriors every day in our field and we're asking you to send in photos and short videos we can share to help our state and communities see the many faces of frontline workers!
These images will be used in our CareForNC campaign #FacesOfTheFrontline. Make sure you sign up to receive our #CareForNC posts and on our Facebook page so your agencies can repost the CareForNC posts! Be sure to use one or all the hashtags listed below on your agency posts.
- #FacesoftheFrontlines
- #NCHeroes
- #CareforNC
- #TogetherOnTheFrontLine
If you do not have a google account to use the Google drive, you can email your pictures and videos to
carefornc@gmail.com.
Many video attachments may be too large to send via email. In that case, please upload your videos to YouTube privately, Dropbox, or use WeTransfer and send a link to the CareForNC email so we can download the file. Be sure to include:
- Your Name
- Organization Name
- County or Counties You Serve
- Email
- Description of Content
- Any Additional Information
Below are some links to provide you additional information to help you create your own #FacesOfTheFronline posts and for video and picture submissions to CareForNC.
|
Thursday, June 11, 2020
DHSR Call Residential/Longterm Care
Time: 10:00 am
|
Monday: June 15, 2020
Connecting Expertise to Communities to Support Comprehensive Care for People with I/DD: Building on North Carolina's Assets
Time: 11:00 am to 12:00 pm
|
New: Thursday: June 25, 2020
Adapting Community Inclusion to Circumstances of 2020
Time: 2:00 pm thru 3:30 pm
|
Wednesday, July 1, 2020
Ongoing Staff Development in Disability Services
Time: 2:00 pm EST
|
Monday: July 20, 2020
Meeting number: 730 385 489
You can also dial 173.243.2.68 and enter your meeting number. Or, join by phone: 1-650-479-3207 Access code: 730 385 489
|
Please click on each of the following links to view details sent out from each LME/MCO.
Benchmarks' wants to be sure to make the following list handy for our members to visit and suggests a peek at least once per week to find information that may be pertinent to your agency and contracts.
|
|
|
|
|
|
