Helpers, Inc.

Spring Break Camp- Lose the Training Wheels!

Stacy Jones — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 17:29:27 +0000

Hi, all!!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday!

As was done last year, JCCC will be hosting the 5^th Annual Lose the Training Wheels Bike Camp on March 12^th – 16^th,2012 here on the JCCC campus. This wonderful program uses specially-designed bikes to teach disabled kids (and adults) how to ride a regular bike without the use of training wheels. The individuals who participate in the program have a wide range of challenges – Downs Syndrome, Asperger’s Syndrome, Autism, etc.

If you have not viewed it already, please go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pa_iluRSApY to view a very nice news story on a previous year’s camp. It is a good summary for you if you are a bit unfamiliar with Lose the Training Wheels camps.

I am attaching a one-page promo regarding this camp. I expect this camp to fill to capacity as it has in past years. The participant will need to come to the JCCC Campus each day, March 12-16^th, for about a 90-minute session. They will work with specific volunteers devoted totally to that camper’s learning. (We usually have two college students as volunteers per camper.)

Those who participate must be at least 8 years old by March of 2012. Keep in mind there is no maximum age. The Camper Fee for this program is $150 (the true “cost” is much higher, but is paid for through private donations. We charge a fee to ensure that the family is committed to coming each day).

For those interested, please e-mail me as soon as possible at dkrug@jccc.edu . I will then e-mail you a Camper Application Form. Please forward this e-mail to anyone who might be interested!! The camp will fill! Do not wait to enroll!!

Dave Krug

JCCC

Assoc Professor/ Camp Director

dkrug@jccc.edu

JCDS Update on Managed Care

Stacy Jones — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 17:28:25 +0000

Your Monday Morning Update:

Before I head out to the bakery to buy the Crowne Plaza hotel workers a plate of cookies, I wanted to share that I was overwhelmed with the outpouring of your support at the Town Hall meeting Tuesday night. We’d estimated that perhaps 50 folks would join us and thrilled to have to relocate to Ballroom “A” and eventually opening the door to “B” with close to 300 folks in attendance. Quite the hustle and bustle!

NOTE TO SELF-Make it a BIG plate of cookies!

Attendees went home energized and ready to fight for sons, daughters, loved ones, clients, staff and jobs.

Here are some key advocacy techniques that were discussed:

1-      Write letters to the Governor, Lt. Governor and your legislators

2-      Make phone calls to the above

3-      Send emails through www.invisiblekansans.com website

4-      Write a Letter to the Editor

5-      Rally the Troops (you all have friends, family and neighbors who care about you and could help).

6-      Repeat steps 1 – 5!

I’ve had a few folks ask for a sample letter. A very-involved parent copied me on one that she’d written to the Governor and the Lt. Governor and agreed to let me share it with you.

________________________________________________________________________

Dear Lieutenant Governor Colyer:

As the parent of a young man with autism I am writing to urge you to block the inclusion of people with developmental disabilities (DD) into the new managed care proposal for individuals receiving Medicaid in the state of Kansas. I hope that you personally will read this letter.

I understand that requests for bids have been sent to several insurance companies, all out-of-state, to take over management of all Medicaid services in Kansas. I also understand that the goal is to save the state money on payments for services to these recipients. The problem is that in the case of our DD population, the state will probably not save money at all. Our folk do not usually need hospitalization, and when they do, the agencies providing services supply staff to support the person in hospital, at no additional cost to the state.   The major medical needs for people with DD are medications, which are administered on-site where they live and work, again at no additional expense. Programs for people with DD are significantly different from other Medicaid programs such as aging. The nursing home model does not fit our population.

Most important to us families is the potential loss of case managers who know our children and are close at hand to resolve emergencies. As well, these insurance companies have little experience with the type of long term support services our folk need, and we fear they will provide inadequate resources to fill their needs.

You cite the success of other states in reducing costs for DD care. This is not the real story. The four states who have tried managed care have reduced spending by closing institutions. Kansas has already done that. I sit on the boards of Johnson County Developmental Supports and Lakemary Center, and I can state with confidence that these providers have very lean budgets and rely on donations to supplement services. There is no fat to cut.

The proposals to these insurance companies offer a 3-5% incentive to minimize costs. In essence this would siphon off up to $100 million to a for-profit company located in another state. The only way for the insurance company to receive this incentive would be if it reduced services to people with disabilities.

I am asking you to request a carve-out of DD services from the managed care proposal. The insurance companies are not equipped to manage these services and will harm our folk with disabilities.

Please feel free to contact me if you care to discuss my request.

______________________________________________________________________________

This parent also called the Governor/Lt. Governor’s offices to request that they personally read her letter. Staffers hummed and hawed and said they’d put it in the stack with the others (typically, employees tally the letters by topic and stance and give the count to the addressee.) This parent wouldn’t take “no” for an answer and got the staffers to agree to make sure that the letters were personally read.

Talk about spunk! I’ll bet my bottom dollar that she will do the exact same thing a few more times hoping that her persistence pays off.

To assist you, I’ve attached a document with “talking points” to help you mold your message. We’ll be sending out hints, tips and techniques very soon. Feel free to send me your ideas and I’ll be glad to share.

Thank you again for your dedication to this effort. Let’s get out there and do something remarkable!

Warm regards,

Lurena Mead

JCDS Community Relations Manager

913.826.2212

Changes…. Managed Care!

Stacy Jones — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 17:19:01 +0000

Hopefully all of you have been keeping track of all the proposed changes to Medicaid programs that are going on at the state level. The first big change is that developmental disability funding will no longer be overseen by SRS. We will go under the Department of Aging whose name will be changed to Department of Aging and Human Services. This is to take place in July 2012.

A much bigger change is Medicaid changing to KanCare. Instead of the state managing Medicaid, it is proposed that Medicaid will be managed by at least three different companies called Managed Care Organizations (MCO). Currently DD services will be included. We are asking that you write your Governor and representatives and ask that we be carved out. DD waiver services cannot be managed like medical services and we feel that lumping us in could put the quality of services at risk. The contracts are to be awarded sometime in January 2012 and implemented January 2013.

One key area for concern is case management. Case management is not a waiver service, it will change DRAMATICALLY. How will depend on the MCO! It is important to share what you want now while everything is in development.

Important Talking Points:

· My case manager works for me and my son/daughter. Why should I give that up and have to deal with an individual whose primary goal is “resource allocation” (code for budget cuts)?

· Managed Care companies have little or no experience with the types of long term support services that comprise the developmental disability programs. Why should they be allowed to gain this experience in Kansas?

· Only four states have considered putting disability services under Managed Care and none have fully implemented it. The savings they have achieved were from closing institutions. The few remaining institutions Kansas has are not included in the Request for Proposal (RFP). Why should our sons and daughters be subjected to a “Kansas Experiment”?

· Due to the passage of the DD Reform Act and the creation of the CDDOs 15 years ago, Kansas is light years ahead of the four Managed Care states.

· Why the rush to turn this over to a for-profit, out of state company? Obviously the insurance companies will be paid for this service and will have a vested interest in saving money to make money! Why would this be better for my son or daughter?

· The Kansas community-based DD service system is already a managed care system in several respects, including a capitated payment structure, an annual assessment process to ensure eligibility , referral to less-costly service options, management of the system through locally-designated gatekeeping entities, system-wide utilization reviews, and a quality assurance and data management system. DD Services and Case Management should not be part of managed care. The current system is an effective managed care system that operates on only 2.4% of the DD budget versus over 5% for a managed care company.

· The comprehensive redesign of targeted case management with no appreciation of how differently TCM is performed in the various service networks.

· Individuals may not have a choice of who their Case Manager will be. This will remove someone who knows the person, their family, their medical history, psychiatric history, etc. intimately.

· In any managed care model being developed, the reform of health care practices and health care administration holds the greatest opportunity for significant financial savings, not changing case management services.

· Kansas currently has a system that is not broke and will provide the same services as a new managed care company at less cost. I recommend that DD Services and Case Management are carved out from any future managed care organizations.

Contact Information

Go to http://www.capwiz.com/interhab/issues/alert/?alertid=58260531&type=SW , click on Take Action Now! This will allow you add a personal note and send it to the appropriate people.

Contact

Office of the Governor Office of the Lieutenant Governor

Capitol Building Capitol Building, 2^nd Floor

300 SW 10^th Ave, Ste. 241S 300 SW 10^th Ave

Topeka, KS 66612-1590 Topeka, KS 66612

1-877-579-6757 1-800-748-4408

Email: governor@ks.gov Email: lt.governor@ks.gov

You can locate your Kansas Legislators by going to www.kslegislature.com.

THIS COULD BE THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU DO FOR YOUR SON OR DAUGHTER! PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT AND LET THE GOVERNOR AND YOUR LEGISTLATORS KNOW YOUR CONCERNS!

Town Hall Meeting for Medicaid Changes Dec 13th at 5:30pm

Stacy Jones — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 20:17:57 +0000

The State of Kansas has proposed Managed Care services for all Medicaid waiver services. If enacted, all Kansas Medicaid services would be turned over to a Managed Care Organization which would drastically change the services that our families receive.

The State of Kansas is currently working on a plan to turn over all Kansas Medicaid services to Managed Care Organizations which would drastically affect the services you and your child receive.

There is a Town Hall Meeting to discuss this issue more in-depth. It will be held:

Tuesday, December 13^th, 2011 at 5:30 p.m.

Crowne Plaza Hotel

12601 W 95^th St (Just east of 1-35 on 95^th Street)

Lenexa, KS

We hope to see you there!

Sincerely,

Bill Craig

Lakemary President/CEO

Ks AuthentiCare Electronic Billing January 2012

Stacy Jones — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 20:11:46 +0000

We want to inform you that Kansas is rolling out electronic time sheets for all Medicaid Waiver programs. We attended training in Topeka on Monday, November 28^th,that was conducted by First Data, the Kansas Department of Aging, and SRS. The new method of recording time worked, called KS Authenticare, will begin with the new year, in January 2012.

Instead of filling out paper time sheets, Helpers will call in to an interactive voice response system that will allow them to clock in and clock out, and indicate activities performed for the day. This should only take a minute or two for the Helper at the beginning and end of each shift. With this new system, there will be no need to send time sheets to us. However, it will still be important to track hours used to ensure they do not exceed the allotted hours on the Plan of Care.

Now that we have been to the training, we feel very comfortable with this new system. It has been used for several years in other states, and it has proven to be an effective way to record time worked. We are confident that in the long run this new system will be easier for everyone.

We will be mailing training materials and a quick reference guide to families and Helpers very soon. We will also post updated information on the news section of our website at www.Helpersinc.org. As always, we will be here to help you through this transition and answer any questions you may have. Thank you for choosing Helpers, Inc.!

Warm Regards,

Your Team at Helpers, Inc.

Legislative Update from JCDS

Stacy Jones — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 21:24:56 +0000

Your Monday Morning Update:

Remember my last Monday Morning Update, when I discussed that “arranged marriage” between S.R.S Secretary Rob Siedlecki and developmental disability providers? Well, can you say the word “ANNULMENT”?

This morning, the Governors office held a press conference announcing some major changes (and I do mean MAJOR)!

The announcement that resulted in our split-up was:

· The Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services will cease to exist and will evolve into the Department for Children and Families. The major focus of this department will be working with foster care, adoption, the juvenile justice system, parenting initiatives, and enhancing positive outcomes for children. Secretary Siedlecki will be running this department.

· The Department on Aging will be expanding in both name and realm of responsibility. It will become the Department on Aging and Human Services. This new department will be responsible for all Home and Community-Based waivers (our DD waiver is one of these), state hospitals as well as the existing aging services. Shawn Sullivan, the current Secretary of the Department on Aging, will take the reins for this new department. We have high hopes!

Unlike the “Kardashian” distraction, our marriage with S.R.S. lasted several months, was a bit touchy from the get-go but our breakup was due a simple reorganization of government. Now, the question is- what do we do with the rings?

The other MAJOR change announced today is thatManaged Care is coming to Kansas! A third party will be paid to administer Kansas Medicaid (similar to an HMO). This is a vast, complicated, controversial and enormous undertaking that will affect the 350,000 individuals who participate in all Medicaid programs. The HCBS/DD waiver will fall under this very large umbrella…so I’m going to hold off on spouting an opinion until I get additional information as to how this will actually affect us.

Stay tuned and I’ll update you in my next Monday Morning Update about it. Right now, I just want to grab my hanky and cry a bit. I’ll get back to you soon.

Warm Regards,

Lurena Mead�
JCDS Community Relations Manager

913.826.2212

Special Olympics Bowl-a-Thon

Stacy Jones — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 15:09:59 +0000

Please join us for this fun event on November 5th!

Helpers, Inc. will have a team of bowlers, and would love for you to come out and join us!

Location: College Lanes (College Blvd. and Alt 69)

Time: 1p-2:30p or 3:00-4:30pm

Cost: Just $25 in donations

This is their only fundraiser of the year! Proceeds cover all sporting event costs, medals and awards, and recognition for our Athletes!

*It is also tax deductible!

You do not need to be involved in Special Olympics to participate! Bring your friends, your sports team, or your class to this fun event!

If you are interested, please contact Nan Kanter at 913-685-6015

Hope to see you there!

FALL FESTIVAL AT HELPERS, INC. on Monday, Oct 17th from 4-6pm

Stacy Jones — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 20:04:57 +0000

We are hosting our first annual FALL FESTIVAL!

Please join us on Monday, October 17th from 4pm – 6pm

Who: All of our families, their kiddos, and Helpers

What: Fall Festival and Pumpkin Patch

Where: Our Helpers, Inc. office

15540 South Pflumm Road

Olathe, Ks 66062

We are located in a farmhouse right across from the Johnson County Airport

Wear your Halloween Costume if you like, or come as you are!

We will have pumpkins, a hayride, and goodies to eat!

Hope to see you there!

Helpers, Inc. is an FMS provider

Stacy Jones — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 20:04:12 +0000

We will continue to provide billing services under FMS, and are committed to providing the compassionate, quality services that families have come to expect with Helpers, Inc..

WE WANT TO BE YOUR FMS PROVIDER!

We want you to know how we are different from other agencies:

Founded by a mother of a child with a developmental disability who understands the needs of the families we serve.
Hassle Free set-up for both the family and the DSW or Helper. Our goal is to make this as smooth as possible for you and your loved one.
Recruiting: We will continue to assist families with their recruiting needs!
We will ensure the DSW gets paid on time! We promise no payments are late to the Helper through the FMS transition, even if the POC is in review.
Direct Deposit is available for all Helpers.
Legislative Involvement: We promise continued commitment to being a community resource for families. We will stay very active at a state level to advocate for our population!
We always answer the phones during business hours. We are here to provide assistance to you and your families through this transition. Our knowledgeable, friendly, and reliable team is here to help every step of the way.

Please contact us this week or next, rather than waiting until November 1st. We can begin to process your paperwork and get backgrounds started so you are ready to bill when FMS is implemented.

Please call us if we can answer any questions for you. We look forward to working with you through this transition!

Children’s Mercy offers Autism Parent Training

Stacy Jones — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 20:01:34 +0000

Hello to our friends
I just wanted to provide you an update of our Fall/Winter Family Trainings.
Any family that you feel would benefit from any/all of these trainings, please feel free to pass the information along.

To register for any of these trainings, please contact Mary Anne Hammond (Education Coordinator) at 913-696-5711; or email her at mhammond@cmh.edu or to find out more about the trainings go to: