Below are the questions received and State responses from the April 26, 2007 conference call on Family Resource Home and Non-Medicaid Residential Placement Services Standards. These are the questions asked in regard to the Emergency Shelter service standards. These questions, along with those for the other service descriptions that remain under review, will be answered and posted to the Medicaid Training Web site soon.

Q: Do the 30-day stay limitations apply to non-custody youth?

A: These standards apply to youth in the custody of SRS or JJA and to non-custody SRS placement youth.

Q: Will staff that do not meet qualifications be grandfathered in?

A: This will be a part of the implementation plan but the intent is to allow providers to retain quality staff.

Q: Can the main criteria for the 30-day stay be the loss of school credit rather than all the other items listed?

A: The criteria listed for the 30-day stays covers loss of school credit and is in the best interest of the youth receiving the services they need.

Q: The 30-day limit on emergency care is still something we question and would there be further consideration that can be given to this issue?

A: 30-day stays are the expectation of both JJA and SRS and will be monitored during the implementation process.

Q: What kinds of mental health services can be provided in an emergency shelter?  The service definition reads as if mental health services cannot occur while in an Emergency Shelter.

A: Language has been clarified that speaks to the scope of mental health services, crisis and non-crisis, that can occur while in an emergency shelter.

Q: The requirement is for youth to have a single bedroom.  This is not current practice and will increase the cost of these services.

A: Requirement has been revised.

Q: Will there be funding to assist providers in complying with the requirement that apartments be furnished in the TLP/CIP services?

A: A separate funding source for compliance will not be available.  This will be addressed in the cost analysis/rate setting process for those services.

Q:In regards to providing access to supportive services in TLP/CIP- does that mean simply giving clients a resource book that lists the location and contact information or does it mean that we would have some obligation to either provide this service ourselves and/or ensure that clients have ways/means to attend and/or pay for such services? Will the provider bear any financial expenses associated with the client receiving or participating in the supportive service?

A: The function of the Case Coordinator and Community Integration Specialist is to act as that resource broker for the youth.  Optimally, as many community resources that are available to the general public would be accessed first as the goal is to put those supports around the youth so that they can be self sufficient upon completion of the programs.  The Community Integration Specialist has somewhat the same function but the assumption would be that at that level the youth is plugged into community resources or has learned the skills to do so. 

Therefore, the actual brokering function should be less in CIP and more of a monitoring function based on the individual needs of the youth.There would be no financial responsibility of the provider for support services but those services requiring agency funding must have the approval of the referring agency.

Q: Is the provider of TLP services expected to pay all the rent? Can TLP youth live in studio apartments?

A: Yes all rent and other cost to support the youth in the TLP placement must be paid by the provider. A studio apartment is appropriate as long as all of the requirements of the living space can be met.

Q: If youth in TLP have children, will the provider receive a per diem for the child?

A: There will be no per diem for the child of a youth in TLP.  In both TLP and CIP the expectation would be that the youth’s program plan would include accessing the resources necessary to provide for that child.  If the child of the youth in placement is in SRS custody there are specific resources available to the child.

Q: Are TLP/CIP a direct replacement of any current service definition?

A: Both TLP and CIP are new services that do not directly replace any current service definition.  There are components of some current programs that have been incorporated into the new definitions.  The goals for the new service definitions were to enhance the services currently being provided and to fill gaps in the array of services.

Q: What is the staff ratio for Community Integration Specialists in CIP?

A: There is no set ratio.  The responsibilities of the Community Integration Specialist are reduced from the similar position in TLP due to the decreasing needs of the population served.  Providers must staff this position in sufficient numbers to meet the needs of the youth they serve as defined by the service description.

Q: How will the alternatives be paid for without Medicaid and for those things the medical card will not cover?

A: This was inadvertently left out and will be included in the final document. Those ratios are 1:7 during waking hours and 1:10 during sleeping hours.

Q: The current draft indicates a 1:14 ratio for the Case Coordinator. Can this be reconsidered and changed to 1:16?

A: This proposal for 1:16 has been adopted for inclusion in the final standard.

Q: Can an agency be a provider of both PRTF and YRC services?

A: Yes, under circumstances detailed in the document sent to the Preferred Future group on April 27, 2007.

Q: How does an YRC seek reimbursement as a Medicaid transporter when accessing PAHP and PIHP services?

A: This would require the provider to enroll under additional provider types within the Medicaid program. You may access that information at
https://www.kmap-state-ks.us/Documents/Content/Checklists/Non%20Emergency%20Transportation.pdf