December 2008
This month's updates come from:
- Colorado LINKS for Mental Health
- Building Bridges for Children's Mental Health
- Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing
- Colorado Works Division, Colorado Department of Human Services
- JFK Partners Linking and Aligning Project
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Colorado LINKS for Mental Health
- Save the Date! Colorado LINKS for Mental Health is hosting its fourth annual BIG Meeting on Friday, April 17th, 2009 at the Colorado History Museum. The agenda and speakers will be announced soon. To RSVP, please contact Rebecca Kahn at Rebecca@csi-policy.org or 303-455-1740.
For more information, please contact Jewlya Lynn at Jewlya@csi-policy.org
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Building Bridges for Children's Mental Health
- Building Bridges has a report available to stakeholders interested in learning more about the family, youth, and staff experience as relates to kids with mental health and substance abuse needs in the schools. The report is the result of eight focus groups and eight key informant interviews conducted in Mesa County: http://www.csi-policy.org/documents/BBMesaEvalResultsOct2008Final.pdf . A second report, to be released shortly, highlights the results of an online survey for families and a youth focus group with the Youth Partnership for Health, the youth advisory board to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. For more information, please contact Jewlya Lynn at Jewlya@csi-policy.org or 303-455-1740
For more information about the Building Bridges project, please contact Barb Bieber at Bieber_B@cde.state.co.us
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Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing
- The Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing has published a revised Request for Proposals (RFP) to administer and operate the Colorado Medicaid Community Mental Health Services Program (Mental Health Program). The RFP is available to potential bidders on the Colorado BIDS Web site at www.gssa.state.co.us/VenSols. Bidder responses are due on February 18, 2009. The Department anticipates contractor selection to occur in late March, with program implementation scheduled for July 1, 2009.
For general information, please contact Marceil Case at Marceil.Case@state.co.us. For bidder questions related to the RFP, please contact Katherine Quinby at Katherine.Quinby@state.co.us.
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Colorado Works Division, Colorado Department of Human Services
- The Colorado Works Division of the Colorado Department of Human Services has just announced the release of a Request for Funds (RFP) for $10 million had has been appropriation through the Statewide Strategic Use Fund. The deadline for receipt of applications is January 30, 2009 at 4:00 p.m. Priority consideration will be given to systemic projects that have a statewide, regional, or countywide focus and that cannot effectively be accomplished with existing funds. Eligible projects / initiatives will address one or more of these criteria:
- Enhance the long-term self-sufficiency of needy families in Colorado;
- Reduce the number of children and families living in poverty;
- Strengthen families who are living in poverty; or
- Increase the participation of Colorado Works participants in meaningful work activities
For more information, please visit www.colorado.gov/coloradoworks.
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JFK Partners Linking and Aligning Project
- The main purpose of JFK Partner's Linking and Aligning Project (Linking and Aligning) is to integrate children's primary care and behavioral health care using the System of Care and Medical Home approach as a foundation.
- The JFK Partners Linking and Aligning Project has recently developed a health integration care coordination plan for three target audiences: (1) families; (2) care coordinators and providers of services; and (3) system-level agencies. While each of these groups can use this document to develop an understanding of the different and varied perspectives involved in care coordination, specific uses include:
- (1) Families/consumers may use this document to understand values and qualities behind care coordination, as well as an educational and advocacy tool when accessing and managing care coordination services;
- (2) Providers may use this document as a foundation to maximize health care outcomes and use resources efficiently when coordinating care for families; and
- (3) Systems-level professionals may use this document to make decisions about how to coordinate systems-level care in a way that minimizes their financial risks and maximizes the care that families receive.
- The Linking and Aligning Project is currently developing a Care Coordination Toolkit in development. It is primarily intended for care coordinators and providers of services who are either beginning to explore, have recently begun to build, or want to evaluate their capacity to provide care coordination. It is designed to be used as a comprehensive resource guide when working directly with families in a variety of settings across Colorado. The toolkit can also be used by families/consumers and system-level agencies.
For more information about the Linking and Aligning Project, please go to: http://www.jfkpartners.org/WorkshopsItem.asp?NUMBER=150
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To be included in next month's LINKING YOU, please send us your planning or organization group's name, contact info, up to three bullets of one sentence each, and where possible, a link to more information.
Brought to you by the Colorado LINKS for Mental Health Initiative. For more information about the Initiative, please contact Jewlya Lynn at Jewlya@CSI-Policy.org.
