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“Change is the hardest at the beginning, messiest in the middle, and best at the end” – Robin S. Sharma, writer and humanitarian
Spring greetings from the MnCHOICES team at DHS. Our team is excited to continue our work on the revised MnCHOICES application to improve the way we do assessments and support planning in Minnesota. The improvements and updates will help us all to carry out our shared mission and put our shared vision and values into action more effectively. We are excited about the new application and the opportunity to help all people live with dignity, maximize their potential and achieve goals that are important to them.
Change can be hard and messy at times, but the result will be a better assessment and support-planning process for everyone who needs long-term services and supports. These changes will also help improve assessment and planning for thousands of assessors, case managers, care coordinators and other lead agency staff dedicated to this work. We welcome your questions and feedback throughout the launch process of the revised application. Again, we want to thank you for your continued partnership and patience as we move forward.
Revised MnCHOICES application: Moving toward the future
The revised MnCHOICES application uses a vendor-owned and operated platform, hosted by FEI Systems. Throughout the past year, DHS worked closely with the vendor to modify its product to meet the needs of Minnesota. The new system will simplify and improve the assessment and support-planning process. This makes it more likely that staff members will provide better support to the people we serve by using person-centered skills.
During the development of this revision, we have incorporated lessons learned from the launch of the initial version of MnCHOICES and collaborated with many of you to customize the vendor’s software application. Your feedback informed the content in the assessment and support-planning training and practice guides.
DHS staff:
- Updated policies to reduce duplicate fields and selections
- Clarified and improved language in assessments and support plans
- Created MnCHOICES content courses for agency staff members to help them understand the changes (layout, wording and selection types) that show and hide additional information based on particular responses
- Developed practice guides
- Included tips and descriptions for narrative textboxes in the application to help a user complete assessment (HRA and MnCHOICES assessments), support plan and rate calculation forms.
Moving forward
We have been working with FEI Systems to determine the features and functionality DHS, lead agency staff and other users need to support the people we serve in the best way possible. DHS and FEI Systems will continue to build enhancements, fix defects and schedule code releases to better support the work of our community partners.
The new vendor-owned and operated platform provides us with a few important advantages and opportunities. The most significant of those gains will be greater reliability. FEI Systems’ platform is an established platform used by several organizations. Because of that, the vendor has ironed out many of the initial bugs that inevitably happen with new applications. The company also has the resources and knowledge to find effective solutions to future problems, manage releases and work with DHS to determine additional enhancements. Additionally, the vendor’s experience working with customers to develop custom enhancements to the basic system means that in many cases they already know the best way to modify the platform to achieve the functionality we want.
The new MnCHOICES training zone (MTZ) is undergoing regular releases as FEI Systems repairs defects and makes changes to code. We continue to release training materials in the training zone’s Help Center and TrainLink. We will continue to communicate with MnCHOICES mentors as new materials and training modules become available.
Following the March 3 eList announcement that the revised MnCHOICES application will not launch in the second or third quarter of 2022, agencies may choose to delay their training for the revised MnCHOICES application. When DHS announces the launch date, the eList will also address when agencies may resume training. A launch webinar will also outline the training plan as we move closer to the launch date.
DHS will continue to allow access to the MnA and MnSP training zones until the revised application launches. As launch timelines are set, DHS will keep our partners updated on the development of both the application and new training environment. We will provide plenty of notice before the current training environment is retired.
County and tribal nation mentors will continue to support new staff by:
- Certifying assessors using the MnA MnCAT training process
- Providing training zone names and passwords for both MnA and MnSP
- Giving new MnCHOICES Support Plan users the MnSP training zone URL and TrainLink course MnSP1000
- Helping to load the desktop application for the MnA production and training zones on staff computers using the applicable instructions under Windows Presentation Foundation at the MnCHOICES CountyLink Help Desk.
We look forward to the improvements the revised MnCHOICES application will bring. These are exciting times! DHS appreciates your patience as we work together to make sure people in Minnesota can access the services they need to maintain a fulfilling lifestyle.
Community First Services and Supports (CFSS) implementation update
In September, DHS announced it would not implement CFSS in 2021. The earliest possible implementation date is Aug. 1, 2022. This delay does not affect a person’s ability to request an assessment to start services or to continue receiving services.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) must approve the waiver plan amendments submitted by DHS before the program can begin. However, state and federal staff have prioritized working on amendments to respond to the public health emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
DHS is in the process of making the needed changes to the following federal policies to implement CFSS:
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1115: CFSS for people who use Alternative Care (AC)
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1915(b): CFSS for people through a limited number of managed care organizations (MCOs)
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1915(c): Extended CFSS for people who use Brain Injury (BI), Community Access for Disability Inclusion (CADI), Community Alternative Care (CAC), Developmental Disabilities (DD) waivers or an Elderly Waiver (EW)
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1915(i): CFSS for personal care assistance (PCA)-eligible people who do not require institutional-level care
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1915(k): CFSS for PCA-eligible people who need institutional-level care.
Doing the complex work to align these legal changes allows Minnesota to ensure all PCA-eligible people will have access to CFSS services.
The CFSS and MnCHOICES teams are working on a temporary solution to continue assessments and authorizations for PCA and Consumer Support Grant (CSG) services until CFSS begins. We will provide more information about the solution in future communications and training materials before the launch of the revised MnCHOICES application.
To learn more about CFSS, and stay up to date on training, watch this video or visit the CFSS homepage.
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Do you have a technical or workflow question that you would like help answering? If so, submit your question on the MnCHOICES Help Desk Contact Form, DHS-6979 and choose “Other” under the QUESTION TYPE. We will answer one question per issue.
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You asked, we answered . . .
Question: What is the relationship between field 19/19A (mental illness diagnosis history) and field 36 (OBRA I – Y/N) on the long-term care screening document (LTC SD)?
Answer: There is no direct relationship between LTC SD field 19/19A and field 36.
People with a known, medically provided mental illness (MI) diagnosis can have field 19 marked yes and a diagnosis noted in 19A without meeting the OBRA Level I MI screening threshold. A yes in field 19 triggers the option to complete an OBRA Level II MI evaluation. However, field 36 only asks if an OBRA Level II MI evaluation is required.
For example, if a person’s MI DX History (field 19) is marked yes, they meet the criteria for serious mental illness (OBRA Level I Criteria – Screening for Developmental Disabilities or Mental Illness, DHS-3426 (PDF)) and they are being admitted to a nursing facility (NF) or boarding care facility, the OBRA Level II Referral for MI must be marked yes. The county’s designated mental health authority completes the Level II evaluation.
In short, a person can have an MI diagnosis (yes in field 19) and not meet the criteria for an OBRA Level II evaluation if/when placed in an NF or boarding care. However, a person who requires OBRA Level II evaluation (yes for OBRA Level I) must have an MI diagnosis.
Question: I need to add new staff or make changes to user roles in MnA, but I cannot remember how to request access. How do I do this?
Answer: County and tribal nations with SSIS access will have supervisors/mentors send a request for system access, role updates/changes and password resets to their SSIS administrator.
County and tribal nations without SSIS access will submit requests for system access additions/changes on their “User access request form” and submit it as an attachment to the MnCHOICES Help Desk.
Updates to OBRA Level I, DHS-3426 and Senior LinkAge Line referrals
We made the following updates to the MnCHOICES Assessment (MnA) application to help with your work:
- We added revised questions for mental health to the OBRA Level I document (DHS-3426). Because of this change, assessors will use the revised OBRA Level I (DHS-3426) for this activity.
- With the release, we removed the requirement to complete questions for OBRA Level I – Mental Health (MH) and OBRA Level I – Development Disability or Related Condition (DD) and the asterisk. Required questions are no longer asterisked or required. This allows the assessor to advance and close the assessment without completing the OBRA Level I questions. MnCHOICES will populate the LTC screening document field 31 with a Y, as this activity is still required as part of an assessment.
Special situations:
When the OBRA Level I document (DHS-3426) indicates that a person requires a referral for mental health:
- Lead agencies should hand correct field 36 on the LTC screening document and record the results of the OBRA Level I document (DHS-3426).
For people with development disabilities:
- Lead agencies can either hand correct the LTC SD field 36a or complete the OBRA Level I questions for people with developmental disabilities in MnA.
A person does not need an OBRA Level II referral when MnCHOICES is correctly calculating the value as N. (Note: A referral for an OBRA Level II evaluation is only necessary if the person is seeking placement in a nursing facility.)
When a person is seeking admission to a nursing facility, use the OBRA Level I evaluation from the most recent assessment completed before Jan. 5, 2022.
For more information, contact:
Web browser for MnCAT courses
MnCAT users should discontinue using Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) to access TrainLink to complete MnCAT courses. Microsoft is discontinuing the browser, with support ending June 15, 2022. The MnCHOICES eLearner has also identified IE as the likely cause of issues in certification/recertification data accuracy in TrainLink.
MnCHOICES team continues to automate and streamline data collection and processing of MnCAT data
The goals of the effort:
- Provide accurate certified assessor data to the MnCHOICES application
- Reduce start- and end-date errors
- Assist assessor recertification
- Reduce TrainLink issues.
Align TrainLink assessor certification with the revised MnCHOICES application
The revised MnCHOICES application will store certified assessor credentials and TrainLink IDs. This allows certified assessors, and their supervisors, to review their credentials. They can monitor which assessors need recertification to minimize disruptions to all workflows. When credentials of a certified assessor expire, the assessor’s role will change to “Lapsed assessor.” A lapsed assessor can only view MnCHOICES assessments.
To ensure the accuracy of data in the system, the MnCHOICES team is aligning and cleaning up information for all certified assessors in TrainLink. DHS will ensure the most current certified assessor data is loaded to the revised MnCHOICES application prior to launch. Moving forward, TrainLink data will be included in a database as assessors complete their coursework. The revised MnCHOICES application receives certification data each night. This includes updates to assessor certifications and data corrections.
MnCAT recertification
Assessors will use one TrainLink course (MnCH8020) to complete each recertification. All mentors and certified assessors must complete the instructions module for this course to ensure they understand the process for recertification. Certified assessors should not transfer CLU data into MnCH8020 from completed recertification courses.
Certified assessors who had an “In progress” recertification course, other than MnCH8020, received instructions to transfer their data into the new course. They are also on the MnCHOICES training homepage, under Instructions for CLU data transfer.
Disability Hub introduces “Your right to work“ flyer
Case managers and assessors can use this flyer (PDF) as a resource to support equal employment and informed choice for people with disabilities. It meets some requirements of informed choice legislation while it outlines the benefits of work for people with disabilities. This document originated from case managers who asked how they could introduce Employment First in a way that met plain language standards.
Where to find the document:
- Select “Your options” on the Disability Hub homepage
- Choose “Work” in the dropdown menu
- Select “Your right to work” in the second paragraph.
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“The capacity to learn is a gift; the ability to learn is a skill; the willingness to learn is a choice.” ― Brian Herbert, author.
Visit the Disability Services Division training archive for ongoing educational courses and other training opportunities. Navigate to TrainLink to find additional training courses offered by DHS.
Self-paced online training: The Minnesota home and community-based services (HCBS) modules for person-centered organizations
This free, eight-part training is for organizations that want to develop or enhance a person-centered culture. The modules are most relevant for small- and medium-sized HCBS providers. This training is also for anyone who wants to improve quality-of-life outcomes for older adults and people with disabilities. This includes people who work for a service organization or a person who receives services.
Each module walks through the steps, tools and resources to guide organizations as progress by becoming more person centered. The University of Minnesota Institute on Community Integration (ICI) developed the training, in partnership with DHS. For more information and to register for the course, visit the training homepage.
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Visit the Community-Based Services Manual (CBSM) often for a list of policies and pages we've recently updated. For a list of changes, visit the What’s New page.
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