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The
CRCG Website is changing. On September 1st,
HHSC launched a new website with updated
CRCG content and a new design. This
website is a placeholder until the new stand-alone CRCG website design is
finalized and developed in the coming months.
- The CRCG website homepage is accessible here.
- The "Find a Local CRCG" function
is accessible here.
- The data submission portal is accessible here.
You
may receive a security warning when you click on this last
link.
The link is safe. Please click on
"Continue to this website," then enter your User ID and
Password. If you have any questions or
if you are unable to find the information you need on the CRCG website, please
contact the State CRCG Office at CRCG@hhsc.state.tx.us or (512) 206-5256.
The State CRCG
Office recently conducted a site visit to the Travis County CRCG and observed
several staffings with youth clients. Over the past eleven years, staffings have
been facilitated by Laura Peveto, the Travis County CRCG Facilitator. Laura has experience with engaging children
and teenage youth in a way that encourages involvement while also ensuring the
individual is at ease and feels comfortable sharing their story. Sitting in front of a group of strangers and
telling a very personal story is difficult for anyone, but can be particularly daunting
for youth.
The following are
some of the phrases and questions Laura used that can be helpful when
conducting a staffing with a youth present.
- "You know yourself better than
anyone."
- "You are the expert on your own
experience."
- "We are all here today to
support you."
- "What can we do as a group to
help you?"
- "You are welcome to participate
in any way you see fit. You don't have
to answer any of the questions that are asked of you. You can also simply nod or shake your head in
response if you are comfortable doing so."
- "If at any time during the
staffing you feel uncomfortable, let a family member or other representative
know, and you can step out for some fresh air."
- "The suggestions being discussed
are just that, only suggestions. Nothing
is being decided for you. You are the
one that gets to decide which suggestions to follow up on."
A family
representative at staffings can also be helpful to engage youth. Family representatives can
help keep the discussion clear and focused on the needs of the person being
served. Legislative statute mandates the participation of family
representatives in CRCGs. They can
provide an empathetic presence and sense of identification for the person or
family member seeking assistance from the CRCG who may experience anxiety about
discussing their personal lives with a large group of strangers.
We would love to hear your best practices for engaging youth to
highlight in future communications. Send
your success stories to the State CRCG Office at: CRCG@hhsc.state.tx.us.
Bridge
Call Announcement - NEW UPDATES
The
State CRCG Office offers the monthly bridge call for local CRCG leaders and
members to receive peer-to-peer support, share ideas, discuss challenges, and
network.
Our
next bridge call is scheduled on Tuesday, October 11, 2016 from 2:00 PM - 3:00
PM CDT / 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM MDT. We hope you can join us for a
collaborative discussion.
Upcoming
Bridge Call Schedule:
- Tuesday,
October 11, 2016 from 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM CDT / 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM MDT
- Tuesday,
November 8, 2016 CANCELLED - See you at the Strengthening Youth and Families
Conference!
- Tuesday,
December 13, 2016 from 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM CST / 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM MST
To
participate in any of the upcoming calls, use the conference call information
below:
- Dial
in information: (877) 820-7831
- Access
code 952056
CRCG
Webinar Series
The State CRCG Office
offers a webinar series for local CRCG leaders, members, and other interested
persons, to highlight state agency partners and provide training on key
statewide initiatives and programs that help serve individuals involved with
CRCGs. Each webinar focuses on a topic
relevant to local CRCGs. The State CRCG Office is planning the webinar schedule for 2017, and there will be one more webinar this year. Please stay tuned for information on how to register.
CRCG State Office Presents at Texas Network of Youth Services Conference
Texas Network of Youth Services (TNOYS) recently held the 33rd
Annual Conference on Services to Youth, August 9-12th, 2016, at the Westin
Galleria in Houston. The four-day
event included exciting keynotes and interactive workshops on being, “Stronger
Together,” and showed the importance of collaboration and youth and family
engagement. The State CRCG Office gave a
presentation to community partners and stakeholders on CRCGs and how they work.
  CRCG State
Coordinator Emily Sasser-Bray and CRCG Intern Robert Carroll lead an
interactive small-group discussion about the CRCG Program at the TNOYS
Conference.
New
CRCG State Office Intern
The
State CRCG Office sincerely thanks Robert Carroll for his contribution to our
Program. Robert continues to pursue his
PhD in Interpersonal Communication with The University of Texas at Austin. We welcomed our new intern, KK McCaslin on
September 1, 2016. KK graduated in 2016
with a Master's of Public Health from The University of Texas Health Science
Center at Houston. She also holds a
Bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of Redlands.
CRCG
Leader Contact Information
Please
help us keep our CRCG leader contacts up-to-date when you have leadership
changes in your CRCG. You can update your contact information here or send an
email to the State CRCG Office: CRCG@hhsc.state.tx.us. Accurate contact information is critical
to local CRCGs and agencies to make appropriate referrals. The "Find a Local CRCG" search
function on our website is updated monthly. Check here
to make sure your county's information is accurate.
RESOURCES:
STAR
Kids Managed Care Program
Beginning November 1, 2016, the STAR Kids
managed care program will provide Medicaid benefits to individuals with
disabilities who are 20 years-of-age and younger that:
- Receive Supplemental
Security Income Medicaid or Supplemental Security Income and Medicare.
- Receive services through
the Medicaid Buy-in for Children.
- Live in a
community-based intermediate care facility for individuals with an intellectual
disability or related condition (ICF/IID) or nursing facility.
- Are enrolled in home and
community-based services waiver programs.
Find information on eligibility, program
benefits, participating managed care organizations, and more, by clicking here.
Healthy
Texas Women
The
new and revamped Healthy Texas Women website and campaign was launched on July
1. The Healthy Texas Women program
offers comprehensive healthcare, including birth control; pregnancy tests and
counseling; and health screenings and treatment for hypertension, diabetes and
cholesterol. The Family Planning Program
will now offer additional services including limited prenatal care. Check out their website for information and
services.
Medicaid Will Pay for Mosquito Repellent to Fight Zika
Texas
Medicaid will cover the cost of mosquito repellent for women between the ages
of 10 and 45 and women who are pregnant. The decision is in response to the possibility
of local transmission of the Zika virus, which is spread primarily by mosquito
bite. Zika can cause severe birth
defects in unborn children whose mothers are infected while pregnant.
Patients can call doctors to ask
for a prescription. The doctor may also call
the prescription in to the pharmacy. Clients
can present their Medicaid prescription card as they would with any
prescription.
Women in the following programs are
covered:
- Medicaid
- CHIP
- CHIP-Perinate
- Healthy Texas Women
- Family Planning
Eligible women can get up to two
cans of repellent per month through Oct. 31, 2016. Office visits should only be required if there
is a medical necessity. All the
protocols and procedures are expected to be in place to allow clients to begin
picking up the repellent on Aug. 9, 2016.
For more
information about the Zika virus, visit TexasZika.org.
UPCOMING
CONFERENCES:
17th
Annual Chronic Illness and Disability Conference, October 27 - 28,
2016, Houston, TX
This October 27-28th, the Annual Chronic
Illness and Disability will focus on the transition from Pediatric to
Adult-based Care. The conference will be
held at the MD Anderson Mitchell Basic Sciences Research Building in Houston,
TX and is co-provided by the Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's
Hospital. For more information, email
the Baylor College of Medicine.
International
Conference on Innovations in Family Engagement - November 1-4, 2016, in Fort
Worth, TX
For
two decades, the Kempe Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse
and Neglect has supported the implementation of innovation in systems and
communities that work with vulnerable children, youth, and families.
Three
of these more well-known innovations are family group decision making (FGDM),
family engagement, and differential response. The Kempe Center fuels leaders’ quests to
adapt systems to increasingly center on achieving safety, permanency, and
well-being through family engagement.
The
State CRCG Office will present at the International Conference on Innovations
in Family Engagement! Check for updates,
the conference schedule, and information on nearby hotels at the conference
website.
Strengthening
Youth and Families Conference, November 7 - 10, 2016, Arlington, TX
The Strengthening Youth and Families Conference is Texas’ only interagency-funded, annual conference for youth-serving professionals, attracting over 300 attendees who come together for several days of networking and professional development.
The State CRCG Office is hosting the free, multi-day pre-conference workshop "Leading a CRCG Using Best Practices" November 7, 2016 1:30 pm – 5:00 pm and November 8, 2016 9:00 am – 12:00 pm at the Strengthening Youth and Families Conference. Please plan to attend!
For more information on the conference and to register, visit this website: http://www.cvent.com/d/wvqktx.
We would like to introduce the non-profit
partners of the CRCG State Workgroup. Along
with our state agency partners, these non-profit partners play a critical role
in advancing the work of the CRCG Program at the state level.
United Ways of
Texas
As
the voluntary statewide association of local United Way organizations in Texas,
United Ways of Texas (UWT) is uniquely positioned to use the strengths of our
66-member network to achieve lasting change in our communities. In
partnership with our member United Ways, UWT provides statewide leadership to
improve Texas as a place to live and do business.
Texas
United Ways are focused on making an impact in their local communities through
investing community resources to improve education, increase financial
stability, improve health, and more efficiently manage crisis and
disasters. United Ways achieve these goals through their greatest
resource - the power of community collaboration.
Together
with our members, UWT aspires to drive community change in Texas. For more information on UWT, visit their
website here: http://www.uwtexas.org/.
Texans Care for Children
Texans
Care for Children drives policy change to improve the lives of Texas children
today for a stronger Texas tomorrow. Texans Care for Children is a statewide, non-profit,
non-partisan, multi-issue, children's policy organization. They develop
policy solutions, produce research, and engage Texas community leaders to
educate policymakers, the media, and the public on effective practices that
improve the well-being of Texas children and families.
Funded by a variety of foundations and individual donations, Texans
Care for Children's work covers child protective services, juvenile justice,
mental well-being, health and fitness, early childhood, and how each
policy area works together to shape children's lives and the future of Texas. To find out more about Texans Care for Children,
visit their website, Facebook page,
or Twitter page.
Texas Network of Youth
Services
Texas Network of Youth Service (TNOYS) is a network of members
working toward a shared vision of Texas where all young people are valued,
their strengths are recognized, and they have access to the resources, support,
and opportunities needed to lead healthy and fulfilling lives. The mission of TNOYS is to strengthen,
support, and protect critical services for Texas youth and families in order to
ensure their success. For more
information on TNOYS, visit their website here: http://tnoys.org/.
In this section, we highlight updates from CRCG State Agency partners to
hear about opportunities, new resources, and policy changes. Please note,
the structure of the state agency updates will change to reflect the Health and
Human Services (HHS) transformation effort.
Health
and Human Services Commission (HHSC)
New Health and Human Services
structure in place effective September 1, 2016
Sept.
1 was a significant milestone in the transformation of the Health and Human
Services system. That day, the
newly-created Medical and Social Services division combined client services and
benefits like Medicaid, SNAP, TANF along with aging and waiver services from
DADS; deaf, blind and independent services from DARS; and behavioral health
programs from DSHS. The new division
will better integrate care through the elimination of silos and streamline
service delivery.
The
restructuring focused on getting the right resources and right programs in the
right place to now start to look at ways to improve service delivery to Texans
and more effective ways to manage the money Texans put into the system.
Sept.
1, 2017 will bring more organizational changes, requiring the transition of
more than 25,000 staff and positions. This second phase is when regulatory
programs and operations management for state supported living centers and state
hospitals will transfer to HHSC. At this point DADS will no longer exist and
DSHS’ streamlined structure will focus on its core public health functions.
For more information on the HHS transformation,
contact:
Geoffrey Wool
HHS_Transformation@hhsc.state.tx.us
Office of Mental Health Coordination
Lillian
Stengart, M.A., joined the Office of Mental Health Coordination at HHSC in July
2016 as the Project Director for the Texas System of Care (TXSOC) initiative,
following the retirement of previous Project Director, Sherri Hammack.
HHSC partners with the Texas Institute for Excellence in Mental Health at the
University of Texas at Austin to implement TXSOC and assist communities to
provide children and families with effective mental health services and
supports. These services are organized
in a coordinated network and reflect the core values of being community-based,
family-driven, youth-guided, and culturally and linguistically competent.
If
you have questions about the Texas System of Care or your community is
interested in developing their system of care, contact:
Lillian Stengart
Lillian.Stengart@hhsc.state.tx.us
512-487-3312
Department
of State Health Services (DSHS)
The Children with Special
Health Care Needs (CSHCN) Services Program’s health care benefits moved under
the Medical and Social Services Division at HHSC on September 1, 2016, as part
of HHSC Transformation. The Systems
Development Group, which supports population-based services for children with
special health care needs relating to the Title V Block Grant, will remain at
DSHS under the Office of Title V and Family Health.
For more information, contact:
Ivy Goldstein
Ivy.Goldstein@dshs.state.tx.us
(512)
776-3406
Texas Workforce Commission
Programs from the Department
of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) Transitioned to Texas Workforce
Commission on September 1
Through legislative action and
authorization by Governor Abbott, programs from DARS transferred to the Texas
Workforce Commission (TWC) and to the Texas Health and Human Services
Commission (HHSC). TWC welcomed more
than 1,860 DARS employees to its Workforce Solutions partner network.
The four DARS programs that
transitioned to TWC provide support to people with disabilities so they can
live independent and productive lives. The
four programs are:
-
Vocational
Rehabilitation (VR) program (currently in separate divisions)
- Criss Cole
Rehabilitation Center
- Business
Enterprises of Texas (BET) program
- Independent
Living Services for Older Individuals Who are Blind program
DARS online resources
associated with these programs are now available on the TWC website. Most
direct phone numbers for current DARS staff remained the same after Sept. 1. Individuals with questions about DARS programs
moving to TWC should continue to use the existing inquiries phone number,
800-628-5115.
For additional
information, contact:
Lorelei Miller
lorelei.miller@twc.state.tx.us
(512) 936-6265
Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS)
Please note, the following
updates are from the Local Authority unit, which transferred to HHSC as of
September 1st. In the future,
these updates will be listed under "HHSC."
Transition Support Teams Offered Across Texas
The Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS) has secured "Money
Follows the Person Demonstration Program" funding. This funding will help individuals with
complex medical and behavioral needs, who want to live in community-based
settings, get the services and supports they need.
DADS contracted with eight local intellectual and developmental disability
authorities (LIDDAs) to provide support to other LIDDAs and community waiver
providers in designated service areas. The
eight designated LIDDAs are:
- Emergence
Health Network
- StarCare
Specialty Health System
- MHMR
of Tarrant County
- Metrocare
Services
- Austin
Travis County Integral Care (ATCIC)
- Hill
Country MHDD Centers
- Behavioral
Health Center of Nueces County
- Texana
Center
These eight LIDDAs have teams that offer educational activities, technical
assistance and case review LIDDAs and community IDD waiver providers. The teams will have licensed medical staff,
such as physicians, registered nurses, psychiatrists and psychologists, with
experience working with people from IDD. For more information on the transition support
teams and the covered LIDDA service areas, please visit this webpage.
Mental Health Wellness for Individuals with IDD
(MWH-IDD)
The Mental Health
Wellness for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
(MHW-IDD) is a six-part
e-learning course that teaches direct service workers (DSWs) and other
caregivers about the behavioral health needs of people with IDD who also have a
mental health condition. The course will
provide education on the biological, psychological, and social influences on
people with IDD who may have challenging behaviors. It will also provide educational tools to
promote positive behavior and outcomes.
Through the modules in this course, which are outlined below, you will
learn to recognize the "whole person," and to gain a better
understanding of different factors that influence the way people with IDD
think, feel, and behave. You will also
learn how you can positively impact their quality of life. Access the e-learning course here.
For more information, contact:
Anthony Jalomo
Anthony.Jalomo@hhsc.state.tx.us
Texas
Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD)
The Texas Juvenile Justice
Department (TJJD) received 61 diversion applications and approved 20 placements
to place youth within their home regions. The use of local resources
keeps youth from entering the state system.
TJJD was selected by the Council of
Juvenile Correctional Administrators and the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform
at Georgetown University to partake in the pilot phase of the Youth in Custody
Practice Model (YICPM). The Youth in
Custody Practice Model is a comprehensive and effective service delivery
approach for youth in residential care. TJJD hosted the second site visit
for the Youth in Custody Practice Model the last week of July. This is an
agency-wide effort to ensure that TJJD is implementing the best practices.
TJJD expanded the Pairing Achievement
With Success (PAWS) program in the month of June. Gainesville State School
campus initiated operations to pair youth and dogs to train K9’s for a minimum
of 12 weeks. The dogs learn basic commands, improved
socialization skills, and earn a Canine Good Citizen (CGC) Certification. Through this interaction, the program helps
youth improve their personal skills, social skills, and confidence.
For additional information, contact:
Chelsea Buchholtz
Chelsea.Buchholtz@tjjd.texas.gov
(512)
490-7779
Texas
Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA)
Youth Count Texas!
The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) and
members of the Texas
Interagency Council for the Homeless organized Youth Count Texas! This program will conduct a count and survey
of youth who are homeless or in an unstable home environment for the months of
October 2015 through March 2016.
Per House
Bill 679 (PDF), 84th Texas
Legislature, Regular Session, 2015, the information collected on the number and
needs of youth who do not have a permanent address or are homeless will be used
to develop recommendations on state programs and legislation that will better
serve homeless youth or youth with housing instability.
For more information about Youth Count Texas! visit this website.
Study on Homelessness among Veterans
The Texas Department of Housing and Community
Affairs (TDHCA), with input from the Texas Interagency Council for the Homeless (TICH) and the Texas Veterans Commission (TVC),
conducted a study on homelessness among veterans. The results of this study will be submitted
to the Texas Legislature on December 1, 2016.
The Study
on Homelessness among Veterans is required by Senate Bill 1580 (PDF), 84th Texas Legislature, Regular
Session, 2015. The study will be used to develop recommendations for state
programs and legislation to better serve homeless veterans.
For more information about the Study on Homelessness among
Veterans visit this website.
For
more information, contact:
Naomi Trejo
Naomi.Trejo@tdhca.state.tx.us
(512) 475-3975
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