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Foundational Community Supports (FCS) is an initiative of Medicaid Transformation. It allows qualified providers to receive Medicaid reimbursement for delivering supportive housing and supported employment services for people with the greatest and most immediate social and health needs.
Access to resources and supportive housing open new paths to success
Designed for individuals in the HEN and FCS Supported Employment Programs, Glidepath provides the guidance and financial support needed to reenter the workforce with confidence.
A Glidepath participant experiencing PTSD, which caused barriers around self-confidence and in making personal and professional connections, was able to get a computer. As they learned and honed their technology skills, new confidence grew. Through Glidepath they were able to enroll in a small business course and began designing flyers and business cards for their small business. They have reported enhanced confidence in both themselves and others and have been able to make substantial strides towards goals that had previously been only “someday” aspirations.
A Glidepath enrollee with severe depression and anxiety has been able to shift from seeing these challenges as barriers to seeing them as opportunities to creatively solve problems and engage in self-advocacy. Through Glidepath, they secured adaptive tools to support with sensory access needs, which has improved their quality of life and ability to focus on their coursework. They are planning more boldly and advocating for themselves actively in their studies and career planning.
A Glidepath participant was able to access the flex funds to get new glasses and much-needed repairs to their mobility device. They also received adaptive tools to support computer use, enabling them to re-engage with their community and pursue independent contractor work in line with their skillset and dreams. Through Glidepath benefits planning, they now better understand their options, and have the means to responsibly plan for the future and their journey to independence.
A Glidepath participant used the period of supported rent through the Glidepath Bridge funds to complete their studies and secure an advanced professional certification! They are using the support and services of the program to overcome the destabilization of their life that resulted from severe health and housing challenges. They are integrating their past professional experience with their new certification to level up their career and build a stable foundation from which to reach for their goals. They strive for independence and success and this program has opened up a pathway to get there and enabled a sense of hope to return to their life.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at the forefront of many conversations these days, bringing with it some exciting advances in technology that we have never seen before. While we at HCA look forward to seeing what AI can do in the world of healthcare, there are some factors that must be taken into consideration. There are concerns from IT, COMs, and leadership regarding potential breaches of safety and privacy.
This being said, please refrain from using any AI notetaking in HCA-sponsored trainings. We understand the ease and convenience that AI notetaking provides and have other suggestions to offer. For example, whenever possible, trainings are recorded, transcribed, and sent to attendees for them to refer to at their convenience.
If you choose to use AI notetaking, that requires prior approval on a case-by-case basis. Without prior approval, HCA reserves the right to remove attendees from the webinar or training event who are using AI notetaking. Furthermore, any recording that is created through AI is not recognized as an official recording of this session.
The Health Care Authority (HCA) is seeking Apple Health (Medicaid) provider feedback about the ProviderOne portal through a new survey.
The goal of the survey is to understand which training topics would help you use the ProviderOne portal, such as:
- Eligibility checks
- Claims submissions
- How to review remittance advices (RA) for Apple Health
Provider responses to the survey are anonymous. Responses are used to improve the HCA provider experience. The survey takes about 5 minutes to complete.
The survey will remain open through Thursday, May 15, 2025.
The Health Care Authority (HCA) Foundational Community Supports (FCS) team is sending this bulletin on behalf of the Department of Children, Youth & Families (DCYF).
The Department of Children, Youth & Families (DCYF) has launched its updated mandatory reporter training with an emphasis on supporting families. Mandatory reporters are professionals and volunteers who work with children, youth, and families and are legally required to report child abuse and/or neglect.
Updated training topics
- Distinctions between poverty and neglect, and available resources that mandatory reporters can use to help families.
- Videos highlighting the impact of child abuse and neglect reports.
- Knowledge checks that allow mandatory reporters to practice complex, real-life scenarios in a no-risk environment.
For the past two years, DCYF staff from across the agency have collaborated with:
- Medical professionals
- Public education
- Court and law enforcement professionals
- Tribal partners
- Parent representatives
- Lived experts
- The Alliance for Professional Development, Training, and Caregiver Excellence
Other collaborators have helped to shape this eLearning and inform changes made to the DCYF website and publications that focus on recognizing and reporting child abuse and neglect.
DCYF hopes this training supports mandatory reporters to connect children and families with valuable community resources and preventing intake calls for issues that could be better addressed by ongoing community supports. Contact DCYF with any questions regarding this training.
The Washington Health Care Authority (HCA) Foundational Community Supports (FCS) team in partnership with Rutgers School for Psychiatric Rehabilitation and Counseling Professions is launching the 2025 Golden Thread in Documentation training series. This is a six-part series that will occur April through May
Webinars: Thursdays: May 1, May 8, May 15, and May 22, 2025, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
The Golden Thread in Documentation training provides a comprehensive overview, with practical applications, of (FCS) documentation. Each webinar covers a specific type of documentation and addresses Medicaid requirements and the importance of the connection between assessments, service plans, and progress notes, known as the Golden Thread.
Additionally, the series will be presented along with the newly developed Golden Thread Toolkit, a valuable new resource for FCS staff. The webinars and toolkit are designed for FCS staff who are responsible for service provision and documentation. It is recommended that participants attend all sessions in the series, as the information presented is cumulative.
Objectives
- Use Medicaid-compliant documentation of Foundational Community Support services specifically the assessments, service plan, and progress notes.
- Employ rehabilitation principles such as valued life roles and strengths-based services in Foundational Community Supports.
- Apply rehabilitation techniques to enhance goal planning and skills teaching.
Washington Health Care Authority (HCA) Foundational Community Support (FCS) team in partnership with Rutgers School of Psychiatric and Counseling Professions invite you to this supported employment training
Webinar: Thursday, May 8, at 9 a.m.
In today's fast-paced and technology-driven job market, traditional resume writing methods are no longer enough to stand out. This interactive training session will equip you with the latest strategies and tools for supporting job seekers in developing modern resumes that capture attention in a competitive market.
Participants will learn how to assist job seekers in tailoring their resumes for Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), optimizing content for digital platforms, and leveraging emerging technologies to enhance job search effectiveness and efficiency.
Objectives
- Identify the latest resume formats and best practices that align with current job market expectations
- Define strategies to format resumes for compatibility with Applicant Tracking Systems, ensuring the resume gets noticed
- Explore various online platforms, tools, and resources that help streamline the job search process and enhance resume visibility
- Describe impactful language to ensure a competitive resume
Webinar: Tuesday, May 13, 2025, at 4 p.m.
Washington Health Care Authority (HCA) Foundational Community Supports (FCS) team invites you to our monthly Fidelity Cadre learning community call.
Please join us for our monthly fidelity cadre learning community call. These calls are intended to leverage the experience and expertise of our housing provider network to problem-solve, collaborate, and brainstorm on topics related to housing.
Frequent topics addressed
- Intensive discussions on the dimensions of the Permanent Supportive Housing model
- Work groups addressing the future of fidelity reviews and training, such as:
- Contract language
- Public disclosure of fidelity review scores
- Partnership opportunities
- Provider training needs
This group is recommended for anyone who has been trained as a reviewer or lead reviewer (or who is interested in becoming such), and for anyone who would like to learn more about fidelity in the scope of FCS.
Presented by The Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA) in partnership with Rutgers Department Psychiatric Rehabilitation and Counseling Professions
Webinar: Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at noon
This webinar is designed to empower supported housing staff with the essential knowledge, tools, and strategies to effectively address hoarding behaviors in tenants. Participants will gain a clear understanding of what hoarding is, its impacts on individuals and communities, and the key risk factors involved. Through practical, real-world examples, staff will learn how to assess hoarding behaviors and apply compassionate, client-centered interventions.
Objectives
- Address building trust
- Learn how to set appropriate boundaries
- Develop practical strategies to support tenants in managing hoarding while maintaining dignity and respect
Presented by The Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA) in partnership with Rutgers Department Psychiatric Rehabilitation and Counseling Professions
Webinar (part two): Thursday, May 15, 2025, from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.
April and May topical will be focusing on utilizing strengths-based focus to promote career outcomes and promote success. In this two-part webinar, we will define and describe the benefits of appreciative inquiry and its use in career services.
Objectives
- Define appreciative inquiry
- Identify the benefits of using an appreciative inquiry approach in career services
- Describe how to best support job seekers in identifying a career that is based on their strengths, interests, and skills
- Review appreciative inquiry and its use in career services
- Develop strategies to utilize a strengths-based focus, communication, and skill development within FCS services.
- Apply appreciative inquiry skills in the provision of career services
Webinar: Wednesday, May 21, 2025, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Washington Health Care Authority (HCA) and the Foundational Community Supports (FCS) team are starting a new training series!
The FCS team would like to invite anyone interested to our standing monthly provider orientation. This orientation will be offered every third Wednesday of the month from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. This orientation will cover introductory information about Foundational Community Supports Supported Employment, Supportive Housing, Apple Health and Homes Rental Assistance Program (AHAH-RAP), and the Transition Assistance Program (TAP).
It is an open and supportive space to get a basic orientation to all things FCS, and it is a great place for new and prospective providers and FCS staff to ask questions and meet the FCS team as well as our WellPoint partner team members.
We would enthusiastically encourage you to attend if:
- You are an organization interested in providing FCS and need more information about the program and associated programming
- You are a new FCS provider (welcome!)
- You have recently hired new Supportive Housing or Supported Employment specialists, or have staff that would like a refresher on FCS and fidelity to best practices
- You would like an opportunity to connect with HCA’s FCS Team and Wellpoint to ask questions about service provision, program implementation, etc.
Teams meeting link
Join the meeting now
Meeting ID: 272 319 396 721
Passcode: VE96aR9u
Webinar: Thursday, May 22, 2025, at 11:30 a.m.
Washington Health Care Authority (HCA) and Foundational Community Supports (FCS) invites you to join our May monthly supportive housing topical.
Please join Project-Based and Capital Partnership Program Manager Ricky Caynor with the Apple Health and Homes Unit at the Department of Commerce for DBHR’s FCS Monthly Supportive Housing Topical. The Department of Commerce’s Office of Apple Health and Homes (AHAH) unit has a number of components and programs under it.
In this webinar, we will focus in on three funding sources and their impact on the FCS community. These include capital funding for housing owners/operators to develop PSH units, in particular units designated for AHAH eligible individuals. Project-based rental assistance (PBRA) that is available for both housing owners/operators for their units and tenant-based rental assistance (TBRA) available to FCS Supportive Housing enrollees across the state. Also, capacity grants offered with the goal of funding organizations to increase and enhance service provisions.
Objectives
- Develop a basic understanding of AHAH capital funds and the subsequent units being created that are designated for AHAH eligible individuals
- Discuss an overview of the AHAH-RAP program, covering both tenant- and project-based rental assistance vouchers and eligibility requirements
- Review of the capacity grants provided through AHAH and their outcomes
Washington Health Care Authority (HCA) Foundational Community Supports (FCS) team presents this May topical learning event with Advocates for Human Potential (AHP).
Webinar: Tuesday, May 27, 2025, from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Implicit bias refers to the unconscious attitudes, stereotypes, or associations that we hold about various groups of people. This is often based on characteristics such as race, gender, age, or other social identities. These biases shape our thoughts, actions, and decisions, even when we consciously reject prejudices. They influence how we interact with others, the choices we make, and the opportunities we offer, often without us realizing it.
This topic is essential for understanding how implicit bias affects both individuals and systems, and how we can actively address and mitigate it in our lives.
Objectives
- Define implicit bias and understand how it operates
- Identify common types of biases
- Recognize personal biases and their impacts
- Learn strategies to mitigate and overcome implicit bias
Webinar: Wednesday, May 28, 2025, from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
The webinar will introduce trauma-informed care, its core principles, and its benefits for individuals with mental illness. We will discuss the critical links between trauma, mental health challenges, and barriers to employment. Additionally, we will outline practical strategies for embedding trauma-informed principles into supported employment services, fostering environments that promote healing, empowerment, and sustainable employment for participants.
This session is designed for employment specialists, mental health professionals, case managers, and stakeholders in Washington State’s Medicaid-funded FCS programs. Participants will leave with a deeper understanding of how trauma-informed practices can enhance vocational outcomes and improve overall mental health recovery.
Objectives
- Understand the basics of trauma-informed care: Define trauma-informed care and its relevance to individuals with mental health disorders in Washington State, with a focus on its integration into supported employment programs like FCS
- Identify the connection between trauma, mental health, and employment challenges: Examine how trauma affects individuals’ mental health, impedes vocational functioning, and create barriers to employment, with real-world examples from the FCS program
Webinar: Thursday, June 26, 2025, at 9 a.m.
Washington Health Care Authority (HCA) Foundational Community Supports (FCS) team invites you to join our team for our quarterly documentation training.
This quarterly training is encouraged for those who are new to providing supportive housing and supported employment services. Training is also recommended for anyone interested in improving personal or agency documentation standards. This training will cover fidelity reviews and how to prepare and ensure agency readiness.
Objectives
- Understand “The Golden Thread” as the consistent and cohesive narrative that links an individual's assessment, treatment plan, and progress notes
- Learn how to keep interactions billable and how to document them as such.
- Discuss how comprehensive documentation enhances participant outcomes.
- Delve into the following elements of Supported Employment/Supportive Housing:
- Career profiles
- Job search and job support plans
- Disclosure forms
- Eligibility assessments and housing assessments
- Participant logs
- Housing and employment plans
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