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There are upcoming changes happening to health care enrollment in Montana! Please share the information below with your community so that people are aware of what they need to do to continue their health care coverage. If you would like to learn more, you are also welcome to attend a webinar on Thursday, 9/28 from 10:30 - 11:30 am to learn how you can best direct patron questions and raise awareness on this issue.
ASPeN Event Listing for 9/28 Webinar
Medicaid and Healthy Montana Kids Eligibility Review Changes: Please Share with your Community!
In March 2020, states were required to maintain enrollment in Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Programs (Healthy Montana Kids) during the pandemic in exchange for enhanced federal funding. This helped to prevent people with Medicaid and Healthy Montana Kids (CHIP)—in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the five U.S. territories—from losing their health coverage during the pandemic.
As of February 1, 2023, states were allowed to restart Medicaid and Healthy Montana Kids eligibility reviews. According to some estimates, nationwide, up to 15 million people could lose their current Medicaid or Healthy Montana Kids coverage through the eligibility renewal process that is happening now.
It's important for people with Medicaid or Healthy Montana Kids to take action to stay covered. To do that, they will need to:
- Update their contact information since their addresses may have changed since they first enrolled.
- Watch their mail for communications from Montana Medicaid or Healthy Montana Kids, open it up, and read it for next steps.
- If they receive a renewal form, they should fill it out and return it right away to avoid losing coverage.
Many people are unaware that the renewal process is occurring, since they have not had to complete a renewal in quite some time, or possibly ever, if they were enrolled in the last three years. We want to avoid people being disenrolled simply because they were unaware and fail to return necessary paperwork to keep their coverage. The worst-case scenario is if a person finds out they are no longer enrolled when they are seeking health care or picking up their prescriptions.
It’s also important to note that children may still be eligible for Medicaid or Healthy Montana Kids, even if their parents are no longer eligible. We want parents to respond and return any paperwork on behalf of their children to keep that coverage.
Examples of materials you can use can be found at the Medicaid: Unwinding and Returning to Regular Operations webpage, and we’ve attached a few examples as well. Some resources are available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.
If you are interested in having materials at your library to post or for the public to pick up, please email Helen Collins with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services at helen.collins@cms.hhs.gov who can assist you with your request.
Thank you for raising awareness and assisting your patrons and community on this important issue!
The next Children's and Youth Services Meet-Up is happening on Wednesday, August 30th from 10 - 11 am! Any and all are welcome, and we will be discussing Lifelong Learning Updates and Opportunities. Feel free to bring any questions you have as well!
Register at the ASPeN Event Listing
Bat Week is fast approaching! 2023 Bat Week is happening from October 24th - October 31st, and you can help your community learn about the amazing contributions that this animal has on our environment. We will be sending out a Bat Week packet with information, activity ideas, and more. In the meantime, please feel free to sign up for a Bat Week Package, using the Bat Week Package Request Form. Supplies are limited, so packages will be given on a first come, first served basis. If you have any questions, please reach out to Amelea Kim at akim@mt.gov.
CSLP has created a survey so they can better assess the usefulness of the materials offered by the program on a national level to better serve you, the CSLP membership!
The survey can be found here: CSLP Annual Feedback Survey
FAQs
Who should complete this survey?
The audience for the survey is public library staff who played an active role in administering or running 2023 summer library programming. One person per library could fill it out, or multiple library staff from the same library could complete the sections of the survey most relevant to their work; e.g. children, teen, or adult programs.
- Please coordinate with your colleagues on who will fill it out, especially if you are in a multi-branch system.
- This does NOT need to be filled out by Directors. (Adult/YA/Children program overseers can complete their own portions.)
- Even if you didn't use "All Together Now" as your theme, we invite you to complete the survey!
I want to be prepared. What info will I need to provide?
- General feedback on using (or not) the 2023 program theme and materials
- Feedback and info about how/whether you tracked participation, as well as stats for participation and programming for children (ages 0-11), teens (12-18) and adults.
You may skip any questions for which you don't have the answers. I suggest you wait until your summer program has ended to complete the survey.
When does the survey close?
The survey is open from now until Friday, September 8, 2023.
If you have any questions, please contact Amelea Kim at akim@mt.gov
 For those of you who have used the Ready 2 Read Goes Wild Bear Trunk, or are interested in using it, there is an additional resource available! Fish, Wildlife, and Parks has released an updated Grizzly Bears of Montana: A Resource Guide for Educators that can be a great resource to use with the trunk. Feel free to check it out along with the Ready 2 Read Goes Wild Bear Trunk from the State Library!
In addition to the Ready 2 Read Goes Wild Bear Trunk at the State Library, there are also permanent hosts of the Bear Trunk in Montana! If your library is interested in being a permanent host to the Ready 2 Read Goes Wild Bear Trunk, please reach out to Amelea at akim@mt.gov for more information!
Important Announcement: The Ready 2 Read Texting Program will be changing their sign-up phone number to a 1-800 number. MSL will be working on creating new publicity materials to reflect this change. Things to know:
- The new sign up number is now 844-213-2697, and is currently active.
- For current enrollees in the texting program, there is no change - if they want, they can update their phone contact when they start receiving messages from the new number, but they do not have to sign up again.
- For staff: It's a good idea to start using the 844 number to sign people up for the texting program. Similar to the previous process, they will just need to text "signup" to the 844 number
Please let me know if you have any questions - I will be sending out more information regarding these changes as I learn more!
The Space Science Institute has multiple great training options upcoming for librarians who are interested in learning about Solar Eclipse Activities for Libraries (SEAL)! Check out the opportunities from their SEAL Virtual Training Series below:
As a reminder, MSL has SEAL STEM Trunks available for any public library, school, and/or organization to check out and learn more about solar eclipses. Check out the SEAL STEM Trunks webpage for more information!
For any library interested in working to support community members with dementia and their families, you can check out this great resource guide from Ohio, The Dementia Inclusive Public Library Guide. There are lots of great ideas and information in here, and you are always welcome to reach out to Amelea Kim at akim@mt.gov if you have any questions or would like to discuss this topic more.
Consider joining a CSLP committee!
Volunteering for a CSLP Committee is a great opportunity to develop professionally while also contributing to the CSLP mission. Our committees are the lifeblood of CSLP. Volunteers play a significant role in the success of our organization and programs.
While the duties vary, committee obligations generally run for one calendar year. All committee work is done virtually, either through email, phone, or online meetings. Attending the CSLP Annual Meeting is not expected for committee volunteers. We are recruiting for all committees, except the Artwork committee -- which is already working on the 2025 artwork.
Most CSLP committees are open to all, however some have limited seats or require previous CSLP experience. Before volunteering, please visit https://www.cslpreads.org/committees/ [cslpreads.org] to review the committee descriptions.
Apply now! - CSLP Committee Application form [docs.google.com]
Sign-up period is August 15 through October 3.
For questions about committees, please contact Donna Throckmorton, CSLP President-Elect. You are also welcome to reach out to your CSLP State Rep, Amelea Kim, at akim@mt.gov
The MLN Virtual Programming Series is starting back up in September, and we are looking for library co-hosts to help share out the event information and/or host a watch party! Please contact Amelea Kim at akim@mt.gov if your library is interested in co-hosting any of the virtual programs below. As a reminder, co-hosting involves the following:
- Sharing the event with your community through posters, bookmarks, social media, and other outreach channels. Attendees join individually using their own devices at home
- Helping patrons troubleshoot Zoom registration questions, and/or connect them directly with Amelea
- Optional: Hosting a watch party at your library.
Bison Archaeology in Glacier National Park with Kyle Langley
Hauntings of Montana with Ellen Baumler
Logic and Magic with Jon Turk
There are publicity templates for bookmarks, social media posts, and flyers that you are welcome to use. Please contact Amelea Kim at akim@mt.gov for more information!
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