The Situation:
This past October, the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) announced its intent to move from Fiscal Support Entity (FSE) services to Financial Management Services (FMS) affecting individuals who use Consumer Directed Community Supports (CDCS) and the Consumer Support Grant (CSG). DHS set a deadline of March 31, 2019 for all FMS providers to move applicable recipients from the agency with choice model to the payroll model.
How Lifeworks Helped:
To help families confidently navigate this change, Lifeworks offered expert-led, individual meetings in-person and over the phone as well as summits to share details of the transition and complete all of the necessary paperwork. Essentially, these sessions served as a one-stop shop for setting people up with the new FMS model.
Participant Feedback:
Fiscal Support team made an otherwise challenging experience, easy. Summit participants provided the following feedback:
- “To navigate all the forms, regulations, and other information on my own would be virtually impossible. You made sure everyone understood everything before moving on. Thank you!”
- “[The summit] really helped me feel comfortable about the new change.”
- “This process is extremely complex. Having the guidance throughout this process was so very helpful.”
The Results:
Since this past November, Lifeworks has held more than 80 summits, connecting with over 540 people and helping them transition to the new model. To make it convenient for the individuals we support, early morning, late evening, and Saturday sessions have been available. The summits have also offered interpreter services for Spanish, Hmong, Somali, and Vietnamese speakers.
Currently, more than 97% of the people affected by this change have successfully transitioned to the payroll model. In addition, Lifeworks also worked with counties and lead agencies on generating new service authorizations for 400 recipients who were already using the payroll model.
Although this transition presented a significant amount of work, Lifeworks is moving towards a stronger program that helps the people we serve more easily direct their care and maintain their independence.
Are you interested in learning more about Lifeworks Fiscal Support Services? Reach out to us using the contact form or call: 651-454-2732.