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CKSN Update for January 15, 2004 |
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CKSN UPDATE for January 15, 2004 ABC for Health, Inc. IN THIS ISSUE: 1. CASE TIP: BadgerCare Premiums Increased January 1 2. National Center for Cultural Competence Topical Conference Call 3. Promising Practices in Home and Community Based Services 4. Medicaid Primer 5. Statewide Transition Conference 6. New Guardianship Website 7. Two Birth-3 Training Opportunities 8. Healthy and Ready to Work Website 9. HealthWatch Updates 1. CASE TIP: BADGERCARE PREMIUMS INCREASED JANUARY 1 Of the many Medicaid programs, only two have premiums the family must pay. The two Medicaid programs are BadgerCare and the Medical Assistance Purchase Plan (MAPP). BadgerCare serves children under age 19 and the parents of children under age 19 who are living in their parent's home. MAPP serves disabled adults who want to work but need Medicaid to pay for health care expenses. Income and asset limits are more generous for MAPP than SSI. As of January 1, 2004 BadgerCare premiums have increased from 3% to 5% of the family's income if the family's income is over 150% of the federal poverty level. A family of four with an income of $ 2,300 per month would now pay a premium of $ 100 per month, then up to $ 150 per month when the family of four is no longer within BadgerCare monthly income eligibility guidelines at $ 3,066. The premium is dependent on the income and number of family members. The premium is not dependent on the number of family members receiving BadgerCare. In many families, only one or two family members receive BadgerCare and the rest have health insurance or receive Medicaid through other programs. Both of these families pay the same premium. For more information, visit: http://www.dhfs.state.wi.us/badgercare/sitemap.htm 2. NATIONAL CENTER FOR CULTURAL COMPETENCE TOPICAL CONFERENCE CALL The National Center for Cultural Competence, Children and Youth with Special Healthcare Needs Project announces the second in a series of four new topical conference calls for 2003-2004. The second conference call will take place on January 29, 2003 from 2:00-3:30 p.m. The topic is: "Cultural Considerations for Early and Continuous Screening." Speakers include: Wanda Yazzie-Newborn Screening Coordinator-NM; Rabbi Joseph Ekstein-Executive Director, Dor Yeshorim-NY; Isabella Lorenzo-Hubert, NCCC; Desiree Brown, Parent Coordinator for Part C in DC; and Teresa Doksum, Associate at ABT Associates, Researcher for the GENE Project. The concept of screening to find potential risks and problems is very culture-bound. For some families, this approach is not consistent with their cultural beliefs and practices. In addition, for many diverse groups, past experiences with stigmatization may leave them wary of screening initiatives and less likely to participate. This call will address the cultural and social issues related to screening and will suggest culturally and linguistically competent approaches to the screening process. To register on-line for this and upcoming calls, or for additional information, please visit the NCCC web site at: http://www.georgetown.edu/research/gucdc/nccc/cshn200304callseries.html 3. PROMISING PRACTICES IN HOME AND COMMUNITY BASED SERVICES The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has sponsored the development of a series of promising practices reports on home and community-based services to assist states, in partnership with their disability and aging communities, to strengthen their community long term support systems. http://www.cms.hhs.gov/promisingpractices/default.asp (Source: Inclusion Resource Institute) 4. MEDICAID PRIMER This primer is on Medicaid's role as the major provider of health coverage for non-elderly persons with disabilities and on the policy challenges that lie ahead. It also provides short profiles of people with disabilities from across the country. The Kaiser Family Foundation's new publication is very good. You can get it at: http://www.kff.org/medicaid/4027.cfm (Source: Inclusion Resource Institute) 5. STATEWIDE TRANSITION CONFERENCE The First Annual Transition Conference sponsored by the Wisconsin Statewide Transition Initiative will be held Feb. 12-13, 2004 in Wisconsin Dells. There are a limited number of scholarships available for parents. For more information on the conference, go to: http://www.wsti.org/media/WSTI%20Conf%202_13_04.pdf For more information on the parent scholarships, contact the transition coordinator in your CESA. You can access the contact information for your CESA at the following website: http://www.wsti.org/contacts.cfm If you don't know what CESA you're in, you can check DPI's map at: http://www.dpi.state.wi.us/dpi/dltcl/lbstat/newmap2.html 6. NEW GUARDIANSHIP WEBSITE The Arc - Dane County has posted a new website for guardianship. This site can be accessed at: http://www.arcdanecounty.org/arcguardianship.html 7. TWO BIRTH-3 TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES Here's a reminder of two upcoming Birth to 3 professional development opportunities sponsored by the Wisconsin Personnel Development Project, Birth to 3 RESource, and the Department of Health and Family Services, Birth to 3 Program. First, a video conference entitled "Working with Families with Very Young Children from Linguistically Diverse Backgrounds" will be held on February 13, from 9am-4pm. Participants can choose one of four locations to enjoy the conference: Madison, Milwaukee, Green Bay or Menomonie. The guest speaker, Dr. Josephine De Leon, Associate Provost for Academic Affairs at New Mexico State University, has experience both as a practitioner in early childhood education and as a researcher in special education and second language acquisition. This videoconference will focus on how best to meet the needs of children and families from linguistically diverse backgrounds. The primary focus will be on Spanish, but universal concepts that would generalize to families who speak other languages will be included. Examples of topics include understanding child development and assessment within the context of a family's culture and language, differentiating between delayed development and learning two languages, working with interpreters, communicating through cultural differences and exploring bilingual/bicultural concepts. Registration is $75/individual; $65 for a team of two or more; $25 for parents and students--parents may be eligible for registration scholarships. Registration includes snacks, lunch and materials. Check out registration materials at: http://www.waisman.wisc.edu/birthto3/EVENTS.HTML Second, the next Orientation to Best Practices in Birth to 3 is approaching on Wednesday, January 21 in Dodgeville from 9am to 4pm. Topics include an overview of Wisconsin's Birth to 3 Program, Birth to 3 Guiding Principles, family-centered care, natural environments, evaluation and eligibility, IFSP & outcomes, Birth to 3 law, health care and other resources and family stories. Continuing education credits are available for those interested. Please see the following website for cost and registration materials. Contact Lynn Havemann for content questions (608-263-5947) and Lynn Sankey for registration details (608-263-5022). http://www.waisman.wisc.edu/birthto3/EVENTS.HTML (Source: Waisman Center) 8. HEALTHY AND READY TO WORK WEBSITE The Healthy and Ready to Work initiative promotes a comprehensive system of family-centered, culturally competent, community-based care for children with special health care needs who are approaching adulthood and may need assistance in making the transition from pediatric to adult health care and to postsecondary education and/or employment. Visit: http://www.hrtw.org 9. HEALTHWATCH UPDATES The next meeting of the Southeastern Regional HealthWatch group (CHASE) will be meeting on Thursday evening, January 15, from 5 pm until 7:30 pm, with food provided. This month's training topic is "Fighting Back Health Insurance Denials," presented by Bobby Peterson, Public Interest Lawyer and Executive Director of ABC for Health. The meeting will be at Aurora Family Service, at 3200 West Highland in Milwaukee. If you are interested in joining your regional HealthWatch committee, or want more information about their work, please contact the following people: Southern Region: Barbara Katz, ABC for Health, Inc., 608.261.6939 ext 207, barbk@safetyweb.org Southeastern Region: Brad Holman, Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, 414.266.3189, bholman@chw.org or Brad Montgomery, 414.449.4777, opwindows@aol.com Northern Region: Deb Blackstone, Family Resource Connection, 715.365.8030, dblacks@shsmh.org Northeastern Region: Steve Gerczak, St. Vincent Hospital, 920.433.8154, sgerczak@stvgb.org Western Region: Rose Marsh, Chippewa County Dept of Public Health, 1-800-400-3678, rmarsh@co.chippewa.wi.us ********************************************************************** SUGGESTIONS OR TIPS FOR THE UPDATE? We need your help to develop content and tips for our CKSN Update. Please let us know about your ideas or success stories. Email your suggestions to barbk@safetyweb.org The CKSN Update is a bi-weekly electronic newsletter of the Covering Kids with Special Needs project that ABC for Health, Inc. is implementing with its partners, the Title V Children with Special Needs Regional Centers and Family Voices - Wisconsin. If you would like to submit news and information in future CKSN Updates, please send it to the attention of Barbara Katz. All submissions should be limited to 150 words. ABC for Health is a Wisconsin-based, nonprofit public interest law firm dedicated to linking children and families, particularly those with special health care needs, to health care benefits and services. ABC for Health's mission is to provide information, advocacy tools, legal services and expert support needed to obtain, maintain and finance health care coverage and services. Barbara Katz, moderator Parent Consultant ABC for Health, Inc. 608.261.6939 ext. 207 barbk@safetyweb.org