Florida Department of Elder Affairs ADVISORY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Thursday, October 23, :00 a.m. 12:00 p.m.

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1 Florida Department of Elder Affairs Members Present: Chairman Bill Edelstein Vice-Chair Charlie Robinson Neil Davis Allison Thall Jerry Melvin Mari Terbrueggen Pat Sacco Olga Connor Major Stroupe Evelyn Kelly Mike Moore Kathie Brown Hazel Ambrister Wendy Hayes DOEA Staff Present: Secretary Chuck Corley Deputy Secretary Richard Prudom Jo Morris, Legislative Director Marcy Hajdukiewicz, Director Statewide Community Based Services Mary Thomas, General Counsel Jon Manalo, Chief Financial Officer Judy Bowers, EHEAP Contract Manager Beverly Wilburn, Unit Supervisor Lisa Murray, Legislative Analyst Members Absent: Dr. Mohammad Choudhry- excused Public Attendees: Katrina Sullivan, Ft. Myers AAA 1. Call Meeting to Order Welcome & Roll Call Chairman Edelstein welcomed everyone and roll was taken. 2. Opening Remarks by Secretary Corley Secretary Corley welcomed everyone and repeated his expectations and the role of the Council members acting as advisors to the Secretary and the Department. Secretary Corley discussed the statutory role of the Advisory Council per Chapter 430, F.S., to act in an advisory capacity to the Secretary. Secretary Corley also touched on the Sunshine Law. The Secretary let the members know that the Advisory Council does not preclude the members from acting individually with DOEA as long the interactions do not have to come before the Council. The Secretary also provide the switchboard as a means of contacting staff at the Department to help answer any questions that the members may have. 3. Election of Chair and Vice Chair Charlie Robinson nominated Bill Edelstein to be Chair and Pat Sacco and Mari Terbrueggen seconded the motion. All the members present voted unanimously to approve Bill Edelstein as Chair (Dr. Choudhry and Jerry Melvin were not present for the vote). Bill Edelstein nominated Charlie Robinson to be Vice-Chair. Major Stroupe seconded the motion. All the members present voted unanimously to approve Charlie Robinson as Vice-Chair (Dr. Choudhry and Jerry Melvin were not present for the vote).

2 4. Legislative Budget Request Jon Manalo Florida Department of Elder Affairs Jon let the members know that the Legislative Budget Request (LBR) is due to the Governor s office by October 15. The LBR is published can be accessed through a link on the Department s website as well as the Governor s website, which will be provided to the members. The overall theme of the requests from the Department is to address the waitlist and try to get funding to have more people released from the various waitlists. Jon also reiterated that the objective of the programs with waitlists is to serve the frailest of the frail or those with the greatest need and most limited resources. See attachment of LBR FY Issues Summary Grid Mari asked about the screening process for the waitlist Marcy explained the screening process for individuals in need of Home and Community Based Services. Evelyn asked about the types of questions that were included in the 701 assessments Marcy informed the members that there area a variety of questions that range from medical, activities of daily living, caregiver support and ability to name a few and that the process takes anywhere from minutes over the phone. CIRTS, the Department s client tracking system, is programmed to give the individual a score which allows the Department to determine the individual s frailty and need. Mari wanted to know if calls are tracked and researched with issues sent back to the ADRCs to try to address recurring issues Marcy mentioned the REFER system that all ADRCs use to enter their notes. Reports can be run to see what callers are calling about and can then be referred back to the ADRC to address the issues. Pat asked if the additional funds for LTCOP were going to pay for staff Jon informed the members that the funds would go towards volunteer recruitment, travel, promotional materials, education and training. Charlie and Allison expressed concerns over no additional funding being requested for the ADRCs when additional funds were requested and awarded by the Legislature in the budget Secretary Corley mentioned that the additional funds were lobbied for by the ADRCs and that the Department has a policy in which it does not advocate for continuance of funds for projects that were not initially requested by the Department. This way the Department is not seen as a proponent for certain projects and not others. The money that was lobbied for by the ADRCs was supplemental and does not impact the ADRCs base funding. Jon shared that the base funding for all the ADRCs was approximately $3 million. Allison mentioned a 2011 report that the Department issued to expand the ADRCs Marcy addressed this by stating that the money received was funded by a grant to add the Disability to the remaining ARCs to transition them to Aging and Disability Resource Centers and the funds were used for that purpose.

3 Florida Department of Elder Affairs 5. EHEAP Marcy Hajdukiewicz / Jo Morris Jo mentioned that LIHEAP (Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program) is housed in the Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) and that the Department receives a percentage of the funds for EHEAP (Emergency Home Energy Assistance for the Elderly Program). There is currently no legislation to increase funds. Any changes to the program need to go through DEO or the Legislature. 6. Statewide Medicaid Managed Care Long-Term Care Transportation for Long-Term Care and Medicaid Medical Assistance (MMA) Marcy Hajdukiewicz 1. Update on Medicaid Managed Care Long-Term Care Marcy mentioned that the Department is continuing to release individuals from the waitlist and is working with complaints to resolve any issues. The Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) is holding its final rule hearing on November 12 from 2-3 p.m. in Tallahassee to finalize waitlist release language. 2. MMA is a program run through AHCA. Some Medicaid providers offer transportation but not all. Any complaints need to be made through the AHCA complaint hub, which has a 24 hour turn around time. Bill asked what would happen to the ADRCs if money runs out Secretary Corley mentioned that he is aware of a spike in the Medicaid side of the transition. Originally, the ADRCs had administrative staff to help with the waivers. Their duties changed with the waivers were consolidated in the Statewide Medicaid Managed Care program; however, the ADRCs did not lose the staff. The resources are still there they are just being used in a different capacity now. The Department has challenged the ADRCs to show how they have adjusted to the change. So far they have not demonstrated the need for the extra manpower and are going to review the data to support the need for the staff. Bill also asked about the transition to SMMC and what is new for the ADRC Marcy mentioned that during the transition, the duties shifted from going from a fee for service to managed care. The Department now manages the waitlists but the ADRCs still screen all the individuals placed on the list. Marcy explained that the Department has worked with each ADRC individually and through the F4A as a whole to help develop efficiencies to assist with the work loads of the various ADRCs. This ranges from having CARES staff fill in and assist with intake to having other PSAs that don t have as large a case load assist the PSAs in need. There has also been a change in the intake process that allows the staff to perform the assessment for any type of waitlist request and free up the Medicaid staff to work with the waitlists. 7. Background Screening Marcy Hajdukiewicz What are the background screening requirements for sitters and caretakers hired by seniors to be their caregivers? Marcy informed the members that the Department has a link to the Background Screening Process on its website. The first step is to determine if the person meets the requirements to be a

4 Florida Department of Elder Affairs direct service provider. Another source of information is the Department staff dedicated to background screening as well as the local Aging and Disability Resource Center. Marcy also mentioned that eventually the Department will be part of the Clearinghouse with AHCA and will be able to use the background screening that other Health and Human Service (HHS) agencies have requested. 8. Council term limits and reappointment process Lisa Murray Lisa reminded members to be aware of when their memberships expired and to notify whoever appointed them of their continued interest to serve on the Council. 9. Additional questions and concerns Mari asked to be contacted regarding EHEAP. Jerry asked for permission to use information in the Elder Update to be published in his regions local publication for seniors. Jerry would like to try to collaborate with the Department and North West Florida State College to possibly develop a new curriculum and a new certification to become a home caregiver. He will reach out to the college and will get back with the Department. 10. Attachments: Links: o 701S: o Background Screening: Documents: o LBR FY Issues Summary Grid Next meeting January 2015

5 Priority Issue Number 1 Requesting Division/Program Alzheimer s Disease Initiative (ADI) Title of Request Summary Funding Request Frail Elders Waiting for Services Reduce the Wait List for ADI: An additional $2,000,000 is requested to serve individuals waiting for ADI services. $_2,000,000_ Total GR 2 Community Care for the Elderly (CCE) Serve Additional Clients in the CCE Program Reduce the Wait List for CCE: An additional $2,700,000 is requested to serve individuals waiting for CCE services. $_2,700,000_ Total GR Increase public awareness and volunteer recruitment activities. 3 Long-Term Care Ombudsmen LTCOP Enriching Senior Living Initiative Increase Visitation: Statutorily required to visit each facility annually. Goal is quarterly visits (Fed Recommend). Update LTCOP Reporting Tools: Current in-house system is outdated and lacks full range of tools. Procure or develop new system. $ 2,910,000 Total GR Improve training opportunities.

6 Priority Issue Number Requesting Division/Program 4 Community Based Title of Request Summary Funding Request MDC Performance Measures MDC Performance Measures. To implement HB 709, Memory Disorder Clinics can receive funding for activity related to performance incentive measures. Due to the growth and demand of MDC services, makes additional funds available to top performers. $ 220,000 GR 5 Legal Services Statewide Senior Legal Helpline Expand SLH Services: Program can meet more need with this additional funding. $ 250,000 Total GR 6 Public Guardianship Office SPGO Staffing Enhancements Requests 1 additional FTE, convert 2 OPS positions to FTE. Positions provide monitoring for newly established and expanded Public Guardian programs. $ 190,539 Total GR ($ 75,000) Admin TF Total Legislative Budget Request: $_8,270,539_ GR $ -75,000 ATF