The Minnesota Department of Human Services is awarding nearly $1,000,000 to providers of Customized Living services under the Medical Assistance Elder Waiver program. The Customized Living Quality Improvement (CL QI) grants go to support providers that implement quality improvement efforts in settings like Assisted Living facilities.
This new grant program was funded by the Minnesota Legislature in the 2019 legislative session. Grant funds are going to 12 organizations located in the twin cities metro area and throughout greater Minnesota.
In light of the work that many of our partner providers are already doing on behalf of Minnesotans during the novel coronavirus pandemic, some grant activities may be paused or reevaluated at this time. Providers without Covid-19 in their settings may still benefit from quality improvement efforts.
Awardees:
Augustana Senior Care: 3 sites in Hennepin County
$163,574 for improving service coordination, social supports, and activities through additional staff who will specialize in dementia-capable supports.
Cerenity Senior Care – Humboldt: Ramsey County
$149,845 for connecting residents to resources through new positions including a service coordinator, volunteer coordinator, and driver, and purchasing an accessible van for resident outings.
Ecumen – Prairie Lodge: Hennepin County
$88,010 for improving relationships, building community, and improving communication by providing enhanced training for staff and technology improvements.
Korean Service Center: Hennepin County
$103,200 for improving mental and physical health through a new activity coordinator position and technology supports, dedicated staff to help manage medications, and enhanced training for staff.
Lutheran Home of the Cannon Valley: Rice County
$84,823 for improving access and quality of services to residents through evidence-based health promotion programs, and a new service coordinator position.
Prairie Pines Community: Polk County
$33,760 for improving quality of life of residents by creating a usable, accessible “Outdoor Oasis” space, including safe outdoor walking spaces, a shade structure, and an accessible garden.
Prairie Senior Cottages: 7 sites in Brown, Douglas, Freeborn, Isanti, Kandiyohi, McCloud, and Waseca Counties
$90,000 for improving quality of life for residents with dementia through music therapy and fitness programming.
St Francis Health Services: 6 sites in Carlton, Dakota, Goodhue, Morrison, Renville, and Stevens Counties
$74,199 for improving quality of life of residents by enhancing their dining experience through implementation of the “Kind Dining” initiative.
The Homestead at Coon Rapids: Anoka County
$97,639 for improving quality of services by implementing physical plant upgrades, including electrical systems, bathing facilities, and wireless pendant system.
The Sanctuary Sites at Brooklyn Center, St Cloud and West St Paul: Dakota, Hennepin, and Stearns Counties
$112,710 for improving safety and mental health supports for residents by implementing enhanced training for staff, including maltreatment prevention training and mental health first aid training.
Late last year, Moving Home Minnesota celebrated helping the 600th person move to a new home. Starting in 2013, Moving Home Minnesota has been busy helping people on Medical Assistance (MA) move out of institutions and into the community. Institutions may include nursing homes, hospitals, intermediate care facilities for the developmentally disabled, and homes for people with mental diseases. This milestone means that Moving Home Minnesota has impacted the lives of more than 600 people by helping them make a smooth transition to the community, giving them more autonomy, more options and more positive control over their lives.
The services currently provided through the Moving Home Minnesota program include:
Transition planning
Moving expenses and deposits
Community support services
Overnight assistance
Fitness and health club memberships
Home modifications, to make settings safe and accessible
Durable medical equipment, and
Help with many other services and expenses.
Moving Home Minnesota provides these services for up to a year after they move into the community. To qualify, a person must be on MA and have lived in an institution for at least 90 days.
Moving Home Minnesota is sometimes called “Money Follows the Person,” which is the federal name for this program. The Money Follows the Person demonstration grant has federal legislation proposing permanent funding for the program, along with relaxed program eligibility requirements. Permanent funding of the program would allow for easier program access for our members, and additional stability and opportunities to meet our mission. For more information, visit Housing Benefits 101.
Moving Home Minnesota is a federal demonstration grant, which provides a 25% higher federal reimbursement rate for people enrolled in the grant. The extra 25% federal match is placed in a designated fund for rebalancing projects for Minnesota. The rebalancing projects are intended to improve access to home and community-based services, remove regulation or policies that limit access, and advance the infrastructure to support quality supports and services. There are $10 million more in opportunities thanks to the federal match. A The demonstration services and rebalancing opportunities range from testing new support services, studies assessing equity and access to our home and community-based services, , to self-advocacy training. This spring, Moving Home Minnesota will be awarding $3.6 million to be used on rebalancing projects throughout the department. The nine awards focus on three strategies:
Promoting system change with counties, tribes, providers and families;
Promoting sustainable self-advocacy; and
Addressing disparities and inequities affecting minority and ethnic communities.
Comment period begins: 4 p.m., Sept. 29, 2023 Comment period ends: 4 p.m., Oct. 29, 2023
How to submit a public comment
Email comments to AASD.Publiccomments@state.mn.us no later than 4:00 p.m., Oct. 29, 2023. We also will accept comments by US mail. Mail written comments to:
ATTN: Elderly Waiver comments
Minnesota Department of Human Services
Aging and Adult Services Division
P.O. Box 64976
St. Paul, MN 55164-0976
How to request a copy of the amendments
If you are unable to access the waiver plan electronically, we will provide you with a copy.
To make a request:
Send a written request to:
ATTN: Elderly Waiver comments
Minnesota Department of Human Services
Aging and Adult Services Division
P.O. Box 64976
St. Paul, MN 55164-0976
Call the Aging and Adult Services Division 651-431-2600.
The Adult Day Standards Improvement Project is focused on developing recommendations to update and revise the licensing standards for adult day services in consultation with stakeholders. The purpose of the project is to develop a legislative proposal for new licensing standards.
Baby boomers are turning 65 at the rate of 10,000 per day across the nation. Are we ready for the age wave? The goals of Aging 2030 are to transform our systems and services so that we are ready for the demographic changes that have now begun.
The Minnesota Legislature passed the assisted living licensure law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 144G. The law, which takes effect Aug. 1, 2021, established regulatory standards for the provision of housing and services in assisted living facilities and assisted living facilities with dementia care to help ensure the health, safety, well-being and appropriate treatment of residents. The law also authorized the Minnesota health commissioner to adopt rules for all assisted living facilities that promote person-centered planning and service delivery and optimal quality of life, and to ensure resident rights are protected, resident choice is allowed and public health and safety are ensured. More information about the licensure law, as well as resources for lead agencies and case managers, are available on the Assisted living facility licensure law toolkit for lead agencies webpage.
The DHS Aging and Adult Services Division (AASD) is developing an Assisted Living Report Card to measure and report on the quality of individual assisted living settings across Minnesota, for housing and services paid for privately and through public programs. Once the report card is fully implemented, results will be shared with the public through a website, and will be updated over-time as new data on quality are available.
People with disabilities and older Minnesotans struggle to recruit and retain direct support professionals. Visit the Direct care workforce shortage in Minnesota webpage for information about state-sponsored workgroups, resources and other information related to the direct support professional workforce shortage crisis.
The Home and Community-Based Services Partners Panel is a group of stakeholders in long-term support services from the perspectives of aging, disability and mental health. Members represent county government, service providers and advocates with participation of state agency leaders. The panel will support continuous improvement in the HCBS system by providing a communication link among the system’s stakeholders and supporting specific initiatives, as described in the charter (PDF).
The HCBS Partners Panel grew out of the HCBS Expert Panel, a group of experts convened from 2008 to 2010 to assist the Minnesota Department of Human Services in developing its State Long-Term Care Profile and to identify and discuss strategies for simplifying and otherwise improving Minnesota’s HCBS system.
If you have questions or would like more information, please call 651-431-2400.
MnCHOICES is a computer application used by counties, tribal nations and managed care organizations to support their assessment and support planning work for Minnesotans who need long-term services and supports (LTSS), regardless of age, type of disability or service needs.
The DHS Aging and Adult Services Division collaborated with the University of Indianapolis Center for Aging and Community and other partners to study older Minnesotans’ long term care needs, experiences, and decisions leading up to Medical Assistance and Elderly Waiver enrollment. The study also identified potential policy and system changes to extend older Minnesotans’ private resources and incentivize in-home service arrangements as compared to residential service arrangements. More information about the study, and five reports related to the study, are available on the Elderly Waiver Spenddown Study webpage.
The addressing gaps is one of four studies that inform the biennial legislative report on the status of long-term services and supports for older adults, people with disabilities and adults and children living with mental health conditions.
The DHS Aging and Adult Services Division collaborated with Wilder Research to describe Wilder Foundation's model to deliver customized living services to adults in Ravoux and Hamline Hi-Rise public housing programs in St. Paul. The study also described other similar models around the state, assessed the cost of delivering these services, and identified some of the benefits and challenges of the models. The study findings are available in the following report: Understanding the Benefits of Providing Assisted Living-Like Supports to Older and Disabled Adults in Subsidized Housing Settings (PDF)
The DHS Aging and Adult Services Division recently submitted two reports to the Minnesota Legislature dealing with adult day services and rates for the Elderly Waiver and related programs:
The 2017 Minnesota Legislature instructed DHS to study a new rate methodology for many services provided under Elderly Waiver and related programs. The Legislature also asked DHS to study adult day services to explore participant acuity, staffing levels, projected demand for this service and quality in the delivery of the service. The reports convey findings and recommendations from a rate evaluation and adult day study conducted in 2018.
