LIGHTLY EDITED FILE >> Kim Babine: All right. So, welcome. Thank you for being here. And I will hand it off to Holly for our discussion of the DEED/DHS MOU >> Holly Johnson: Thanks, Kim. Good morning, everybody. It's great to have so many people here in the community across Minnesota. As Kim mentioned, there are two topics that we plan to cover today. Before we open it up for Q&A. So, again, encourage people, as you're listening, if you have questions, you can either write them down or you can add them into the chat. We are saving the last portion of today's conversation to be able to walk through your questions. The first topic that we want to share information around is the DHS/DEED MOU That memo of understanding that signifies a formal commitment to inter-agency processes and specifically what it means for DEED community partners. CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT The critical, important role that community partners play in the services and delivering the mission, and Chris and Kim are going to be giving you a lot more information about what's going on with that as we prepare for launching some new services here in about five months. So over the course of the next 20 to 30 minutes, Chris is gonna provide an overview of that E1MN. And she's gonna talk more about what that means and what it signifies, at that higher level, overarching, all these efforts. And then go specifically into supported employment, PBA framework effort that's under way now. And then Kim will be talking to you about that road map to launch. All the different pieces that are coming together with an emphasis, again, on the portions that are closely connected to all the community partners. So -- and then there are multiple other pieces that are -- we believe -- helpful for people to just be aware of that you'll be hearing more information on in the coming months. But to give you -- round out that picture, Chris will be providing that before we do a wrap-up and CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT turn it on to Pre-ETS. So at this point, I will turn it over to Chris McVey. Director of strategic initiatives. To give you some information about this important MOU. >> Chris McVey: Well, good morning, everybody. So good to just virtually see so many of you on this virtual meeting and so grateful that we're able to spend some time with you today as part of the VRS community partner forum. To talk about Employment First MN, Minnesota. My name is Chris McVey, as Holly had mentioned. And I'm the director of strategic initiatives for DEED/VRS. It was September of 2019 that DEED and DHS and the disability services division signed a memorandum of understanding, or an MOU, saying that we agree to work together, and find a way to create a seamless way of helping individuals on waivers access services to help them move forward in pursuing competitive, integrated employment. That signed MOU by our directors, which is Dee Torgerson and Natasha Jerde from DEED, and as well CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT as Natasha Mers from DHS-DSD, agreeing that this is how we are going to be working together. And we have been working on both the DEED and DHS side to make that a reality. There is a broader spectrum of how agencies within Minnesota are working together. To move the dial and to create more opportunities for people with disabilities. On waivers. To reach their employment goals. And that is E1MN. And you see the logo here on this slide. It is a inter-agency agreement between, again, DHS, Department of Human Services, disability services division, DEED, VRS, and State Services for the Blind. As well as the Minnesota Department of Education. This is really something that we're really excited about. And believe that this is going to have an impact on people with disabilities on waivers and outside of waivers who want to pursue competitive, integrated employment, have opportunity to start at a very young age and having discussions about what their lives will look like, can look like as CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT it relates to working. So that is -- when we talk about, or when I've talked about the MOU, the memorandum of understanding, about how we serve people on waivers, that fits under the umbrella of this E1MN brand. E1MN is really about -- it's Employment First Minnesota. But it speaks to the fact that employment should be part of a conversation with people with disabilities. And it should be not something that gets shuffled off to the side because the person is not able to work. We should be asking that question from when kids are very tiny. And help individuals and their families think about the possibilities of employment. Prior to having other discussions. What I'm happy about in Minnesota is that we're Employment First and not employment only. If a person chooses not to pursue employment, competitive, integrated employment, that's okay, and we honor that. But that we're gonna want to make sure that that CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT person, again, from the youngest age possible, and when it comes to MDE and VRS, and SSB, it's about engaging, starting at age 14. So that's where pre-employment transition fits into this. And so there are many efforts that we have in Minnesota that relate to helping people with disabilities move forward with their employment goals. But it fits under the framework of Employment First MN. So very happy to share that information with all of you today. When you see that logo, E1MN, it's a sign to the reader, we have letterhead, we have the logo, we have PowerPoints, that when we work together as an inter-agency team, it is a sign that that is what our focus is on is helping people with disabilities maximize their potential for working and advancing in careers and employment. So thank you for your time, and hearing about, maybe, for the first time, about Employment First Minnesota. For our VRS and our SSB staff, this is not the first time that they've heard it, but as we go CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT forward with the MOU launch that is due to start in July of 2021, this year, this is part of that E1MN framework of helping people with disabilities move forward with their employment goals. Next slide, please. What we want to share with you is that while there are activities that DEED and DHS are doing together to prepare for the MOU launch, the memorandum of understanding between DEED and DHS-D.S.D., the disability satisfies division, there is work that we need to do within DEED And so on this slide, we're talking about the framework of work that needs to occur in order for DEED to be prepared for that MOU launch, and as such, you as your community partners -- our community partners to be prepared for that start of the MOU in July of 2021. The first bullet is that we want you to know that we believe and understand that the current rate of PBA and how we structure it is not sufficient to serve and support individuals on waivers. Now, I'm being very generalistic when I talk about anybody on a waiver. But in many cases, as we've come to understand, the amount of support that's required and the time CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT required to support an individual on a waiver typically in a job search and job start takes longer and is more time-intensive. Therefore, we believe that it's important to develop a supported employment performance-based agreement for placement. That's in development right now. And we want to have that ready to go in advance of the start of the MOU in July. At the same time DEED will also be looking to review our standard or DEED/VRS will be looking to review our standard and traditional performance-based agreement for placement. We believe it's time to take a fresh look at that, and we hope to -- we look forward to sharing more information with you about that in the future. The third bullet I have here is that VRS and SSB, the two agencies, Vocational Rehabilitation agencies within DEED, we've agreed to align our messaging to reflect DEED's framework for placement and retention services, the performance-based agreement for providing placement and retention services. So while VRS and SSB will likely continue to have different levels of funding, we will have the same CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT place where we're reflecting out what VRS is paying for placement and retention and then what SSB is paying for placement and retention services. So creating a single way for providers to be able to access information about DEED's response and way of supporting and funding placement and retention services across -- across the agency. The last bullet is that State Services for the Blind will not be creating an SSB-specific supported employment PBA. However, because SSB staff can use our DEED/VRS contracts, or DEED contracts, SSB staff will be following the VRS supported employment PBA. As a way -- because of utilizing our contract. So just wanting to make that clear to everyone. So that is a -- an example of the type of work that the agency of DEED needs to prepare for in order for us to have that July 2021 launch. Where we have a supported employment PBA that is prepared and ready to go for the launch of the MOU. One last thing that I do want to share relating to that is that the supported employment PBA that's in development is going to be very specific to and CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT available to individuals that are on waivers. This is not going to be something where it'll be a counselor decision or a community partner decision or a school's decision about whether someone should be getting that higher level of funding and support to deliver placement and retention services. This is going to be specifically for individuals that are on one of the four Medicaid waivers. So at this point, I'm gonna be handing the presentation back to Holly. >> Kim Babine: This is Kim. I'm actually gonna jump in. No problem. Hi, everyone. It's Kim Babine again. And I wanted to take you through some of the specific items that are gonna be taking place within DEED to prepare for this MOU launch on July 1st. And this first slide here shows you that we're gonna do so much work in the next five months before July 1st. But that we know it's not all gonna be done. It's, I think, Chris has said and her colleagues CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT have said, it's almost like a start, not an end. There's a lot of work that will continue to be done. And so I wanted to give folks a picture of that. Especially when we think about how much work there is involved in the next five months. So the goal for this, for our purposes here, is that individuals statewide working with VRS, SSB, and DHS, have greater access to services through VRS, SSB, and 245D service providers. So in the first half of 2021, January, the work has already started, through June 2021, we are gonna be doing a lot of work. We are going to be developed that SE PBA that Chris just mentioned. We are developing contract standards for limited use vendors. And we'll be doing a lot of work on communication and training and rolling out all this information. And we will also be opening applications for providers who are 245D, for other providers to come in and apply to be a VRS and SSB service provider. So -- but then we'll keep moving. The second half of 2021, we know all those things CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT won't be perfect on the first try. So we'll be reviewing and refining the SE PBA and those contract standards, and we'll be continuing to communicate both ways, so that we can hear what providers need, we can hear what staff need, and also be able to provide that information back out. We'll also be continuing to receive applications for new LUVs. We know that not every provider who works with DHS is gonna be ready right away this spring to apply to be a provider. So we'll want to be able to have more people come in later this year. And then my mind goes to next year. A year from now. And the first six months of 2022. We will continue that review and refine and communication. But we'll also -- SSB contracts as well as I understand it, but VRS contracts, most of them -- most of your contracts expire June 2022. So 18 months from now. So a year from now, we'll be needing to put those contracts together so that they're all ready to go and there's no break in services. CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT So this information, this work that we're doing now, will translate into that work next year. So then in the next slide, wanting to break down the next six months for you, because that is when -- that's right in front of us, and this is when a lot of the work is gonna happen. So breaking it down into quarter one and quarter two. So in quarter one, between now and March 31st, there are folks who are working on a SE PBA to create that framework that we were talking about, that Chris was talking about, not only doing the SE PBA, but also making sure that it aligns and makes sense in relation to our general PBA, and to the SSB PBA. We also are developing those LUV standards. That's something that we have some standards right now for application for what those things are that providers need to meet in order to get a P.T. contract. But we want those to be more robust, and we want to make sure that they're meeting the moment. And so there's a group working on what those will be. We're also updating our processes and doing what CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT we can to smooth the process of all of you know that this last round of amendments went on far longer than anyone expected or anyone wanted. We -- we hit some barriers. And we're looking at what those barriers are, and meeting -- meeting with the people who can help us remove some of those barriers so that has to do with our partners in DEED and our partners across state agencies who work on procurement for Minnesota. So we're working, knowing that the process was broken this time and we need to make sure that it's smooth going forward. And then of course, information, information, information. We want to be communicating a lot. Particularly in this -- for this slice of the work. We want to make sure that all of our P.T. contract holders, all of you, all of the DEED community partners, have the information and context you need to make a decision if you're not currently licensed to be a 245D provider, what are the -- giving you the information that you need to go through DHS and possibly pursue that license. CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT And so we want to be able to have information share with you about why it might be -- why it's important for you to consider that. We also want to have the information available for organizations that are 245D providers and not currently working with VRS or SSB. And give them the information about, what is Vocational Rehabilitation Services? What is SSB workforce development services? And how might I fit into that? And so we want to be really clear about what it takes to be a provider with us. And also what kind of services are we looking for? How can we make sure that the people that we're bringing in are good partners? And a good fit for us? And then of course coordinated preparation for our DEED staff and our DEED community partners, both VRS and SSB, so that all of you have the information you need at every step along the way. We have transparency and you can come along with us in the process. So the goal is to have the -- especially that SE PBA and those LUV standards done March 31st. So that we can do applications for new contracts. CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT Starting April 1st. And there might be some information and some things that we might be able to do ahead of time. Or we're gonna need to do things as quickly as possible to make sure that contracts with those new 245D providers are done by July 1st. If people get the -- those providers get us the information we need at the right time. For all of you, for our current VRS community partners, if you -- [ audio muted ] >> Holly Johnson: Kim, you went on mute. Afraid you are muted there. Can you unmute? >> Kim Babine: Oh, thank you. Have I been muted the whole time? >> Holly Johnson: Nope, just the last little bit. >> Kim Babine: Oh, odd. Okay. So I will -- I'll go back to the current VRS community partners. If you have a PBA on your contract, then you will not need to amend your contract to have the supported employment PBA. CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT The way your contract is structured right now is it only says job placement and retention PBA. Of which SE is part of that. So we'll be able to put those requirements, publish those elsewhere and not have to change your contract. So that's great news that we don't have to amend a billion contracts right now. I want to be clear that with the SE PBA and the LUV standards, it's a very compressed timeline. Work has started, but we have two months to hit our goal, to hit our target. And we won't be able to do the same type of community feedback and information gathering and back and forth on the front end that we've maybe done in the past with new services or new changes like this. We're going to have to -- we're gonna have to get something done and get it the best we can. Put it into practice. And then work with you in terms of feedback. How's it working? How could it work better? So know that it is -- that the perfect is not going to be the enemy of the good. CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT We're gonna get something the best it can be this spring. And know that there's gonna be opportunity for improvement down the line. Also, I want to be clear that it's a very limited scope when we're looking at the SE PBA and the LUV standards. We -- we're gonna keep our eyes on the prize here. And keep a very limited scope on these pieces, or else they'll never -- it'll take months and months and months to get done. So in particular on the standards for LUV, the question always comes up, well, then what about CARF? Are we doing away with CARF? And the answer to that is no. We are only focused on the LUVs and the standards that the LUVs have to hit. And there's still the maximum budget that LUVs can make. And that's $100,000 a year. And if you're CARF accredited, you don't have a maximum budget, and that is still the incentive to be CARF accredited. Not to say that it will never change, but we need CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT to focus on what's right in front of us, what we need right now. All right, on the next slide. We're -- I'm gonna pass it back to Chris who's gonna talk a little bit about some of the other work that's going on with this prep for July 1. >> Chris McVey: Yep, thanks so much, Kim. So previously I mentioned that there's a lot of internal work that's going on within DEED to be prepared for the MOU launch in July. And my thanks to Kim and her team, because they -- they've got big packs on their back to make that a reality. And so I'm very grateful for that. There are other activities that we are doing across agency. So there is work that's been going on really since September of 2019, between DEED and DHS-DSD, the disability services division, to develop the supports to help people in the field that are doing this work and working directly with individuals on waivers. So that there's a preparation around that. And there's clarity about who's doing what and when. CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT And how it works. And people that include Amanda Jensen Stall who is a huge, huge heavy lifter on this effort, and then we have our DHS folks that are also helping with that. And so the road map for the next six months, which actually, it really is just six months, that's so hard to believe, but this really is about how do we prepare our DEED, VRS, and SSB staff, our community partners, and our DHS counties and lead agencies for what happens with a person on a waiver wanting to pursue competitive, integrated employment? So the types of things that we're preparing, and the groups that we're assembling include -- and here's a short list -- the service provider alignment, this is actually a work group that's comprised of both VRS, SSB, and DHS staff. That are working around that -- the 245D and the P.T. contract holders within DEED And what we know is that the person on the waiver who wants to pursue competitive, integrated employment, when that MOU launches, if that provider that's serving that person does not have both a 245D contract a P.T. contract with DEED, CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT they cannot help that person move through that entire employment process, which includes the exploration, the development, and the supports. So there is an entire team and a contracted provider that's helping us to develop materials as well as marketing information about how providers can get that information as well as finding ways to be able to share information with VRS and SSB staff, other community partners, about where are the providers that provide both 245D and P.T. contract services? So that the person on a waiver can access that full array of employment services. Other things that we're working on include any of the products and tools that people will need, the people being the ones that support the person on the waiver. And really what we are developing are tools and products that are across providers. So whether you're a VRS staff or SSB staff, or you happen to be a community partner, or you're a county staff, or contracted case manager, you're looking at the same tools. You're looking at the same products. We feel that that's an essential for us to be able CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT to get everybody on the same page about what's happening. And if you want to provide services to people on a waiver, these are the products and tools that you'll be looking at. We're developing training communication. There's a curriculum development group right now that's digging in and developing the actual training that will be going out initially to providers and counselors and contracting case managers and everybody in between that's in development right now. And then any of the communication around that. And how do we -- then once that initial training happens, what happens after that? Because the -- the MOU team understands that once we train it, we trained it once and that's it. There's turnover, we know, in a lot of -- in all of our cases, no matter where we work. But we want to be able to set up training that can live on and can -- we can circle back around and have conversations in local areas about what's happening on the ground once we initially launch the MOU. And that gets to the technical assistance and CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT post-launch support. So it's not just about training. It's been circling back around and providing opportunities for people to ask questions, to raise it up to say it's not working the way it's supposed to in my area, can I get some help. And that we have those supports available. We are also developing the policies and the procedures that, again, will live in each of our areas, whether it's for the county case managers, whether it's for VRS and SSB staff, or whether it's for community providers. And then finally, one of the things that's so important to this is, what are we seeing -- when we work this way, when we engage an individual who wants -- on a waiver who wants to move forward with their competitive, integrated employment goals and we have provide an opportunity for that person to have that seamless experience, which is truly at the heart of this, it's about this person getting the supports they want at the time they want it and that all of us working together behind the scenes and the person just gets those services, the funding just flows, that's the whole intent regarding this, but what are the results of CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT that work? And finding ways that we're measuring it, but also sharing it. We want to share out information about what it is that we're seeing and that's both DHS and DEED working together to establish and to be able to share out those metrics and the dashboard as well. So that's kind of it for the MOU. Please know that there will be additional communication that's coming out. As soon as we have something that we want to share out with both DEED and DHS, that'll be another way that everybody on this meeting today and others can access. Please know that we're gonna get that information out through dot-gov delivery. DHS I know also has a list serve. We want to keep you up to date around what's happening on the MOU, especially as we get closer and closer to July. We're really hopeful that sometime in the next month or so that we'll be able to start giving some of the visual tools that we're developing that really help put some things together for people and start to see it and that it makes more CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT sense as we roll this out further. So I thank you for your time. And listening about what we're doing in preparation for the MOU launch. Both at the DEED-only level, but then also at the DEED and DHS level. At this point, I'm gonna hand it off to Sara Sundeen. And Alyssa Klein, but I know Sara will start us off regarding the Pre-ETS presentation. Thank you. >> Sara Sundeen: Thanks, Chris. Hi, everyone, I'm Sara Sundeen. I'm a rehab community specialists on the community partnerships team. And I serve as a liaison to half of our community partners along with Anne Paulson. I personally work with half of the metro and most of the Southern Minnesota. And I'm really happy to be here with you. And I wanted to share a little bit of information that we have on our knew metro community -- or Pre-ETS community of practice. So this is a pilot. That came up in a conversation during a business CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT engagement network meeting. We were brainstorming, and we kind of did a mini group, and we created this pilot. The plan is for it to run through June. And hopefully if our partners and V.R. staff find that it's helpful, we can expand this across the state. So far has officially met once in January and our mission is to create a seamless system of Pre-ETS services and supports between community partners and vocational rehab services. The goal and purpose of our community of practice is to gain better understanding of Pre-ETS services, share ideas, best practices, strategies, and resources, build and strengthen our relationships and communication between V.R. and our community partners; improve processes and resources; and plan strategically together and measure our successes. Right now we plan to meet monthly on the third Thursday of the month from 9:00 to 10:30. And our goal is to really have a balance of community partners and Voc Rehab Services staff. So internally in V.R., we have preassigned staff including we have reps, transition counselors, CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT placement, and some admin team support to represent the various metro V.R. teams. For our community partners, we invite all of you to join us, whether you are new to Pre-ETS and this is new on your contract or you've been providing this service for a while, all of you are welcome. So our next meeting is Thursday, February 19th, at 9:00. And if you have questions about the metro Pre-ETS community of practice, if you're a partner and you'd like an invite, Taylor McLaughlin from social services, so you can feel free to contact us for more information or for an invite. Next slide, Holly. All right, so the next thing that we want to cover is a few of the frequently asked questions related to Pre-ETS and contracts. We're really excited as Kim said that we got most of our P.T. contract amendments out. So we want to address a couple of the questions that have come up. We know that Pre-ETS has added flexibilities to the nextly amended P.T. contracts. And so a couple of things that we've seen themes CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT of is the difference between an intake for a V.R.-eligible student and a first meeting for a potentially eligible student. So intakes for a Pre-ETS-eligible student in most contracts, this is gonna be the same intake fee as in your general service area. And most of these intakes would be authorized as each. There are a few contracts that we have that would still have Pre-ETS intakes at $75 an hour. In this situation, where hourly intakes are on your contract, V.R. will authorize up to two hours, and the partner would bill or invoice accordingly in a 15-minute increment for that intake. For potentially eligible, we have a first meeting. Why is it different? Because the rehab service administration has said that we are not allowed to pay intake fees for potentially eligible students. So on contracts, or in your services, this is $75 an hour, and the time is added to the service you are providing. So for a first meeting, this is not a separate line item on the authorization or on your invoice. CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT It is just added into the service. Secondly, we know that we added transportation to P.T. contracts. And we know that this is a new area. And we expect that you might have some questions, and you can feel free to contact Anne Paulson or myself if you do. But for general V.R. services, it is $28 an hour. This will be a separate line item on authorizations and invoices. For Pre-ETS services, it is $75 an hour, and the time authorized and billed is within the Pre-ETS service and will not be a separate line item. Finally, referral information. We've had a few questions from some of our partners about the amount of referral information that you receive from VRS in regards to a student who is potentially eligible for V.R. services. V.R. is not required to obtain any medical, psychological, or IEP documentation when a student applies for Pre-ETS for potentially eligible students. We are only required to obtain verification that that student has a disability and oftentimes that information comes from a school staff person who CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT tells us that the Pre-ETS -- tells the Pre-ETS representative at V.R. that a student has an I.E.P. or a 504 plan. But we don't actually have that. So that is the reason that Pre-ETS representatives are not always able to give that disability documentation when making the referral. It's not because -- it is because they do not typically collect that information, and that's why we don't have that to pass on to you. So hopefully those -- those kind of bullet points will help guide you a little bit. I know we'll have a question and answer period where we can certainly address that further. And again, with Pre-ETS questions, you can always come to Anne Paulson or myself. So I'm gonna pass it on to Alyssa. >> Alyssa Klein: Hi, everybody. This is Alyssa Klein. I am the transition and proceed employment transition specialist for VRS. I'm just gonna add upon what Sara just talked about. Because, again, we're getting a lot of questions in terms of authorizations for Pre-ETS services. CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT And just like she said, for instance, transportation, it's not a separate line item, when it comes to Pre-ETS. Neither are any of the items that I'm going to review in the next two slides. So just -- if you can think of how -- Pre-ETS, we're able to be a little bit more flexible in terms of what you're able to bill for, and it's also in many ways simpler because everything is included within your Pre-ETS service time. So if you remember, like, there's the five primary Pre-employment Transition Services, so job exploration, counseling, or post-secondary education counseling, you've got all those different items on your contract. So let's say you are a provider, and you're gonna provide job exploration counseling to a student. So any of these items that are on this list can be billed and with -- under job exploration counseling, so it wouldn't be a separate line item. So let's go through those items. So the first is the most obvious, is the service time. So it's providing the job exploration counseling. CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT You're meeting with the student and providing that service. Again, it can be individually or in groups. The second is also what Sara just reviewed in terms of first meetings. So that first meeting with the student, who is potentially eligible, to talk about the services that will be provided and how everyone's gonna communicate and how those services will be coordinated going forward. The third is preparation time. So preparation time can include many things. We have some examples on here. So it can be preparing or revising lesson plans, if you're providing a group service. Or the content for a one on one session. It can be communications or attempted communications. So we're getting a lot of questions about that. If you are trying to reach a student, you're sending an email to everybody on the team, things like that are all in that realm of preparation time. And the piece to keep in mind with preparation time is that the max that you're able to bill for CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT prep time is 50% of the service time. So if you are going to provide one hour of job exploration counseling, and you're gonna -- you've prepped for that meeting, you could bill up to 30 minutes of prep time. One other question we get a lot about -- I see someone writing on there. I feel like I'm on a football game where they're circling things. >> Yeah, I am sorry, yeah, I think we have somebody who may not be aware that their note-taking is displaying on the screen. So if you could refrain from adding those notes live, that would be fabulous. Thank you. Sorry about that, Alyssa. >> Alyssa Klein: No, that's okay. It was kind of entertaining. So as I was saying -- oh, a question that was asked, like, if you prepare for a session with a student, and then the student doesn't show, unfortunately, your prep time for that session with the student is not able to be billed. You can bill it in the future if and when you do provide that session with the student. CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT So that's a question that's been asked. And then we'll go to the next slide which continues all of the different items that you are able to bill. So Holly, if you could -- there, perfect. And so number four is employer development time. So if you are helping a student with finding a work experience, you can set up the time for calling, emailing, visiting an employer to set up that experience. Or it could be for a job shadow or an informational interview. Anything in that list of work-based learning options. Number five is also something we recently added because we've had a number of questions and we just didn't think to have it included. But it also can include team meetings. So if you as a provider are asked to attend an IEP meeting to help with coordinating services with all the other IEP services, your time can be billed under the Pre-ETS service for that as well. Or any other sort of team meeting, where everyone's gathering. It could be the student, their family, the CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT counselor, the Pre-ETS representative, whoever's serving that student, if you're all coming together, and you are asked to attend that meeting, in order to help coordinate the services you're providing, that can be billed under Pre-ETS as well. And then last but not least is travel time. Again, Sara just explained that. But you're able to bill round trip time traveling from your primary work location or it can be a home location, and we have all of that laid out in more detail. To where you're providing the service. And back to that location. And as it says on here, another bonus for you within Pre-ETS is that one thing we had heard, especially -- maybe not as much right now during COVID, but certainly still can happen now, but especially when you are traveling more, some providers are traveling, like, to a school or some place to meet with a student, and then maybe they're not at school that day. And especially in Out state Minnesota, or rural Minnesota, we hear that, you know, you might drive up to an hour, or even more, at times. CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT And if the student's not there, that's unfortunate. So where you are able to bill that travel time even if the student is not there on those occasions. Of course, we want to make sure there's communication back to the VRS staff to, you know, talk about that incident and what we can do to help make sure that doesn't happen in the future. So that's a review of what can be billed for Pre-ETS. The next slide -- there's a link on this slide that takes you to the page for our providers where there's a lot of different resources on there. We even have an authorizing, invoicing, and reporting guide that goes into these things with a lot more detail. Also, we recently made available these training modules. So there's five modules, as they're listed here. And goes through the different things that you as a provider are gonna want and need to know in order to provide Pre-ETS. So we hope that those things -- those modules are helpful to you. CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT And just as Sara said, feel free to reach out to Sara, to Anne, or myself when it comes to anything related to Pre-ETS, and we're happy to help answer those questions. And I'll pass it to Holly. >> Holly Johnson: All right. Beautiful. Thank you, Sara and Alyssa. And Chris and Kim before that. At this point in the forum, we wanted to open this up for your questions. On all things that were covered. So anything is a fair topic. We've got the folks ready who can hopefully answer or at least you know how to pursue the answers to your questions. So if you want to use the chat, we will take a look at that. Again, you can see, we've got a couple of questions on the screen for folks to contemplate. What questions do you have about E1MN? And the MOU launch? Which is gonna be on July 1st. What connections and implications are you seeing for your work and the people you work with? CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT And then, thinking about Pre-ETS. If you have questions on any of the updates and if there's implications or questions you have as it relates to Pre-ETS and you're one of the people that you work would. So let's see. There's a question here on Pre-ETS. From Lori Ackerman, and she asks, for a team meeting, can you bill in the Pre-ETS areas for that general meeting? >> Alyssa Klein: Yeah, so we are required, you know, in terms of you billing VRS, so whichever Pre-ETS services you're providing is what you would bill it under. So if you're providing two Pre-ETS services, you would split that time half and half. If it's just one Pre-ETS service, just bill it under that. But, yes, everything again is billed under the Pre-ETS services you're providing, so in that team meeting, you will bill it to whichever Pre-ETS services were being coordinated or discussed. I hope that answered it. >> Holly Johnson: All right. Okay. CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT If there's any follow-ups, feel free to put those in there. I'm going back to a question that was asked earlier in the forum from Tanya Capino, I'm hoping I'm close to pronouncing your last name correctly. You've got a question here about when will we be receiving the new contracts after the amendments for the Pre-ETS? >> Kim Babine: This is Kim. I can take that one. I assume you're talking about the amendments that have been in process for months and months and months. And those are so close. Many of you have already received the completed, executed contract. And there's just a few left. We're getting down to the last few. So if you -- feel free to reach out to Sara Sundeen or Anne Paulson to get the latest on exactly where yours is in the process. But it should be coming in a matter of weeks, at the, you know, unless there's some issue. >> Holly Johnson: Great. Next question is from Emily. CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT Royjer. And her question is, if this PowerPoint is going to be available and sent out after the meeting? >> Kim Babine: This is Kim. I'll answer that one as well. This is Kim Babine. The answer is yes. The PowerPoint, this meeting is recorded, and the recording will be posted, along with the agenda and the transcript. If you got the email yesterday encouraging you to register and as a reminder, it was also linked at the bottom of that email. So scroll down and then there's a link to it. So if you wanted it handy, if not, we'll be posting it and sending out the link to that as soon as we can get it out. >> Holly Johnson: Great. Thank you. And then just wanting to pass along some information that Ann Macheledt provided to everybody in the chat. If anybody is needing access to the interpreters, they top of the list Gina and Susan. You just have to hover over the video and click on CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT the three dots to pin their video. So just want to facilitate connections to interpreters. If you have additional questions, just put those in the chat, and we'll do our best to make sure we connect everybody. All right, and it looks like Kim is also provided the link to the recording and the presentation. That's in there. Question from Holly. Koite from Avivo. Where do I find the training modules? And I'm assuming that's for Pre-ETS. Or maybe if it's for E1MN. I'm not sure. That's a good question on both fronts. Where are the training modules gonna be? For the Pre-ETS, we'll start with that one. >> Alyssa Klein: So we do have a site on our DEED -- we have a page on our DEED/VRS website that is for providers. It was linked on the slides, so you can get the slides and find it, or you can go in under our website, and we'll put the link in the chat, and maybe Kim just did that. CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT So that's where you can find it. There's a lot of different resources on there. I think there was another question about resources related to invoicing, authorizing, billing. Again, if you go on the "Resources" section, you'll see that we have a guide for Pre-ETS and authorizing, invoicing, and reporting on there. >> Holly Johnson: Great, and I know training is under way, but is the forecast for where that be available? >> Chris McVey: Yeah, so people who have questions about the MOU and want to stay up to date with that, the best place to find that is on the disability hub MN under "Professionals." You can get information about -- you can see the original -- the MOU that was signed as well as some updates that are, like, where we are in the process, some key pieces about who pays for what when. There's a little bit of information relating to that. But, again, and it's really good to check back there on a fairly frequent basis, because that's where we'll be putting all and any new materials that are coming out relating to the MOU. CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT So that's -- I think what we'll do too is put something in the chat with a link to the disability hub. And that particular page. And I'll try to find it, unless Amanda Jensen Stall is also on this call or this meeting, and then she could plug it in. So thanks for that question. >> Holly Johnson: All right. There's lots of questions coming in here. The next one is from Vicki Corcoran. I only heard part of the answer regarding CARF accreditation. Will it still be a requirement? >> Kim Babine: Yes, I can answer that. This is Kim Babine again. And yes, CARF is still a requirement, if you want to have no maximum budget limit on your contract. So to be -- to have that no maximum budget. If you're an LUV, you do not need CARF. You have to follow the standards that we're creating right now. And if you are doing that, then you'll have $100,000 per year that limit on how much you can earn under the contract. CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT So the short answer is yes. The CARF requirement is staying. And you can make a decision about whether that $100,000 limit, where you fall, whether you'd like to continue with CARF, or if you want to move to the LUV pool. >> Holly Johnson: All right, great. Next question is from Sheila Ward. West central industries. Her question is, do you need -- do you have to go through VRS for waiver funded clients for placements if they are already being served by the CRP waiver services? Can they just use the waiver employment supports that are already in place? Or once they decide they want a community job, you have to refer to VRS? There's about three pieces. To that. >> Chris McVey: Yeah, I can take that one, Sheila. Thank you for that question. I have a really clear answer. And it comes from our regulations. Rehabilitation Services Administration. CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT Our federal funder. Has made it clear that we, DEED, VRS, and SSB, are the first funder for job development and placement supports. And so in the three employment services that fit within the waiver, the Medicaid waivers, there's employment exploration, employment development, and employment supports. When the MOU initiated July 1st, it is the responsibility of DEED/VRS to provide the job search and the job finding requirements. And the initial supports to help that person get settled into that job. And so a lot more information to come. But that is probably the biggest change that we're talking about that our community partners will experience. As well as our contracted case managers and our own VRS and SSB staff. Is that typically in the past, VRS and SSB haven't necessarily served people consistently on a waiver. Now, what's changing, and as of July 1st, and it also lives in the interim guidance, is that job finding and searching and keep -- initially CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT keeping, that's our responsibility. That's VRS and SSB, we're the first funder. So just real simple. That's the way that I would lay it out for you. That is the key change. >> Holly Johnson: All right, and we have another question on E1MN. Before we move to a couple questions in Pre-ETS. This question is from Jennifer Nelson. And she's asking, is E1MN replacing IPS, WIOA, or any of the other programs, or is this in addition to the other programs? >> Chris McVey: Thank you for that question, Jennifer. Actually, E1MN, I would put as an umbrella over things such as IPS, such as some of the things within WIOA, such as Pre-employment Transition Services, our MOU, between DEED and DHS, E1MN is the overarching piece about employing -- really looking to Employment First, and having conversations with people about their interests and employment. And helping them identify what their goals are and helping them in large part to just think about the possibilities, rather than automatically just kind CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT of moving somebody aside and saying, you know, well, employment is not for you. So that's how I would characterize it is that E1MN is that umbrella over all of those individual pieces that help individuals plan for, obtain, and maintain employment. >> Holly Johnson: All right. Great. Thank you. The -- if we switch gears a little bit. We got some questions on Pre-ETS. The first question comes from Lynette Rogers, she's a VRS tech rep. And her question is, what do providers need to show to bill for transportation to clients? >> Kim Babine: Was that -- I'm sorry -- I was responding to another question in the chat. I'm sorry, can you repeat the question? >> Holly Johnson: Sure. So Lynette Rogers is asking, what do providers need to show in order to bill transportation to their clients? >> Kim Babine: Yep. So what you need to show is in the report, basically, date and times, and where you were CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT traveling to and from. So your starting location, and your ending location. And it might be tedious if you're making several stops. But we need -- we need the tedious. That is what RSA requires of us so that we have the exact start and stop times and then also the start and stop destinations. >> Holly Johnson: Great, thanks, Kim. Here's another one. Related. From Georgette Wandalowski, I'm gonna again ask for forgiveness if I'm mispronouncing names here, and Georgette's question is, is the notification regarding Pre-ETS delivery available in one accessible place for future reference such as a manual? >> Alyssa Klein: And this is Alyssa. And I did put the link to the page to our resources for P.T. contracted providers. And if you go in the "Resources" section, you will find the guide that we have, and in the recorded trainings is where you'll find the trainings that we reference. CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT So hopefully you'll find what you're looking for in there. If you can't find it, feel free to contact us. And I'll also put my email in the chat. >> Holly Johnson: Great, thanks, Alyssa. Next question is coming from Kim Strickland at SSB. And Kim's question is, will the new contracts billable services be clearly demonstrated? Workforce development how we can make sure that I understand how we are going to be able to authorize for services before they are encumbered. Who would like to field that for Kim? >> This is Natasha. I could talk a little bit. So everything would and should be laid out in the contract. And those appendices where they have of the fee structures in place. And for SSB, because we would be using several VRS contracts, we have talked about having one central location or at least clearly pointed to where you can get that information. So if you're an SSB staff person, and you are looking for a contract in how to -- what the fee CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT schedule is and how to authorize for those things, you would be able to find that information quickly. The logistical piece of how to authorize what would the service types and titles be, that would be coming eventually as we really lay out the contracts and get those fee structures in place. >> Holly Johnson: Thanks, Natasha. >> Kim Babine: This is Kim Babine. I just -- I'm sorry. Take the moment. Natasha Jerde just answered that question. She is the director for State Services for the Blind. And we're so happy you're able to join us, Natasha. I just wanted to introduce you to the group. So hanks, Holly. >> Holly Johnson: Beautiful, yes, and together with Chris McVey and Leslie Kirchhoff, Natasha Jerde makes the chair of that big effort that's under way. Next question is from Stephanie Kruger of Pearl Consulting and her question is what type of training will be provided for those adding 245D CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT licensing. The ongoing docs to provide service to clients, paperwork, referrals, et cetera? So information on training for 245D. That's Chris. >> Chris McVey: Yeah, so Stephanie, thank you so much for that question. Know it's on the minds on a number of our P.T. contract holders. And we wanted to have our meeting today with DEED and our community partners. We will more than likely be having DHS join future meetings that we have, whether it's focused ' s MOU or other ways of sharing this n. But what I want to guide folks to with those questions is to our Amanda Jensen Stall, and she can help direct you to the correct people at DHS. Who can answer those questions. So we're not experts in 245D. Licensing. And we would never, you know, try to take that place. And so we want to make sure that we're supporting the work that DHS is doing, but at the same time getting you to the right people. CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT So I've connected with DHS about this, saying we're probably gonna get some questions, and we had agreement ahead of time that Amanda Jensen Stall will be the connector for any of our P.T. contract holders with questions or interest relating to becoming a 245D license provider. >> Holly Johnson: Great. And I'm seeing, and we might have a couple challenges with some of the presentation links. So for those of you who have alerted us to that, we will double-check those after the forum and make sure that those are working if they're not currently. So thanks for making us aware of that. Next question is coming from Mary Hexham at life works. Does VRS has templates for documentation. Has this also been discussed to have aligned templates with DHS 245D. Doing so could lessen confusion, especially with the possibility of many different service providers. So question on service templates. >> Kim Babine: This is Kim. I can jump in, and Chris, you might have had more CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT conversations about this. But I think the -- the idea is sound, of course it makes so much sense for us to have similar, you know, service templates and reporting and, my goodness, if we could have similar billing and things like that, as you work with two different state agencies. The reality -- so that is a wish we all share. Where we are on board for that. The reality is that our federal funder, rehab services administration, requires certain documentation, and Medicaid agency and Medicaid requires different documentation. So the -- we are going to be going -- it's kind of a long-term prospect that as we go forward, we're gonna be doing as much as we can with DHS and especially with SSB, VRS and SSB, to make things as similar as possible. You know, whether or not we'll actually be able to have the same form is unlikely. But we'll be looking for those opportunities because we want your jobs to be, you know, not focused on paperwork and all that reporting. We want you focused on serving individuals and doing the least amount of paperwork and back end CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT as possible. So it's the goal. It's a long-term goal. And it'll just be one step at a time. >> Holly Johnson: All right. >> Chris McVey: The only thing I would add to that just based on the MOU is that we are working hard to develop templates that meet the expectations for our community partners as well as VRS, SSB staff, and our lead agencies. And so those are some of the tools that are in development at this time. Kim's right, though. We do have differences between us. We're gonna do our very best to get to that -- to get to something that hopefully satisfies all -- and it's really about that specific serving individuals who are on Medicaid waivers. So just know that that's also part of what we've been working on. For the MOU. >> Holly Johnson: All right, great. Thank you. Next question is from Stephanie Larusso. And Stephanie's question is, will VRS staff get an CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT updated service types and titles sheet with the changes to help us add necessary items onto the employment plan? >> Kim Babine: This is Kim. And the answer is yes. There will be not a ton of new services. The only new service, unless I'm completely blanking, and someone -- Chris, correct me -- is the new SE PBA that will be a different service title. So I don't think there are a lot of changes coming otherwise to our services at this time. >> Chris McVey: Agreed. >> Holly Johnson: Okay. Another question in from Hannah. And I'm gonna guess it's Peitsch. But I could be wrong. Anna's question is, how would you authorize an intake for a regular V.R. participant who is being set up to receive Pre-ETS services? >> Alyssa Klein: Hannah, I did answer that in the chat. So if it didn't answer it, let me know, and you can contact me. But this is Alyssa. CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT >> Holly Johnson: All right. Okay. Here's a question that came in direct. So let's see. It has to do with CARF requirements. CARF has requirements that we have to follow for the standards. One of them is eligibility and documenting disability. Are we able to start gathering that information? Or what are your suggestions for then our audit? We do have our intake packets, but it is sometimes challenging to get that information if it isn't already a part of the referral. Any thoughts? Also, this information is fantastic. All in caps. Thank you. So question on the CARF. Anyone want to field that one? >> Kim Babine: Alyssa, do you want to take that one, or Sara? >> Sara Sundeen: Okay, I can -- >> Alyssa Klein: Okay, go ahead. [ Laughter ] CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT >> Alyssa Klein: So I'm assuming you're referring to the fact that our Pre-ETS representatives do not collect disability documentation. If you need that for CARF, if you as a provider need that, you'll have to do that outside of our process, so we don't need it so we're not gonna gather something we don't need or require. But in terms of a process pore that, I would say in talking with the Pre-ETS representative that has made the referral and talking about how you can get at that would be a good thing to discuss. If there are more questions about that, I'm happy to, you know, it feels fee to email me too. >> Holly Johnson: And Sara, did you want to add anything to that? I know you both -- >> Sara Sundeen: no, I think Alyssa covered that. Sorry about that. >> Holly Johnson: No, that's fine. We got more than one person that can help. That's great. All right, our next question is from Sue Drayer and her question is how will these changes from CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT the MOU impacting those wanting sub-minimum wage employment? >> Chris McVey: Thank you so much for that, sue. So how the MOU will affect individuals who are currently in sub-minimum wage employment is essentially, I think I bring it back to WIOA. And what V.R., the V.R. program, is required to do, as the designated state unit is to reach out to anyone in Minnesota who is earning less than minimum wage and ask about their interests, and pursuing in competitive, integrated employment. That has to happen on at least an annual basis. And what I feel we are able to do is to go from largely asking the question year after year after year without any next steps for that person without the leadership of, say, the contracted case manager or the county case manager or the community partner that's leading that and saying now VRS needs to have -- and SSB needs to be involved and helping to determine, you know, and work with that person about reaching their goals for competitive, integrated employment. Amanda Jensen-Stahl and I have been leading the work on that. CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT And about 15 to 17% of people in the State of Minnesota who have been earning sub-minimum wages have said that they are interested in pursuing competitive, integrated employment. And that's been a pretty consistent percentage since the start. So really, it's really taking it to the next step to say, okay, the person needs and wants to pursue this. We need to talk about all the factors involved but we want to involve the public V.R. agency to really have a role in helping that person identify Pathways forward when they want to pursue it. We absolutely are neutral about whether the person remains in sub-minimum wage employment or not. And so that's -- that's the role and our responsibility. I just see this as another opportunity for the person to move forward with their competitive, integrated employment goals. One other thing about the MOU is that this is not about people who want to go from working in center-based employment into a crew or an enclave. This is only about competitive, integrated employment. CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT So for those folks that are most comfortable going out in the community but with groups, with constant support, this is not part of the MOU. It's only about that competitive integrated employment where someone is placed on a job independently with or without supports. But great question, Sue. Thank you for reaching out. >> Holly Johnson: All right. Our next question is from Frankie Corcoran. Will VRS be offering recertification training for customized employment? If so, would individuals if they're certified through -- be able to recertify under the Minnesota model that became available two years ago or would we have to go through Mark Gold again. >> Chris McVey: Such a great question, Vicki. Hi, I know you were one of the early adopters with the Mark Golden training we had a few years. I believe we have some of the other folks that helped to develop the Minnesota CE training. Here's the deal on customized employment with DEED and that's both -- for both VRS and SSB. CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT We are not requiring that a person who has had any of the customized employment trainings that are ACRE-certified have to retake the training course. That may be a requirement under, let's say, Mark Gold and associates or some of the other trainers, but that's not an expectation. We are working hard. It's one of those things that have been on not a back burn, coming up, is ensuring that all of our customized employment practitioners continue to be competent in providing those services. So we are developing a protocol where we're gonna be asking for some recent discovery plans that have been developed and submitted them and having our team review those and then utilize a rubric for determined whether you're still meeting those requirements for customized employment. So rather than asking you to go through the training again, the ACRE-certified training, the ensuring there is a consistent application of the discovery process for customized employment. We may at some point go into the job development phase, but we're still trying to help support people get up to speed on the discovery portion of customized employment. CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT So if there are any further questions about that, please don't hesitate to reach out to me, Chris McVey. But great question. Thank you. >> Holly Johnson: Wonderful. I want to make note here. Christine Meesh just really capturing the great spirit on today's gathering here. I'm excited that SSB, VRS, and community partners are working together for Minnesotans statewide to provide the best opportunities to support their journey. Shout-out to the community partners for your hard work in making these services possible prior and during COVID. Thank you, so grateful we're all growing together. So, and then we have one final question, I think, before we wrap up. And turn this over. For closing comments. And that is from Stephanie Kruger. Her question here, to round out the forum is, regarding individuals with waivers. Will VRS continue to offer client choice for job CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT placement and development services which would include providers that do not have a 245D license? Or will VRS only be referring to those providers with both a P.T. contract and a 245D license? >> Chris McVey: Thank you for that question, Stephanie. It's one of the reasons why we're really hoping that many of our P.T. contract holders would also choose to become 245D license providers. I bring it back to the reason why we are in this place where we are right now with our Medicaid agency in Minnesota and DEED is, it's about providing a seamless service to the individual. Who is on a waiver. So an example would be if the person is in a job search right now, with a provider that we have a P.T. contract with, and we know that that person is gonna need those long-term supports, what would happen in the event that the person is working with a provider that has a P.T. contract only, there's not the ability for the long-term supports to also be provided by that provider. So anything like the longer term work site supports that go beyond helping that person initially stabilize on the job. CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT Those services and supports could not be provided by that same provider. Typically our clients develop relationships with our community partners. And they become comfortable with the person that they're working with. And we really want to encourage that continuity of service and support. So in the event that the person, the person on the waiver, gets that job, and is provided some initial work site supports, they wouldn't be able to provide those long-term supports, and that's what really what we're trying to avoid. And I think that that's true on not only the VRS and SSB side but also on the county side. Is creating that seamless experience for the person. Please note too, that VRS and SSB serve many thousands of people. And many of them are not on waivers. And so the population we're talking about, those on one of four Medicaid waivers, is by no means the majority of the population that VRS and SSB serve. So -- and so again, specifically to anyone who's CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT on a Medicaid waiver. Hope that helps. >> Holly Johnson: All right. Thank you for answering that question. We're gonna wrap up the Q&A portion of today's forum. We really appreciate everybody's great questions. And again, you know all of these folks. Are open and available after this meeting and in the months to come before launch. As we have questions on any of the topics that were discussed today. At this point I'm gonna turn it over to Kim to talk about what's ahead for future forums. Kim? >> Kim Babine: Yes, thank you. And thanks, everyone, for those great questions. I really appreciated the dialogue. So I just wanted to give people the list of dates for the upcoming forums this year. They are really -- we wanted these forums to be a regular occurrence, to put them on the calendar. I know we did a few last year, kind of as it came up as needed, but we really want to be really intentional about coming together and really CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT focusing on those topics that it's really helpful that VRS and SSB staff hear at the same time as our community partners because we don't want things getting lost in translation. We want everyone to be able to receive the same information. So stay tuned. We'll be having these every other month on the first Tuesday of the month. Same time, 10:30 to 12:00 via Zoom. And the dates are listed out there. We'll also -- the -- we'll also put the dates are already on the website at the URL that you see at the bottom. And we'll also always post the recording, post the presentation, the agenda, and the transcript. So that's where you can go to find past forums and if you need to double-check a date for the future. And we'll set up the Zoom links as they come, as the meeting comes. And we'll send those out via email. And we'll put on the website a place where you can register for each forum. So -- do you mean, Tuesday, December 7th for the last meeting? CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT Yes, shoot! I had that error somewhere else and I copied and pasted from the last one. My apologies. So we'll get that changed for you. Yeah, so that's the plan for the forums. And then just wanted to wrap things up. I will pass things to Natasha for a few words. >> Natasha Jerde: Thanks, Kim. This is Natasha. I just wanted to say thank you all. This has been, you know, the whole E1MN and the MOU group really has brought VRS, SSB, DHS, and the Department of Ed together in just a whole new way. And I think E1MN is doing amazing things for Minnesotans. But it's also doing amazing things for our agency. And I just cannot share how appreciative I am of getting to work with this fabulous group of people. And the fact that we're having this joint session and all of these joint trainings, I mean, this -- I've been at SSB for 12 years, and we really have not done something like this. CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT So it's been amazing. And I just want to thank you all. And I want to thank Kim and Chris and the rest of the VRS team for putting this all together and spearheading this. It is great. So that is all I have to say. >> Kim Babine: Thanks, Natasha. And again, Dee Torgerson sends her well wishes to everyone and really wishes she could be here today. So I send you greetings from her. And as Natasha said, I am so grateful to be able to work with all of you, community partners and DEED staff and I'm so grateful that everyone's so willing to pull together and do things a little differently than we have in the past. And move together forward. So thank you for joining us today. Thank you for all the work that you're doing. And you are very appreciated. And I hope you have a good day. Thanks, everybody. DISCLAIMER This text is being provided in a lightly edited draft CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT format and is the work product of the CART captioner. Any reproduction, publication, or other use of this CART file without the express written consent of the captioner is strictly prohibited. Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) is provided in order to facilitate communication accessibility, and this lightly edited CART file may not be a totally verbatim record of the proceedings, nor should it be considered in any way as a certified document. Due to the live nature of the event, some names and/or terms may be misspelled. This text may also contain phonetic attempts at sounds and words that were spoken, and environmental sounds that occurred during the event. CART CAPTIONING FILE – NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT