If you are experiencing interruptions in support due to Case Management Redesign please contact our Case Management Care Team:
303-360-6600 / CMCareTeam@dpcolo.org / or click here for more information about known issues
We are currently experiencing a higher volume of calls and longer wait times. We are committed to providing you with the support you need and will work diligently to connect with you as quickly as possible. Either our CMA Transition Team or Case Management Care Team will be reaching out. Thank you for your patience.
Colorado is adapting its approach to long-term care through a project called Case Management Redesign (CMRD). CMRD consists of several initiatives that will help make accessing long-term services and supports easier by having Case Management Agencies (CMAs) serve all Home and Community-Based Waivers (HCBS) so individuals and their families can easily access the services they need through a single local agency.
Update: Fall 2023
As of August 14, 2023, DP is thrilled to announce its recent success in securing a Case Management Agency (CMA) contract, effective November 1, 2023, with the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) to provide case management services to individuals enrolled or enrolling into Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) for defined service area #5, which includes Arapahoe, Douglas, and Elbert counties. This exciting development marks a significant milestone for the organization and highlights its commitment to delivering exceptional services to approximately 9,000 new individuals with disabilities and their families.
“We couldn’t be more excited to have been chosen as the preferred Case Management Agency for this contract,” said Matt VanAuken, DP CEO and executive director. “Winning this contract to take on all disability waivers, expand our catchment area, and serve existing and new populations aligns perfectly with our mission to enrich the lives of people with disabilities by partnering to provide expertise, support, and advocacy in their pursuit of a meaningful life. This contract not only recognizes our competency and capabilities but also allows us to make a positive impact on an even larger scale.”
Developmental Pathways plans to invest in additional resources, including personnel, infrastructure, and technology, to ensure a seamless transition and optimal service delivery for all individuals and families. The organization is confident that this expansion will create new employment opportunities in the community, contribute to better customer service, and improve access to services.
To find out more, visit our blog post on our website.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
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Beginning November 1, 2023, Developmental Pathways will be the Case Management Agency (CMA) for people enrolled or enrolling into Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) who are living in Douglas, Arapahoe, and Elbert Counties.
If you live outside one of the previously listed counties, your case management will automatically transfer to the assigned CMA in the county you reside in on November 1, 2023, and you will receive a new case manager. No action is needed from you unless you request to stay with DP.
In keeping with their intent to localize services & support, we encourage individuals and families to engage with their designated case management agency (CMA). We believe being served by the designated, home CMA is the clearest, most straightforward option for families often navigating a constellation of services and supports. Staying local provides greater connectivity to other important community contacts, such as local school districts, law enforcement, healthcare connections, advocacy groups, and other resources to the specific region of support, and will make accessing wrap-around support such as locally funded programs easier.
However, the state has outlined an exception process, which is available during this transition period and we can support you in navigating that process off-line on a one-on-one basis.
If you are no longer located in DP’s DSA, but would like to stay with DP as your CMA, you need to do the following:
• Contact your Case Manager
• Contact CMA Transitions at CMATransitions@dpcolo.org
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Individuals and families served by DP or another case management agency (CMA) may experience a case manager change even if they are not changing CMAs because agencies will need to adjust their assigned caseloads to come into compliance with state policy and guidance along with expected regulatory parameters around caseloads and a desire to create sustainable caseloads for their teams.
We know that changes to your assigned case manager can sometimes feel hard and that there can be a strong desire to stick with the case manager you've already been working with. While not ideal, we are doing all we can to assure seamless transitions both internally and externally.
For folks who are supported by Developmental Pathways (DP), we will have some short-term transitional support teams in place to help assure continuity in communication and support.
Additionally, on October 16, 2023, we launched our Case Management Care Team (CMCT) which will be a point of contact for individuals, families, and providers when they have an immediate/time-sensitive, but non-emergent needs. We’ve set this team up to be a voice/face that members can reach out to when their CM may not be available in the moment. Please click here for information on our Care Team.
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We are doing all we can to ensure our teams have the knowledge they need to support our new members. In our current role as an I/DD case management provider, a key component of our core work is referral work and our community currently relies on us to help them access needed Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) along with other long-term care programming and services, including non-Medicaid services. This means case managers are already trained on the non-I/DD waivers. They make referrals to look at other waiver programming when appropriate and take required trainings such as Waiver 101.
We have also created special training on the physical, aging, and mental health waivers to underscore key similarities and differences for case managers who have been primarily supporting I/DD programming.
We are also actively working with disability and advocacy partners on determining opportunities for knowledge growth and relying heavily on our partners at Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) to keep key training content updated and available on their dedicated Long-term Care (LTC) training site: https://hcpf.colorado.gov/ -
Here is a full Frequently Asked Questions document responding to various questions from our town hall sessions.
You can also find a lot of information about DP on our website.
Interested in learning more by viewing one of our past Town Halls?
During these past sessions, our leaders guide you through the details about what is changing for our community and how DP will be here to support you and our community along the way.
Disability Providers:
September 27, 2023
See slideshow - coming soon!
Current Members or Existing DP Clients and Families:
October 3, 2023: See Town Hall Recording
See Town Hall Slideshow (pdf)
Government and Board Partners:
October 24, 2023
By Invitation only
Incoming DP Members and Families:
November 15, 2023: See Town Hall Recording
See Town Hall Slideshow (pdf)
Members, families, and caregivers: Connect and get support at our upcoming Open House!
You're welcome to stop by and connect with our Case Management leaders, who will be available to provide support and address the needs and questions of individual members.
*RSVPs are recommended but not required. RSVPs will help us prepare for your visit.
Date: August 8, 2024
Time: 10:00 A.M. - 6:00 P.M. (choose from a window of time)
* Please note that event check-in will be available until 5:30 P.M., so kindly ensure that you arrive before then. The event is scheduled to conclude at 6:00 P.M.
Location: Developmental Pathways Office (14280 E. Jewell Avenue, Suite A, Aurora, CO 80012)
Please RSVP by August 6, 2024. (Confirme su asistencia antes del 6 de agosto de 2024.)
For additional questions, contact COEvents@dpcolo.org or call 303-360-6600, and press 3, then press 5.
What is CMRD (Case Management Redesign)?
The Colorado department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) has shared that “CMRD refers to several initiatives that will help make accessing long-term services and supports easier by changing case management agencies to serve all HCBS [Home and Community Based] waivers, so people can access the services they need in a single place.”
CMRD, from both the federal and state level, aims to create an environment where conflict-free case management can flourish, establishes approximately 20 case management agencies across Colorado, and, most importantly, intends to help increase the quality of case management services. It will also allow HCPF to provide quality oversight and support to ensure a high-performing case management system statewide.
Why now?
In 2014, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the HCBS Final Settings Rule requirements. These new requirements were driven by and developed to increase person-centeredness. Part of the HCBS Final Settings Rule ultimately (after multiple extensions) required Case Management Agencies (CMAs) to be “conflict free” by July 1, 2024.
Conflict-free Case Management (CFCM) means that the Case Management Agency will not provide both case management services and direct services to an individual.
Additionally, in pursuing CMRD, Colorado hopes to improve outcomes for individuals and families accessing long-term care supports and making case management work better for everyone.
Which catchment area does DP fall into?
Beginning in November of 2023, DP will provide case management supports for Arapahoe, Douglas, and Elbert counties under the new CMRD regions, in which DP falls into region 5.
What will change for Developmental Pathways?
DP has a nearly 60-year history providing supports in our community, which includes navigating co-occurring needs from birth to aging and from a variety of backgrounds. This means we have experience in supporting individuals through their lifespans and across a spectrum of needs.
In preparation to meet the federal and state level requirements of CMRD, as of 7/1/2022 DP fully separated from Continuum of Colorado, a Medicaid-approved provider agency (PASA) and is proudly fully compliant with the federal and state laws for conflict-free long-term case management. You can read more about that work here.
Developmental Pathways will begin directly supporting the 6 Colorado HCBS waivers in Catchment Area 5, which are designed to support individuals with aging, mental health, and physical disability needs, and will also maintain our current work with the 4 HCBS waivers (and 2 state-funded programs) for individuals with I/DD-related needs.
What will not change for Developmental Pathways?
CMRD does not apply to Early Intervention (EI) supports – DP will maintain its current work for the EI program in Arapahoe and Douglas Counties and the City of Aurora. Learn more about our EI program here.
As outlined below, DP will continue to serve as the Community Centered Board (CCB) for our catchment area and will continue to offer locally-funded programming not available through traditional state and federal programming.
What if the change in regions means a Case Management Agency (CMA) transition for me/my family?
Under CMRD, it is Colorado’s intention to have individuals and families supported by their home CMA. There are many reasons for this including each CMA’s expertise in local community resources, proximity to case management supports, and so forth. Both the state of Colorado and DP are very committed to ensuring seamless transitions for impacted individuals and families.
Additionally, DP is dedicated to continuing our practice of working to match individuals with qualified case managers based on their preferences—so while choice in agency may be limited, we staff a large and diverse team and are committed to providing quality case management supports and safeguarding choice in case managers whenever possible.
What does transition planning look like?
HCPF has indicated that Case Management Agencies’ transitions for individuals will occur in multiple phases over a 12-month period, beginning in July of 2023 and ending in July of 2024. Our goal is to ensure minimal impact to individuals and families. Transitions between agencies often include more “behind-the-scenes” work such as transferring records and data, though sometimes individuals and families experience a case manager change as well.
Core case management services will not change. Case Managers at any CMA will support individuals enrolled in any HCBS waiver and will continue to provide all four main case management functions which include: 1) assessment of needs, 2) support planning, 3) referral activities, and 4) monitoring and evaluation of services effectiveness.
We are committed to ensuring as little disruption as possible to the individuals and families we serve.
What about Mill Levy? How does CMRD affect DP’s Community Centered Board (CCB) work?
As a part of CMRD, the definition of CCBs will be amended to exclude the automatic award of I/DD HCBS CMA work, but will ensure the continuity of local mill levy dollars. Developmental Pathways will remain the CCB for our catchment area and will continue to have local programming supported by Mill Levy through Arapahoe and Douglas Counties.
Find out more about locally-funded programming, which includes programs like Community Outreach Waitlist services, Individual Unmet/Under-met Needs allocations, scholarships, provider sponsorships, provider grants, community engagement work, and other supports.
How do I learn more? How do I get involved?
Sign up for HCPF’s twice weekly OCL Email Newsletter and/or their ARPA Project Pulse Newsletter to keep informed.
See information here at Case Management Redesign Rule Revision FAQ-December 2022 (colorado.gov)
See information on How will the new case management system benefit me?
And/or visit the main CMRD site, which is chock-full of helpful information including an interactive and their CMRD timeline and a list of meetings and materials about CMRD including recordings of previous meetings such as:
“Myths and Facts about Changes to Case Management”
“Case Management Redesign Member and Family Listening Sessions”
And many more
Bookmark this website page and revisit from time-to-time. As CMRD work continues to unfold, we will be using this site, along with many other channels of information, to help keep our community informed about CMRD.
How do I learn more about Developmental Pathways?
Started in 1964, Developmental Pathways (DP) is a nonprofit agency serving more than 15,000 individuals with disabilities and their families. We support individuals across their lifespans and have experience supporting individuals with co-occurring needs from birth to aging.
We are a designated Case Management Agency (CMA) for long-term care services and are one of Colorado’s Community Centered Boards (CCB), connecting people to federal, state, county, and private funding. We are also Colorado’s largest Early Intervention (EI) provider and help connect young children to essential resources.
Learn more about us by visiting https://www.dpcolo.org/
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Please visit our Careers page: https://www.dpcolo.org/careers/