Home and Community-Based Services Quality Assurance Project Focus Group Announcement

In December 2024, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) started a project to improve the quality of home and community-based services (HCBS). DHHS is working with a group called Alvarez and Marsal (A&M). This project is meant to help many groups that interact with HCBS, including the people who supervise those who provide case management services for people who have an intellectual disability or an autism spectrum disorder and receive home and community support.

Some key terms you might have heard during this project are:

Reportable Event: When something bad happens, like an injury or a mistake with medicine.
Incident Management: How DHHS tracks and fixes these kinds of problems.

Thank You!

Thank you to everyone who participated in the HCBS Quality Assurance project’s town halls and focus groups back in January and February. Your feedback on what does work and what does not work in the incident management system was incredibly valuable!

We Want to Hear from You Again!

DHHS is now at a stage in the project where they plan to share ideas for strengthening the incident management system with different groups, including members, families, and guardians.

A&M will host a focus group to present these initial ideas and gather your feedback. Your input will help DHHS understand your perspective on potential opportunities to enhance the incident management system. This is another opportunity to share what would best support your experiences!

In this focus group, A&M will talk about:

Summary of what was talked about during the town halls and focus groups in January and February.
Introduction / discussion of ideas for the incident management system.
Close out / open discussion.

Important Details - Session #1:

When: April 9, 3:00-4:00 pm (each session is limited to 15 attendees)

Who: Individuals and families using services, advocates, and support groups

Where: Online (Zoom meeting, you'll need to register using the button below)

Important Details - Session #2:

When: April 10, 12:00-1:00 pm (each session is limited to 15 attendees)

Who: Individuals and families using services, advocates, and support groups

Where: Online (Zoom meeting, you'll need to register using the button below)

You can also send your feedback by email to [email protected]

We hope you’ll join us! Together, we can make home and community services better for everyone.

Please note that this session will focus on how OADS manages reportable events in certain waiver programs, specifically:

Section 21 (Home and Community Benefits for Members with Intellectual Disabilities or Autism Spectrum Disorder) and
Section 29 (Support Services for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities or Autism Spectrum Disorder).

If you require accommodation, such as real-time transcription and captioning (CART), American Sign Language (ASL), or other language interpretation, please contact April Keyes at [email protected].