As our systems move further down the path related to Value-Based Contracting (VBC) opportunities, we have noted that many of the measures that come to mind are physical health or behavioral health focused. It is more difficult to include traditional IDD providers in this paradigm. At CCR Consulting, we spoke with several IDD provider agencies who expressed some level of difficulty around how to position themselves to best participate in VBC opportunities as they arise. The Collaborative Health Network (CHN), a statewide BH-focused Clinically Integrated Network (CIN), also recognized this issue and developed a subcommittee comprised of IDD providers to develop IDD-focused measures that could and should be included in VBC opportunities moving forward. This session will cover our initial discussions and thought processes around attempting to finalize IDD-focused measures. We will also review the measures that we added to CHN’s Quality Initiatives and steps that IDD providers can take to improve their options for VBC opportunities.

Rates of prenatal exposure to alcohol and drugs among children and youth in the child welfare system are significantly higher than in the general population. This exposure often results in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, which can subsequently lead to caregiver stress and family instability. Research indicates that caregivers and professionals often lack the knowledge of how to care for and support the infants, children, and youth who have been exposed. Creating a Family developed, evaluated, and offers two evidence-based programs to help fill this learning gap: one for foster and adoptive parents, and one for child welfare professionals. This presentation will include research, strategies, and lessons learned from training more than 1,000 participants to date.

In this session, Holy Angels and Horizons Residential Care Center will join forces to discuss the multi-generational workforce in the United States. This circumstance has become more prevalent for the first time in history. Five generations now work together, and organizations are attempting to navigate the challenge of ensuring a healthy, positive, productive, and sustainable workforce. We will describe creative retention efforts for the Direct Support Professional (DSP) workforce, including lessons learned. Specifically, we will share a project underway at Horizons that is geared toward increasing employee longevity while being mindful of fostering ongoing solutions to build a unified, multigenerational workforce. Solutions include assigning a “Mentor” to support new employees during their first 120 days. The effort is “kicked off” during new employee orientation, led by the CEO, and geared toward sharing what the Horizons’ mission is about and what the new employee can expect as they transition into Horizons. We will explore the similarities and differences between each generation, the impact of the Baby Boomers delaying retirement, the impact of Gen Z entering the workforce, and viable workplace solutions such as cross-generational mentoring.

In this session, we will discuss how to use a validated, cultural assessment to shape an organizational culture that improves service delivery and supports excellence.

Empathy is a foundational skill for building rapport with clients and providing effective mental health services. This skill provides mental health professionals with their best therapeutic tool, and is also the basis for their most common and volatile professional risks: vicarious trauma. Vicarious trauma can negatively impact the mental health workers’ ability to provide effective care. It can also lead to decreased job satisfaction and high turnover rates. Organizations play a vital role in a client’s mental health and promoting a healthy work environment that reduces the risk of vicarious trauma among behavioral health professionals. Trauma-informed organizations are essential to providing more effective services and programs and improved staff well-being and sustainability.