No Wrong Door Implementation Grant

• Communication Brief - Aging & Disability Resources of Colorado and No Wrong Door Funding Efforts - June 1, 2018
• NWD Pilot Sites Communication - February 2018
• NWD Pilot Sites Communication - November 2017
• NWD Pilot Sites Communication - August 2017

The No Wrong Door Regional Pilot Site Request for Proposals solicitation concluded on January 30, 2017.  After reviewing the proposals, the Department intends to award contracts to the following agencies to lead the NWD regional pilot sites:

• Colorado Access (serving Adams, Arapahoe, Denver and Douglas counties)
• Larimer County Department of Human Services
• San Juan Basin Area Agency on Aging (serving Archuleta, Dolores, La Plata, Montezuma, and San Juan counties)
• Senior Resource Development (serving Pueblo county)

The Department will work with the regional pilot sites to test the proposed Regional No Wrong Door Entity model for the purpose of streamlining access to Long-Term Services and Supports for all people in need regardless of age, disability or pay source. 

This initiative is based on the NWD implementation plan that the Department submitted to the ACL in May 2016. The plan was finalized utilizing extensive stakeholder input through the NWD Planning Advisory Group and five regional forums across the state during October-November 2015. For more information please see the NWD Planning Advisory Group Webpage.

This project is a joint effort of the:

• Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing
  • ​Office of Community Living (OCL)
• Colorado Department of Human Services
  • State Unit on Aging (SUA)
• ​Colorado Department of Labor and Employment​
  • Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR)

The objectives of this project are to:

1. Establish four regional pilot sites
2. Identify the regulatory and policy barriers to implementing NWD statewide and the necessary actions to eliminate or mitigate these barriers
3. Create a financial model for regionally-based NWD networks
4. Determine NWD operating protocols
5. Train and provide technical assistance to the four regional pilot sites
6. Evaluate NWD operations during the pilot phase

Anticipated outcomes at the end of the grant period include:

1. Development of a toolkit, which includes job descriptions, decision support tools and operational protocols, for implementing NWD regionally
2. Creation of action plans to address the regulatory and policy barriers that have implications for NWD agencies
3. Creation of an action plan for developing the financial model for implementing NWD statewide

For more information, see the project narrative, work plan budget narrative and letters of support submitted to the ACL in July 2015 in the Grant Application Documents section below.

The Department and its state partners have finalized Colorado's Three-Year No Wrong Door (NWD) Implementation Plan. This plan, developed with extensive stakeholder input, describes the proposed model for the statewide NWD system. This model ensures the following six criteria of a fully functioning NWD system, as defined by the federal Administration for Community Living (ACL), are conducted statewide:

• Information, Referral and Awareness
• Person-Centered Counseling
• Streamlined Eligibility
• Person-Centered Transition Support
• Individual Populations, Partnerships and Stakeholder Involvement
• Quality Assurance and Continuous Improvement

For more information, please see Colorado's Three-Year No Wrong Door Implementation Plan Fact Sheet

Through a grant from the ACL, Colorado plans to test the model presented in the plan by financing four regional NWD systems as pilot sites. The NWD system, when taken to scale, will create a streamlined Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) entry point system that provides information and a full range of options for LTSS programs and eligibility determinations for seniors, people with disabilities and caregivers, regardless of their pay source.

To request email updates on No Wrong Door implementation, contact Aron Snyder at Aron.Snyder@state.co.us or 303-866-5717.

As part of our efforts to determine how to implement the No Wrong Door system statewide, the Department and its partners are planning an extensive study of how to maximize available funding through Federal Financial Participation (FFP) for Medicaid administrative services. This study will begin after the launch of the NWD regional pilot sites.

At the same time, the Department and our partners at the Colorado Department of Human Services State Unit on Aging are working on a similar effort with the state’s Aging and Disability Resources for Colorado (ADRCs). The ADRCs are reviewing how they can receive Medicaid funds for work they are already doing.

It should be noted that while both efforts are similar in scope, they are separate projects. The ADRCs are focusing exclusively on finding a new funding stream for themselves. The purpose of the NWD regional pilot study will help shape the long-term financial model for the future NWD Regional Entities.

Contact Aron.Snyder@state.co.us with any questions or for more information.

Five public regional forums on the No Wrong Door Implementation Grant were held around the state during October and November 2015.

No Wrong Door Regional Forum Presentation

NWD Planning Advisory Group Website

Funding opportunity announcement from the ACL

Year 1 Notice of Award

NWD project narrative with abstract

• Project Narrative Attachment 1: Colorado’s LTSS Puzzle
• Project Narrative Attachment 2: No Wrong Door Needs Assessment  (appendices to Attachment 2 below)
  • Colorado Area Agencies on Aging Map
  • Colorado Behavioral Health Organizations Map
  • Colorado Community Centered Boards Map
  • Colorado's LTSS Data Systems Flow Chart
  • Colorado Independent Living Centers Map
  • Colorado Single Entry Point (SEP) Agencies Map
  • Colorado Health Institute 2013 First Step Report on LTSS
• Project Narrative Attachment 3: Proposed NWD System Governance Structure
• Project Narrative Attachment 4: Stakeholders and Key Partners in NWD System Planning Efforts
• NWD Work plan
• NWD Implementation Grant Budget Narrative
• Department Letter of Intent 06-09-15
• Letters of commitment and support
  • Governor Hickenlooper Letter of Support
  • Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing Letter of Commitment and Support
  • Colorado Department of Human Services Letter of Commitment and Support
  • Department of Veteran's Affairs Eastern Colorado Letter of Support

Revised Year 2 Budget for the No Wrong Door Grant  (Note: The Department was required by the federal Administration on Community Living [ACL] to cut 1.5% off the original budget submitted.  This revised budget was submitted to the ACL on June 20, 2016.)

The Department has contracted with the Center on Network Science (CNS) from the University of Colorado-Denver, School of Public Affairs to serve as the No Wrong Door project evaluator.  The CNS's work will include evaluation of the NWD regional pilots' ability to carry out the six functions of a No Wrong Door system.  CNS will also help to determine how to implement NWD statewide upon the conclusion of the pilot phase.  They will work with the pilot sites, their customers and referral sources to collect quantitative and qualitative data measuring the sites' effectiveness.

On October 12, 2016, the Department and CNS held a webinar with members of the 2015 NWD Planning Advisory Group to share their evaluation methodology and get the Group's feedback.  

• View CNS's webinar presentation 
• Listen to the audio recording of the webinar on YouTube

Program Contact:
Aron Snyder

Aron.Snyder@state.co.us
303-866-5717