NEWS & UPDATES

Best practices for connecting with First 5 and school referrers were shared during a DHCS Best Practices Webinar, “Strengthening Connections with Children & Youth Providers” on October 24, 2025. Providers who serve children and youth are encouraged to review the resources:

• Slide Deck and Recording
• Q&A

Guest speakers included Dr. Dora Barilla of HC² Strategies and Jaren Gaitherof the First 5 Center for Children’s Policy.

Many thanks to the National Health Care for the Homeless Council for compiling new and existing funding resources for recuperative care. 

• Click here to see the resources.
• Click here to explore the Homeless Council’s resource library.

PATH facilitators from throughout California are sharing tools and best practices to support implementing ECM and Community Supports and building local networks of care for Medi-Cal members with complex needs.

View and download toolkits and resources here: 
https://www.ca-path.com/on-demand-resource-library  

Toolkits and resource topics include: Provider network and awareness, referrals, Data Exchange Framework Bootcamp, strategic partnerships and communications, resilience, and CalAIM 101.

The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) has released its Medi-Cal Transformation Concept Paper (July 2025), which lays out the state’s vision for the next five years of Medi-Cal reform, including plans for advancing the renewal of the CalAIM waivers and other initiatives.

Building on CalAIM, the paper emphasizes one clear theme: placing Medi-Cal members at the center of care.

Read the full Medi-Cal Transformation Concept Paper here: Medi-Cal Transformation Concept Paper (PDF).

Providers are encouraged to listen to Michelle Baass, California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) Director, discuss impacts of the federal H.R. 1 budget bill on Medi-Cal services. She spoke in the state video, “Navigating Federal Cuts to Health and Human Services in California: A Presentation with CalHHS,” which was released in July.

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPgC0d_EqUo
DHCS portion: 2:28 – 25:48
Other video topics: Covered California and CalFresh

With the passage of the federal budget reconciliation bill and its Medicaid reductions in July, some providers are wondering what’s next for their clients and services.  Many parts of the bill are expected to take effect in 2026 or beyond, which gives communities time to work together on efforts to support Medi-Cal members and to explore growth opportunities during this time of change. 

HC2 Strategies’ Chief Integration Officer Lauran Hardin has worked with communities throughout the United States for more than 30 years on innovative ways to care for Medicaid members with complex needs. ECM and Community Supports services have uniquely positioned California communities to grow through change, Lauran said.

Click here for a list of growth practices that Lauran recommends.

To address budgetary constraints, DHCS is applying four new limitation criteria for current and new Project Eligibility Applications (PEAs), Scopes of Work (SOWs) and Budgets in the review queue, and any projects moving forward:

1. Projects will be approved only for new TA Recipients, unless applying for Transitional Rent Support or as determined by DHCS
2. Limitation of one TA Project per TA Recipient
3. Limit TAM Projects to Non-Contracted TA Recipients Needing Contracting Support
4. TA Projects may not exceed $150K and must be within one year

Projects must also meet the policies outlined in the TA Marketplace Vendor Policy Guide and TA Recipient Policy Guide.

Resource: This slide deck provides more criteria details and additional information about TA project timelines. 

Those who would like to learn more about caring for justice-involved individuals through ECM and Community Supports are encouraged to review materials from a DHCS Best Practices Webinar, “Connecting Services for the Enhanced Care Management (ECM) Justice-Involved Population of Focus Throughout the Reentry and Post-Release Process.”

• Slide Deck and Recording
• Q&A
• Justice-Involved Toolkits

The webinar focused on the benefits of utilizing justice-involved referral and billing toolkits, strategies to increase justice-involved referrals for ECM and Community Supports providers, and a reentry care plan designed to support linkages and handoffs. Guest speakers were Dr. Dora Barilla of HC² Strategies and Scott Coffin of Serrano Advisors LLC.

The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) recently released an updated Community Supports Policy Guide, reorganized into two volumes to provide clearer guidance. 

• Volume 1includes updated service definitions for eight Community Supports that address members’ health-related social needs.
• Volume 2provides updated definitions for seven housing-focused Community Supports, including Transitional Rent.

Click here for summaries of the Community Supports updates and definitions.

In addition, DHCS held webinars on the updates.

• Volume 1 webinar slide deck and recording
• Volume 2 webinar slide deck and recording

The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) recently released its 2024 Community Support Annual Report, and the results are inspiring. More than 252,000 Medi-Cal members received vital Community Supports services in 2024—nearly double the number served the previous year, thanks to the dedication and innovation of DHCS leaders and staff, Medi-Cal managed care plans, and ECM and Community Supports providers across the state.

The services are also helping people live healthier, more stable lives and leading to reduced health care utilization and costs, the report shows.

Click here for slides and graphs that illustrate the services’ cost-effectiveness.