Community Integration Managers

D. Community Integration Managers and Regional Support Teams

The Commonwealth will create Community Integration Manager (“CIM”) positions at each operating Training Center. The CIMs will be DBHDS Central Office staff members who will be physically located at each of the operating Training Centers. The CIMs will facilitate communication and planning with individuals residing in the Training Centers, their families, the PST, and private providers about all aspects of an individual’s transition, and will address identified barriers to discharge. The CIMs will have professional experience working in the field of developmental disabilities, and an understanding of best practices for providing community services to individuals with developmental disabilities. The CIMs will have expertise in the areas of working with clinical and programmatic staff, facilitating large, diverse groups of professionals, and providing service coordination across organizational boundaries. The CIMs will serve as the primary connection between the Training Center and DBHDS Central Office. The CIMs will provide oversight, guidance, and technical assistance to the PSTs by identifying strategies for addressing or overcoming barriers to discharge, ensuring that PSTs follow the process described in Sections IV.B and C above, and identifying and developing corrective actions, including the need for any additional training or involvement of supervisory staff.

CIMs shall be engaged in addressing barriers to discharge, including in all of the following circumstances:

The PST recommends that an individual be transferred from a Training Center to a nursing home or congregate setting with five or more individuals;

The PST is having difficulty identifying or locating a particular type of community placement, services and supports for an individual within 90 days of development of a discharge plan during the first year of the Agreement; within 60 days of development of a discharge plan during the second year of the Agreement; within 45 days of development of a discharge plan in the third year of the Agreement; and within 30 days of development of a discharge plan thereafter.

The PST cannot agree on a discharge plan outcome within 15 days of the annual PST meeting, or within 30 days after the admission to the Training Center.

The individual or his or her authorized representative opposes discharge after all the requirements described in Section IV.B.9 have been satisfied or refuses to participate in the discharge planning process;

The individual is not discharged within three months of selecting a provider, as described in Section IV.C.2 above. The PST shall identify the barriers to discharge and notify both the facility director and the CIM; or

The PST recommends that an individual remain in a Training Center. If the individual remains at the Training Center, an assessment by the PST and the CIM will be performed at 90-day intervals from the decision for the individual to remain at the Training Center, to ensure that the individual is in the most integrated setting appropriate to his or her needs