The California Department of Health Care Services, the California
Department of Social Services, and the Judicial Council of
California are hosting a webinar on Wednesday, September
15, 11 a.m. -1 p.m. The webinar will be an overview of
the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA).
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued
a recommendation for a single booster shot of COVID-19
vaccine six months after completing the initial two-dose
regimen of the Comirnaty or Moderna vaccines. This recommendation
applies only to those who are severely or moderately
immunocompromised and who have received an mRNA vaccine.
Earlier this week, “Comirnaty,” Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19
vaccine received full authorization by the Food and
Drug Administration (FDA).
The Pfizer-BioNTech two-dose regimen has been distributed under
an “emergency use authorization” for the past eight months.
Following an in-depth review of trial data and millions of doses
delivered, Comirnaty was approved, while the Moderna two-dose
regimen and the single-dose Johnson&Johnson/Janssen product
remain under emergency use authorization.
The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) invites
stakeholders to a webinar on Wednesday, August
25 from 12 – 1:30 p.m. that will educate providers
on the role of managed care plans and providers, provider
expectations, and an overview of the payment process for the
California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) initiative,
specifically for Enhanced Care Management (ECM) and In Lieu
of Services (ILOS).
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced
on Monday that the average monthly Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP/CalFresh) benefit will increase by $36
per person from pre-pandemic levels, or $1.19 per day, beginning
on October 1, 2021.
The National Association of Counties (NACo) has developed
a Child
Care Stabilization toolkit that can be utilized by
counties as they play a significant role in the stability of and
access to the child care system.
This week the first
Master Plan for Aging (MPA) progress report was released.
This report recaps the last six months of efforts by state and
local stakeholders towards the 2030 goals of an age-friendly
state.
The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) officially
submitted a
revised Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Spending
Plan to draw down an additional $3 billion in federal funding
for populations that are aging, disabled, homeless, and those
with severe behavioral health needs.
The Legislature passed the housing trailer bill
AB 140 (Committee on Budget) prior to adjourning for summer
recess this week. The trailer bill consists of a number of
negotiated homelessness provisions which included a historic
investment of $2 billion in flexible homelessness funding for
local governments over the next two years.
The County Medical Services Program (CMSP) Governing Board has
released its Request for Proposals (RFP) for the CMSP Local
Indigent Care Needs (LICN) Grant Program for CMSP counties
that have not already received funding. The RFP and all
associated documents have been posted on the CMSP Governing
Board’s website here.
The California Department of Aging (CDA) is hosting
a webinar to discuss equity in aging specifically for rural
communities, on Wednesday, July 7, from 10 a.m. to
11 p.m. The webinar will feature program leaders in
rural counties who use the distinct qualities of rural
communities to implement culturally competent and responsive
programs for their aging communities. The panelists include:
Child Tax Credit (CTC) Awareness Day will take place on
Monday, June 21. On this day, President Biden’s
Administration will work to reach the millions of families
eligible for this new expanded CTC enacted with the passage of
the American Rescue Plan Act.
The National Governors Association, the National Association of
Counties and the National Conference of State Legislatures will
host a briefing on Thursday, June 24 from 10 – 11 a.m.
PT on the Child Care Stabilization Grants included in
the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
The Department of Health Care Services is hosting a webinar to
discuss the key aspects of Medi-Cal, Medi-Cal managed care, and
updates related to Enhanced Care Management (ECM) and In Lieu of
Services (ILOS) as part of California Advancing and Innovating
Medi-Cal. The webinar taking place on June 29, 2021,
from 2 – 3 p.m. PST, will be the first of
a two-part series.
The Aurrera Health Group in collaboration with the California
Health Care Foundation (CHCF) is hosting a webinar to present the
medical respite landscape in California. The webinar taking place
on June 9, 2021, from 12 – 1:15
p.m. PST, will incorporate the findings from a
respite care assessment completed in 2020.
California Volunteers announces a new RFA for COVID-19 recovery.
This RFA is an Innovation Grant to bring forward strategies for
partnerships between local jurisdictions and non-profits to
support continued volunteer development for disaster
services and other recovery projects in education, health, and
climate. The RFA requires an Intention to
Apply submission by tomorrow, May 21.
This week, CSAC moved to support
SB 395 authored by Senator Anna Caballero. The bill will
place an additional retail tax on e-cigarette and vaping products
to help support safety-net services across early childhood,
public health, and health care systems.
Next week, the California Department of Aging (CDA) will host two
public hearings on the Older Americans Act. These two hearings
are taking place on Monday, April 26, from 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. and
Thursday, April 29, from 9:00 – 10:30 a.m. The purpose of these
hearings is to gather public input to help inform the development
of California’s Older Americans Act (OAA) State Plan for
2021-2025.
California Volunteers, launched by the Governor’s office in 2020
will utilize the My Turn volunteer platform to connect medical
professionals and the general public who wish to volunteer, with
clinic volunteer directors across the state.
The National Association of Counties Research Foundation (NACoRF)
has invited county officials to join in celebrating the Week of
the Young Child. Beginning April 10 and ending April 16 counties
can join national convenings on Prenatal to Three Peer Learning
and share how counties are prioritizing young children.
On March 15, CSAC hosted a virtual webinar, moderated by Inyo
County Supervisor Jeff Griffiths, on the Master Plan for Aging
(MPA). The webinar featured panelists who passionately engaged
and supported the two-year effort to form a statewide roadmap to
support and improve the lives of our growing older adult
population. Please find the webinar recording here.
The Public Health Law Center at Mitchell Hamline School of Law
and the American Lung Association, California are hosting the
webinar Addressing Secondhand Smoke: Tobacco and
Cannabis Smoke In Multi-Unit Housing. Sponsored by the
California Tobacco Control Program, the webinar is scheduled for
Thursday, February 24, from 10:00 – 11:30 a.m.
andwill address how communities can tackle
significant health risks caused by exposure to secondhand tobacco
and e-cigarette aerosols, specifically in multi-unit housing.
This week, Children Now, released their 2020-21 California County
Scorecard of Children’s Well-Being. Children Now is an
organization that focuses on an array of issues ranging from
childhood development to justice involvement, all of which impact
the safety and wellness of children, youth and young adults.
In a letter to the nation’s governors, the U.S Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced that the public
health emergency (PHE) will likely remain in place for the
entirety of 2021, and when a decision is made to terminate the
declaration or let it expire, HHS will provide states with 60
days’ notice prior to termination.
In what many considered a surprising move, the Governor lifted
the remaining Regional Stay-at-Home Orders (RSAHO) for the
Southern California, San Joaquin Valley, and Bay Area regions
this week.
The state’s undisclosed projections indicate that ICU bed
capacity will increase above the 15 percent threshold set by the
RSAHO by February 21, 2021. This is due in part to declining case
numbers and an improving 7-day statewide positivity rate tracking
at 8 percent.
The County Health Executives Association of California (CHEAC)
launched “Public Health Heroes for Recovery,” a campaign to honor
local leaders across sectors who are partnering with public
health officials to save lives and protect their communities from
COVID-19. Californians from business and labor, local
community, faith and non-profit organizations, and the arts are
supporting local public health officials’ efforts to slow the
spread of COVID-19 and reopen our local economies based on data
and science.
The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) has announced a
webinar on the California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal
(CalAIM)
initiative. The webinar scheduled for Thursday, January 28,
2021 from 2:00 – 3:00 pm will be the relaunch of this initiative
which was placed on hold in 2020.
The California Social Work Hall of Distinction will be honoring
individuals who embody the commitment of the social work
profession or practice in October of this year, coinciding with
the National Association of Social Workers California Annual
Conference.
Last month, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
approved the request from the
California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), for a
12-month extension to the current Section 1115(a) Medicaid
Waiver.
Counties seeking to increase the number of personnel who can
administer the COVID-19 vaccines may allow paramedics and
emergency medical technicians (EMTs) to do so after receiving
approval from the state
Emergency Medical Services Authority.
The California Department of Public Health issued an
immediate hospital surge order on January 5 to compel
the transfer of patients from hospitals in crisis and acceptance
of those patients by other hospitals with available capacity.
Children’s Hospitals are not included in the order.
The Mental Health Services & Accountability Commission (MHSOAC)
announced five new
dashboards on the website aimed at providing public access to
readable mental health data across demographics.
A summary of the five new dashboards can be found below:
The Monthly Allocation Dashboard displays information from the
State Controller’s Office on monthly allocation amounts by Mental
Health Program (MHP) from August 2012 to present.
The Office of the California Surgeon General and the Department
of Health Care Services (DHCS) released their much anticipated
draft guide on efforts needed to diminish the impact of
adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and toxic stress.
This week, the state has seen 77 percent of the state’s
population required to adjust to Governor Newsom’s sweeping
Regional Stay-at-Home Order and both houses of the Legislature
returning to Sacramento to open the 2021-2022 legislative
session. Besides swearing in Senator Toni Atkins as Senate
President pro Tempore and Anthony Rendon as Assembly Speaker,
members from both houses signaled their eagerness to re-engage
with the Governor on the COVID-19 crisis and the state budget.
Governor Newsom today appointed San Francisco Health Officer Dr.
Tomás Aragón to lead the California Department of Public Health
(CDPH) and serve as the state’s Health Officer. Dr. Aragón is a
welcome addition to CPDH, where newly appointed State
Epidemiologist and former Alameda County Health Officer Dr. Erica
Pan has been holding down the fort during this difficult time.
Dr. Aragon replaces former CDPH Director Dr. Sonia Angell, who
resigned abruptly this summer.
Governor Newsom reported last week that official requests
for the initial 327,000 doses of vaccines would be submitted
Friday, December 4. It was announced this week that the
submission for those vaccine doses were made with anticipated
California delivery of December 15.
During a press conference this week, Governor Newsom reiterated
that the state continues to plan for a safe and equitable vaccine
distribution. The update included the anticipated FDA approval of
the Pfizer vaccine on December 10 and Moderna around December 17.
