Here you will find any updates that are made to the guide, with the newest ones starting at the top. Please scroll down the list to see any changes made to guide since July 13, 2022.
Since we started counting on that date, we have made an update to the guide on average just about once per week. That is a good reason to revisit this guide often - at least when you are doing something you have not done in awhile!
Not all of these changes are subtantial but nearly all are in response to questions from staff, and efforts to put policy and procedure in writing - and keep in consistent with what we are asking of you.
Minor changes like typo corrections or punctuation are not listed here, but your feedback when you find them is always welcome!
Guide chapters in blue take you directly to that guide.
You can also find specific updates to each chapter at the bottom of the chapter.
Click here to go back to the training guide menu page.
November 15, 2020: Data Privacy
Appicability of the policy defined as including non-clients and coworkers.
November 8, 2020:Adult Mental Health Rehabilitative Services
Slight language change in DA requirements for admission.
October 30, 2024: Referral Admission and Discharge
Language added to clarify that consent for services may be verbal or in writing.
October 29, 2024: Effective Advocacy
Guidance on Responding to Law Enforcement Questions added.
October 25, 2024: Effective Advocacy
Guidance on Legal Advocacy: What to Consider if Asked to Testify in a Legal Hearing added.
October 24, 2024: Housing Stabilization: Moving Expenses
Language added, cross-referencing Staff Health and Safety Guide, identifying that physically moving clients is not a service we provide.
October 22, 2024: Services
October 22, 2024: Person-Centered Planning
Use of Action Lists to measure progress in a plan recommended and described.
October 18, 2024: Client Safety, Accidents, Incidents and Sentinel Events
Callout added prohibiting staff from helping clients obtain firearms.
October 16, 2024: Mental Health Services Travel Time & Reimbursement
COVID Restrictions banning transporting clients replaced with a permanent prohibition without prior-authorization on transporting clients in any service other than Housing Stabilization Services.
October 16, 2024: Services Guide
Details and resources added for self-paced advanced training and clarification of policies for repeating a training.
October 16, 2024: Services Guide
Additional and clarified information about Spenddowns and MA-EPD. Links to resources and forms for both added.
October 14, 2024: Referral, Admisssion and Discharge
Clarifications to eligibility table for all services.
October 10, 2024: Staff Health and Safety
Language added for responding to new knowledge of weapons in a home or posessed by clients and not handled or stored in a safe manner.October 10, 2024: Client Safety, Accidents, Incidents and Sentinel Events
Language added to Risk Assessment and Other Unusual Occurrences for identifying and potential reporting the presence in a home or possession by a client of firearms or other deadly weapons that may be unsafely stored or handled.
Other references to support to clients for obtaining firearms or other deadly weapons sprinkled throughout the guide as something we do not do, simply as a choice by us.
October 9, 2024: Staff Health and Safety
Physically helping clients move (to a new home) prohibited by this policy.
October 7, 2024: Children's Therapeutic Supports & Services
Added wording on the definition of Skills Training
October 4, 2024: Money Follows Mission
Some words added about why Accend founded and continues to operate as a for-profit organization.
October 4, 2024: Services Guide: Welcome to Services
Additional and clarified information about Spenddowns. Navigation menu enhanced. Procedures for non-payment clarified.
October 3, 2024: Referral, Admisssion and Discharge
Fine-tuning/clarification of language on referrals who miss intake appointments.
October 2, 2024 : Children's Therapeutic Supports and Services
Change in wording regarding Functional Behavior Assessment as a useful tool in treatment planning and reference to the Functional Behavior Assessment for CTSS Skills added.
October 2, 2024: Referral, Admission and Discharge Guide
Improvements to Service Eligibility chart and broken link fixed.
September 30, 2024: Adult Rehabilitative Mental Health Services
Requirement for Notification of Adult Service Initiation form to start ARMHS added to ARMHS. This information already existed already in the Referral, Admission and Discharge guide.
September 30, 2024: Orientation Guide
Mission and Philosophy removed from Orientation sequence. Presentor will weave key principles into Assessment and Planning.
September 27, 2024: Services Guide: Welcome to Services
Major update with procedures for spenddowns, client responsiblity for payment, copays, deductibles, and other information. Service rates posted.
September 25, 2024: Psychotherapy Guide
Language add that for documenting psychotherapy (children or adult) minimum session is 16 minutes..
September 19, 2024:
BHH and CMGT Intervention While Initiating notes changed to simply Intervention. Instructions clarified as applicable for other interventions.
September 19, 2024: Referral, Admission and Disharge
Modfication and clarification of Discharge Procedures for referrals who fail to engage. Fine-tuning/clarification of language on required Notification of Adult Service Initation. No policy changes.
September 10, 2024: Person Centered Planning
Target document and nav menu updated
September 4, 2024: Diagnostic and Clinical Professional Services
September 4, 2024: Housing Stabilization: Moving Expenses
Brief explanation added for how to internally handle and foward receipts for moving expenses.
August 30, 2024: Treatment Planning
Outcome Statements Exercise replaced.
Navigation menu updated.
August 28 29, 2024: Referral, Admission and Discharge guide.
Instruction to not use Initiating status for CTSS when assessment and planning work begins is removed..Navigation menu updated.
August 27, 2024: Principles of Person-Centered Planning
Diagnostic Assessment section updated to reflect the current types of DAs and reference and link to Review of Previous DA added.
Navigation menu updated.
August 22, 2024: Principles of Person-Centered Planning
Obsolete references to combined Intake Assessment and Plan deleted.
Broken link to Outcome Statements exercise deleted.
August 22, 2024: ARMHS and Integrated Care Management guides.
Functional and Health and Wellness deadlines for updates clarified based on July 1, 2024 statutory changes (updates required every 365 days after the full Functional or Health and Wellness assessment where previously this was every 6 months).
August 19-21, 2024: Clinical Professional Services
General guidance added for when a Review of Previous DA meets the requirements for an Annual DA and when and new DA may be required.
August 6, 2024: Staff Health and Safety Guide
Link to CDC guidance for COVID and other respiratory ilnesses updated.July 11, 2024: Children's Therapeutic Supports and Services
Information about Treatment Domains modified to include Independent Living Skills for Childrenand the callout that DHS does not allow skills for developmental needs (Life Skills) has been eliminated as identified in the Uniform Service Standards Work Group minutes from 4/17/24.
June 11, 2024:: Personnel Policy and Career Development.
Quarterly Calendars corrected.
June 11, 2024:: Integrated Care Management
Broken links to external resources for Immunizations and Preventative Health Care fixed.
Links to other obsolete guide sections removed.
Clinical Supervisor/Supervision replaced with Treatment Supervisor/Supervision to align with uses of this phrase in other services
June 8, 2024: Mental Health Services Travel Time & Reimbursement
Driving Policy added per recommendations from our insurance carrier.
June 5, 2024: Personnel Policy
References to salary for direct service positions modified in preparation for the change to hourly pay for these roles on 12/29/24. Salary table deleted.
June 5, 2024: Career Development Guide
References to salary for direct service positions modified in preparation for the change to hourly pay for these roles. Language on FTE adjustments modified to reflect new procedures associated with this change. Salary table for direct service positions deleted.
May 30, 2024: Annual and Advanced Training.
Order of Annual Refresher Training modified. Reporting Maltreatment of Vulnerable Adults or Children moved from December to July.
May 30, 2024: Reporting Maltreatment of Vulnerable Adults or Children
Language clarifications in Reporting Maltreatment of Adults, including When Reporting is Required, Involvment of Other Agencies or Individuals.
May 17, 2024: Data Privacy and Security
Language added on securely transporting documents in First Steps in Privacy and Security.
May 10, 2024: Referral, Admission and Discharge
Housing Stabilization Services added to service table.May 7, 2024: Staff Health and Safety
COVID-19 guidance updated. Heading modified to "COVID-19 and Other Respiratory Illnesses"
April 31, 2024: Boundaries, Ethics & Scope of Practice
Language added clarifying protections for reporters. Broken Table of Contents links fixed and others added.
April 24, 2024: PTO Policy
Requirements and required documentation for using PTO for Client-Initiated Cancellations clarified.
April 18, 2024: Psychotherapy Guide
Language for Assessment and Planning for children's psychotherapy clarified that a CASII/ECSII is still required by our policy to determine if the child is eligible for CTSS Psychotherapy.April 16, 2024: Treatment Supervision Guide
Action Items language added as an essential part of Treatment Supervision.
April 16 28, 2024: Housing Stabilization Services Guide
Information and Procedures for Moving Expenses added.
April 15 28, 2024: Staff Benefits Guide
Link to information about and links to Teladoc flyer and website added.
April 10, 2024: Service-Specific Guides for ARMHS, CTSS, Psychotherapy, and Diagnostic and Clinical Professional Services.
Language added that an annual DA is no longer required for any service, rather the previous DA is reviewed and a new DA conducted if determined necessary or recommended by the conclusions in the review.
April 2, 2024: Rights of the People We Serve Treatment Consent section.
We have discovered language in the MHCP that allows verbal consent for Telehealth Mental Health services delivered at least in part via Telehealth.
March 21, 2024: Telehealth Guide
Treatment Consent requirements clarified to match the previous update on this topic.
February 16, 2024: Client Rights Guide
Treatment Consent requirements added and clarified.
February 13, 2023: DA Update Requirements
DA requirements updated, including when we will conduct a new DA.
January 29, 2024: CTSS.
CASII or ECSII required for determining CTSS eligibility during the Intake DA or DA update.
January 29, 2024: Personnel Policy.
Work Breaks section added. Notification to nursing mothers that breaks are allowed to express milk and a private room will be provided.
January 25, 2024: Integrated Care Management Guide.
Correction to requirement for updates to the Diagnostic Assessment for Case Management. A update to the DA is required only every three years.
January 24, 2024: Paid Time Off and Leaves of Absence Guide.
Corrections to PTO accrual rates for hourly staff that were posted on December 28, 2023.
January 5, 2024, 2023: Approved technologies for telehealth updated and shortened.
January 3, 2024, 2023: Paid Time Off and Leaves of Absence Guide.
Guidelines added for use of PTO when experiencing cancellations.
December 28, 2023: Paid Time Off and Leaves of Absence Guide.
Accrual rates increased for all positions at 0.6 FTE and higher
November 14, 2023: Effective Advocacy and Health Care Programs and Insurance Advocacy guides.
Advocacy Guidance for Waiver Programs, Home Care Services, Home- and Community-Based Health Care Services moved from general Effective Advocacy guide to Health Care Programs and Insurance Advocacy.
November 6, 2023: Staff Tobacco, Alcohol and Drug Use
Cannabis Policy added. Testing policy modified and clarified.
November 2, 2023: Person-Centered Planning Guide
Treatment Resources added (DSM-5 Crosscutting Measures).
Oct 6, 2023: Staff Benefits Guide
Language on Technology Purchases matching fine-tuned and financing policy added.
August 23, 2023: CTSS Guide.
Clarification of service types to use while documenting CTSS services, including Psychotherapy and Treatment Planning.
July 27, 2023: Adult Functional Assessmsent
Document Assessment Work: service types for treatment/service plan and progress review writeup standardized.
July 17, 2023: Principlles of Person-Centered Planning.
Progress Reviews required every 60 days for all services. Updates to service-specific guides in the works but will not be listed separately here.
Jun 8, 2023: DA Guide
THe Extended DA is no longer an option for billing DAs.
Jun 6, 2023: DA Guide
Clarification of when a DA might be sent back for corrections, and by whom.
June 2, 2023: Telehehealth Guide.
Telehealth services by audio-only technology (example telephone) remain authorized through June 30, 2025 per legislative action. (The previous expiration date was June 30, 2023.)
May 29, 2023:
SDQ clarified as an optional assessment.
Progress Review requirements updated to match 245I.
Resource added: link to Mn Statute 245I.
May 12, 2023: Preventing Fraud, Waste and Abuse
Minor language clarifications in definitions of fraud, waste, and abuse.
May 11, 2023: Treatment Supervision Guide
Ad Hoc Treatment Supervision language added.
Statutory language added that Treatment Supervision must be done using interactive methods.
Use of Client-Specific Clinical Consultation clarified.
Language on scheduling supervision added.
May 7, 2023: Data Privacy, HIPAA, and the Minnesota Health Records Act Guide
Minor grammar and language clarifications for clarity.
May 7, 2023: Guide to Staff Benefits
Voluntary Accident and Critical Illness benefit added. Check back later for more information on this benefit.
May 7, 2023: Career Development and Performance Management Guide
Links updated.
May 1, 2023: Integrated Care Mmanagement Guide
Language clarification in eligibility table. No change of rules.
April 29, 2023: Referral, Admission and Discharge Guide
Process added for referrals who fail to engage.
April 29, 2023: Treatment Supervision Guide
Resource link to Mn Statute 245I added.
April 29. 2023: Orientation Guide
Updated the order of orientation training to comply with statute 245I where applicable.
April 28, 2023: Staff Health and Safety
Coronavirus Response Plan retired and COVID-19 guidance added to this guide.
April 26, 2023: Client Rights
Additional rights added. Notification procedures added.
April 26, 2023: Client Safety, Accidents, Incidents and Sentinel Events.
Chapter re-titled to include Client Safety. Risk Assessment section added.
April 26, 2023: Client Safety, Accidents, Incidents and Sentinel Events.
Chapter re-titled to include Client Safety. Risk Assessment section added.
April 21, 2023: Housing Stabilization Services
Referral to Admission instructions addded. This guide remains a work in progress and will likely see additional changes in coming weeks or months.
April 18, 2023: Purpose and Use of the Guide
Clarification of sources of information used for this guide.
April 18, 2023: Health Care Programs and Insurance Guide
Additional information on renewal notices added and link to the revised renewal form that will be mailed to particants added.Link to Sliding Fee Scale removed as we no longer offer this.
April 18, 2023: Technology Guide
Addition of SignWell service.
April 10, 2023: Housing Stabilization Services
Discharge procedures added.
April 6, 2023: Treatment Supervision
Treatment Supervision moved to the new chapter Treatment Supervision Guide found in Services>Treatment Supervision.
April 5, 2023: EIDBI Guide
Update DA eliminated as a type of DA.
Non-Billable EIDBI note types added and described.
.April 5, 2023: Diagnostic Assessment Guide
Update DA eliminated as a type of DA.
Navigation menu updated.
March 28, 2023: ICM Guide
Process for Initiating BHH services clarified to require Authorization forms prior to eligibility review.
March 19, 2023: Psychotherapy Guide.
1) Instructions for Prolonged sessions (peviously called "Extended") updated to comply with changes in state rules.
2) Documention guidelines updated to reflect these rules and administrative simplification of documentation.
3) "Extended" session language replaced with "Prolonged" to match DHS language.
March 14, 2023: Principles of Person-Centered Assessment and Planning
Language added to the section on Using the Adult Intake Adult Intake Assessment and Plan and Adult Re-Engagement Assessment and Plan to clarify that these plans are set to expire at 90 days from approval.
March 10, 2023: Telehealth Guide
Resources and References added.
BHH temporary suspension of the 90-day face-to-face contact rule eliminated. This service may still be provided using telehealth.
Language on Case Management changed to use the term Interactive Video per state requirements, and significantly limited.
Language added that audio-only telehealth services are authorized only until July 1, 2023.
February 8, 2023: Language simplified for a second time in Work Restriction, Isolaton and Exposure Protocols in the Coronavirus Response Plan.
February 2, 2023: De-Ecalation training powerpoint added to Positive Behavioral Redirection, De-Escalation and Intervention Guide.
January 19, 2023: Language corrected in Integrated Care Guide.
Required assessments for BHH: Annual DA not required.
January 6, 2022: Diagnostic and Clinical Professional Services
Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) guidance added.
December 30, 2022: Administrative and Clinical Supervision
Treatment Supervision clarified for all services and roles. Additional other supervision, observation and mentoring requirements added to this section. Section heading changed to reflect that it contains these additional requirements.
Treatment Supervision Agenda revised.
December 29, 2022: Diagnostic and Clinical Professional Services
References to the DA Update removed in response to 245I.
December 29, 2022: Annual and Advanced Training
Annual refresher training schedule for 2023 posted. Chapter posted to navigation menu.
December 29, 2022: Career Development and Performance Management
Core Competencies defined.
December 29, 2022: Paid Time Off and Leaves of Absence
Refinements to the policy for Paid Time for Snow Days, Office Closures and Other Emergencies.
December 28, 2022: Risk Assessment, Crisis and Recovery Maintenance Planning
Chapter reviewed. Link to WRAP updated. Options available in the FA/HWA for development of a crisis plan updated to match current template. References to related guides added in introduction.
Instructions for using Action Items for plans to develop Crisis Response or Recovery Maintenance plans added.
Language on reporting in cases of Adult in Need of Protection and Abuse or Exploitation clarified.
December 21, 2022: Paid Time Off and Leaves of Absence
Policy for Paid Time for Snow Days, Office Closures and Other Emergencies added.
November 30, 2022: Early Intensive Developmental & Behavioral Intervention
Coordinated Care Conference participants clarified and clarification that the CMDE provider and QSP are not mandated to attend.
November 30, 2022: Personnel Policy
Language clarified on the notice period for voluntary termination, and the positions more specifically defined regarding from whom we require a 30-day notice (with Integrated Care Managers specifically) listed. This provision is effective January 1, 2023.
November 28, 2022: Adult Functional Assessment, Health and Wellness Assessment, Level of Care, and Status Asssesssment
WHODAS guidance moved and described as a potential addition assessment that may be used in some situations. References to a required Level of Care (Service Intensity) assessment removed.
November 28, 2022: Integrated Care Management: Case Management and BHHS
Eliminated reference to the Service Intensity Assessment in required assessments.
November 28, 2022: Adult Rehabilitative Mental Health Services
Level of Care assessment requirements updated to reflect new MHCP policy.
November 28, 2022: Human Resources
Fixed some typos. Your feedback is welcome on anything here.
November 28, 2022: Paid Time Off and Leaves of Absence
Language added for accrual and use of PTO by piece rate employees. Some typos found and corrected.
November 25, 2022: Paid Time Off and Leaves of Absence
Language clarified for use of PTO during the pay period and flexing of hours by hourly staff.
November 16, 2022: Career Development and Performance Management
Termination of Employment section added.
November 15, 2022: Health and Safety for Staff and Clients (Quick Links)
This quick reference was created on November 15, 2022.
November 15, 2022: Health and Safety Guide for Center-Based Services for Children
Updated section on reportable illness/disease with links to resources on this subject, including educational resources for parents.
Navigation menu improved.
November 15, 2022: Positive Behavioral Redirection, De-Escalation and Intervention
Prohibition on restraints for adults added. Language changes to apply the policy/procedure to both adults and children. Headers and navigation updates.
Threats of Harm section added.
November 15, 2022: Paid Time Off and Leaves of Absence
Policy on leaves exceeding 12 weeks added. Navigation fine-tuned.
November 10, 2022: Orientation Guide
Replaced guide training, classes and outside training with a combined table. Updated training to comply with statute 245i where applicable.
October 20, 2022: Paid Time Off and Leaves of Absence
The policy on payout of accrued PTO has been clarified. Language was added that there will be no payout when an employee fails to return from a leave of absence (a form of quitting without notice). Language also added that working out the notice period is considered met if the employee works fewer hours during the notice period because of a stepdown in clients served due to client transitions.
October 12, 2022: Data privacy, HIPAA, and the MHRA
September 28, 2022: Guide to Staff Benefits
Link to information about the Employee Assistance Program added.
September 27, 2022 Assessment, Planning and Documentation Guide
LOCUS guidance removed and replaced with WHODAS guidance in the Level of Care (Service Intensity) Assessment section.
September 9, 2022 Assessment, Planning and Documentation Guide
Adult Intake and Re-Engagement FA/HWA and Treatment/Service Plan introduced and described.
July 13, 2022 Telehealth Guide
Instructions for the location description added for telehealth services.
