Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs (CYSHCN) Plan

CYSHCN Program staff integrated with Title V MCH Programs serving infants, children, and adolescents through projects funded to increase developmental screening, access to care and the medical home, insurance assistance, health care transition, family support and wraparound services, adaptive and inclusive physical activity, sexual assault prevention for young adults with developmental disabilities, and CCHD. The CYSHCN Program also collaborated with partners to support projects focused on genetic counseling and screening and child mental health.

Future endeavors include collaboration with other MCAH Programs, including PRAMS to reach families and pregnant women, TPP to further sexual assault prevention and sexual health efforts, and MIECHV to reach families and women of childbearing age. The CYSHCN Program will also continue to build or sustain relationships with state agencies DHCFP (Medicaid, EPSDT, and Katie Beckett Programs); NEIS and the IDEA Part C Office; Department of Education (DOE; Office of Inclusive Education and Child Find Department); DCFS (Children’s Mental Health and Independent Living Programs); Department of Employment, Training, and Rehabilitation (DETR; Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation); and the Nevada Chapter of American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). With this expansion in connectedness, the CYSHCN Program will further improve services, referrals, and specialized resources for CYSHCN and their families in Nevada. The CYSHCN Program will continue to share COVID-19 resources with stakeholders and families, emphasizing resources related to CYSHCN and to ensure MHP resources are up to date.  When a vaccine is available, specific needs of high priority CYSHCN will be shared with the Immunization Program; for example, conversations related to sickle cell anemia and hemoglobinopathies are ongoing in preparation and planning efforts.

Medical Home Portal (MHP)

To further increase awareness of the MHP, each Title V MCH funded partner will continue to promote the MHP as part of their scope of work. The MHP will continue to be promoted to medical providers in Nevada to increase referrals to needed resources and to families to provide easy access to local or statewide resources for a variety of health-related and social services. With prior promotional success utilizing social media, more campaigns will be launched in FFY 2020. The MHP increases knowledge of the Medical Home Model and CYSHCN-specific content, is available in multiple languages, and is an easy to use conduit to connect CYSHCN, their families, and providers to resources for needed services state and nationwide.  The CYSHCN Program Coordinator provided COVID-19 resources to the MHP which are now available and changes in search terms queried by end users will be monitored for feedback on CYSHCN areas of need.

Nevada Center for Excellence in Disabilities (NCED)

Nevada Center for Excellence in Disabilities (NCED) will continue to develop a program with Title V MCH funding designed to help CYSHCN transition from child health care to the adult health care system without loss of medical coverage, as well as increased referrals to and promotion of the Medical Home Portal. The program will continue to extend into education agencies, primarily the local school districts. It will continue to be implemented in the rural and frontier communities, as well as Nevada’s larger counties.

Family TIES of Nevada (FTON)

FTON will continue serving CYSHCN with Title V MCH funding focusing on rural areas (i.e., Douglas, Nye, Churchill, Pershing, and Lyon Counties) and Hispanic populations statewide. FTON continues to consider the possibility of reaching rural areas using a telecommunications application like Skype. Protocols will be developed to engage families in need in outlying areas through technology alternatives. If implemented, this will serve to reduce cost regarding travel expenses for staff. FTON will continue to staff the bilingual CYSHCN helpline and track assistance and referrals provided to callers. The FTON Executive Director will continue to participate in the MSRGN as a team co-lead. FTON will continue to distribute CDC Milestone Moments booklets, adaptive and inclusive physical activity resources, transition resources, and trainings on the Medical Home Portal, QUIT Smoking, and Healthy Weight. FTON will continue to share general and CYSHCN-specific COVID-19 resources and information passed on from Title V MCH staff and from state and national resources and share public health preparedness resources. The CYSHCN call line types of inquires will be monitored quarterly to identify any patterns in different types of needs rising to the fore in the advent of COVID-19. 

Northern Nevada Cleft Palate Clinic (NNCPC)

NNCPC will continue to examine children with cleft palate and other craniofacial disorders involving the head, face, and mouth in the advent of COVID-19 using recommended prevention strategies. NNCPC is also exploring a partnership with audiology mobile outreach clinics, as well as maximizing referrals through increased advertising. The clinic will continue to have staff in house which provide bilingual services for Spanish-speaking patients through Title V-MCH funded partner Family TIES of Nevada (FTON) and assist families with step-by-step follow-up information regarding available services.

University Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment (UCAN)

The University Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment (UCAN) will continue to provide diagnostic evaluation to identify children in need and refer to services, as needed. A cognitive psychologist will continue to provide assessments at no cost with referrals provided to families for access to appropriate services. UCAN, in association with NvLTSAE Program, will continue to disseminate Milestone Moments booklets and attend trainings for professionals and parents related to neurodevelopmental disorders.

Nevada Critical Congenital Heart Disease (CCHD) Registry

The Nevada CCHD Registry’s goal is to increase survival of newborns with CHD and to reduce loss to follow-up. The Registry will continue to ensure Nevada-born infants are screened for CCHD and those diagnosed with CCHD receive timely and appropriate medical care. The Title V MCH Program will continue to collect and report data annually. The Title V MCH Program, in conjunction with NHA and AHA, will continue to provide technical assistance to ensure Nevada birthing hospitals report CCHD screenings. Emerging CCHD data will be explored given the potential impacts of COVID-19 in relation to CCHD.

The Children’s Cabinet and Nevada Technical Assistance Center on Social Emotional Interventions (TACSEI) Plan

The Nevada Technical Assistance Center on Social Emotional Interventions (TACSEI) will continue to focus on frontier and rural areas of the state. TACSEI will meet with staff at private, religious, charter, public, preschools, and daycares to implement screenings and programs. The FEC will continue to conduct TA and training based on the Pyramid Model to personnel within organizations serving CYSHCN 0-5 years of age. The FEC will also continue to facilitate parent involvement in TA development, implementation, and evaluation to support family engagement in early care and education settings. The RC and fellow TACSEI staff will attend summit and leadership meetings to increase program reach. Online implementation of the Ages and Stages Questionnaire: ASQ-SE2 screenings and data collection will continue, along with the distribution of Milestone Moment booklets in English and Spanish.  Given the impacts of COVID-19 on preschools and daycares, needs for possible adaptations to the TASCI Program will be closely monitored through communication on implementation barriers.