Affordable Care Act - Enroll in a Plan

When should I enroll?

You can enroll anytime from now to March 31, 2014. Coverage will begin on January 1, 2014 for those who enroll by December 15, 2013.

How do I enroll?

There are several easy ways to enroll. You can meet with us face-to-face, call us or apply online.
(You can also print a summary of this.)

• Visit an Enrollment Center
• Go to an Enrollment Fair
• Call 855-805-432
• Enroll Online

What information do I need to provide?

When you apply for coverage, you’ll need to provide some information about yourself and each member of your household who is enrolling. Save time by gathering this information beforehand.

• Birthdates
• Social Security Numbers (or document numbers for legal immigrants)
• Citizenship or immigration status
• Tax returns for previous years
• Employer and income info (pay stubs, W-2 forms)
• Policy Numbers For any current health insurance and information about employer-sponsored coverage you or someone in your household is eligible for.

Who can help me enroll?

Find an Assister in New Haven to help you enroll in a plan:
https://www.accesshealthct.com/AHCT/AssistanceSearch.action

A Conversation about Homeless and Runaway Youth

New Content Added

We have added new content for your convenience.  Please look under the Benefits section to the right.  We have added the Husky/LIA/Charter Health Insurance application, SNAP application and a description of medicaid eligibility expansion in 2014.

Thank you!

You are invited!

YouthContinuum presents When 8 am - 3 pm Friday, November 1, 2013 Add to Calendar Where Southern Connecticut State University Adanti Student Center 345 Fitch Street New Haven, CT Credits Continuing Education credits will be available from National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and Connecticut Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (CAMFT). Dear Colleague, Youth Continuum invites you to participate in our conference, The Unfinished Brain: Crisis and Opportunity in Adolescent Neuroscience, taking place on November 1, 2013 at the Southern Connecticut State University's Adanti Student Center . The Unfinished Brain will convene national experts from the scientific, education, psychology and social work disciplines to present the principles of neuroscience and trauma against a backdrop of their implications for the front-line practitioner. Breakfast and lunch will also be served. Workshops will integrate neuroscience concepts into programmatic structure and treatment interventions.  Emphasis will be placed on the application to vulnerable youth populations. Participants will gain knowledge of leading-edge strategies and frameworks for developing outcome driven youth services. Space is limited. To reserve your spot, please make a reservation by following the link below.  Thank you!  We look forward to seeing you there.  Get more information Register Now! I can't make it If you have any questions, please feel free contact us using the information below. Thank you for the work you do and we hope to see you at the conference! Sincerely, Carole Shomo, CEO Youth Continuum Youth Continuum cmercado@youthcontinuum.org 203-562-3396 Ext. 16

Affordable Care Act - Enrollment Has Begun

The Affordable Care Act

·     The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), otherwise known as “Obamacare,” enacted in March 2010, introduced a series of reforms to expand health insurance coverage by:

*  Expanding Medicaid eligibility and

*  Establishing health insurance exchanges or market places.

·      In CT, the insurance marketplace is called “Access Health CT”. The marketplace will offer approved health insurance plans to individuals, families and small business. Eligible consumers may qualify for discounts in the form of tax credits.

·        Enrollment Period: Those who enroll in the first enrollment period, Oct. 2013-Mar 2014, will have coverage effective January 2014.

There are several Assisters in New Haven. 

We will share their contact information as we learn it.

For more information about enrollment and what information you must have to sign up for a health care plan, Click Here.

You may visit the AccessHealthCT website at:  AccessHealthCT

Rapid Re-housing Works in Connecticut

Where are they now?

Three years later, did Rapid Re-housing work in Connecticut?   

Rapid Re-housing is short-term financial assistance and services such as case management, outreach, and housing search for individuals and families who are in emergency shelter or on the streets and need temporary assistance in order to obtain and retain housing.   Rapid Re-housing does not meet the needs of every person experiencing homelessness, but is an important option for many.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing (HPRP) Program allowed providers in Connecticut to greatly expand Rapid Re-housing services in 2010.  Under HPRP, and in three years, just under three million dollars went toward Rapid Re-housing services for 3,100 people in over 1,600 households.  In 2013, we can look back on this data to consider the questions: Was that money well spent? Did those people return to shelter?



Rapid Re-housing Works in Connecticut.
Since Connecticut clients received Rapid Re-housing services through HPRP, only a small number have returned to shelter.  These results are consistent with Rapid Re-housing outcomes across the nation. [2]  Rapid Re-housing appears to be especially successful for families with children in Connecticut.

Three years after receiving Rapid Re-housing, eighty-two percent (82%) of singles have not returned to a Connecticut shelter. For families, the result is 95%.

At the two year post-exit mark, almost 90% of singles and 94% of families had not returned to shelter.


The graph below illustrates the percent of singles and persons in families that returned to shelter after exiting from Rapid Re-housing services in 2010, 2011, and 2012. [3]

After Exiting the Program, How Many Rapid Re-housing Recipients had not returned to shelter in Connecticut  [4]

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¹ National Alliance to End Homelessness, Rapid Re-Housing: Creating Programs that Work, http://www.endhomelessness.org/library/entry/rapid-re-housing-creating-programs-that-work

² United States Interagency Council, Emerging Research Indicates Rapid Re-Housing Sets Up for Success, Katharine Gale, Policy Director, August 2013. http://www.usich.gov/media_center/blog/RRH_research

³ Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness, CT HPRP Returns to Shelter report, Connecticut Homelessness Management Information System (CT HMIS), August 2013.

⁴ Results show returns to shelter after varying lengths of time “at risk” for return.  Those exiting in 2012 were measured at 9 months post-exit while those exiting in 2010 were measured some 3 years post-exit.  This means that it is possible to compare Family/Individual returns within but not across exit cohort years.

Additional Resources

Anderson, Lindsay. (2013). Ending Family Homelessness. National Alliance to End Homelessness Conference: July 22-24, 2013, Washington, D.C.   http://www.endhomelessness.org/library/entry/4.1-integrating-rapid-Re-housing-and-employment-strategies-for-families

Batko, Samantha. (2013, May 21). Data Points: Rapid Re-Housing Works. National Alliance to End Homelessness. http://www.endhomelessness.org/blog/entry/data-points-rapid-re-housing-works#.UgaVk2RgaRk

Burden, Jamey. (2013). Basics of Rapid Re-Housing. National Alliance to End Homelessness Conference: July 22-24, 2013, Washington, D.C.  http://www.endhomelessness.org/library/entry/1.1-basics-of-rapid-Re-housing

Byrne, Thomas. (2013). The National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans, Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-housing: Housing Outcomes of Veterans Exiting the Supportive Services for Veterans Families (SSVF) Program. National Alliance to End Homelessness Conference: July 22-24, 2013, Washington, D.C.  http://www.endhomelessness.org/library/entry/2.1-emerging-research-on-rapid-rehousing

Fetzer-Rice, Beth. (2013). Basics of Rapid Re-Housing. National Alliance to End Homelessness Conference: July 22-24, 2013, Washington, D.C.  http://www.endhomelessness.org/library/entry/1.1-basics-of-rapid-Re-housing

Cotter, Meghann. (2013). Micah Ecumenical Ministries: Housing the ‘Un-Houseable: Using Relationship-Based Service Models to Rapidly Re-Housing Single Adults. National Alliance to End Homelessness Conference: July 22-24, 2013, Washington, D.C.  http://www.endhomelessness.org/library/entry/5.1-rapid-rehousing-models-for-single-adults

Foster, Sage B. (2010) Rapid Re-Housing Program, HPRP Innovative Strategies for Housing Single Adults. National Alliance to End Homelessness Conference: July 12-14, 2010, Washington, D.C.  http://fr.slideshare.net/naehomelessness/53-rapid-rehousing-for-single-adults-foster

Housing Innovations. (2012, November 19). Homelessness Resolution Strategy: Rochester and Monroe County Final Report. City of Rochester, N.Y. http://www.cityofrochester.gov/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=8589956335

Rodriguez, Jason. (2013). Georgia Department of Community Affairs: Rapid Re-Housing and Homelessness Recurrence in Georgia.  National Alliance to End Homelessness Conference: July 22-24, 2013, Washington, D.C. http://www.endhomelessness.org/library/entry/2.1-emerging-research-on-rapid-rehousing

Taylor, Jamie Vanasse & Pratt-Roebuck, Katrina. (2013). Cloudburst Consulting Group & Office of Supportive Housing and the City of Philadelphia: Evaluating Philadelphia’s Rapid Re-Housing Impacts on Housing Stability and Income. National Alliance to End Homelessness Conference: July 22-24, 2013, Washington, D.C.  http://www.endhomelessness.org/library/entry/2.1-emerging-research-on-rapid-rehousing

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. (2013, May 6). Building the Bridge to the Future: Lessons Learned from HPRP. YouTube HUD Channel. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzTFg5iuOyc
 

mHEALTH Project Accepting Referrals

mHEALTH Project Description

mHEALTH (Medical Home Engagement and Aligning Lifestyles and Transition from Homelessness) is a program to engage and retain HIV positive, homeless individuals with mental health or substance abuse disorders into medical homes that provide HIV primary care, behavioral health, housing, and care coordination services.  Yale Clinical and Community Research Program at the Yale School of Medicine is collaborating with the Connecticut Department of Correction and Liberty Community Services to improve the quality of life for those living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) through integrated primary and behavioral healthcare, care coordination and assistance with housing and supportive services.  The people we wish to help through this program are homeless PLWHA who are primarily transitioning from the criminal justice system (CJS) and those that are not retained in HIV care in New Haven, CT.

The mHEALTH program  will include, but is not limited to:  1) creating and maintaining a patient-centered medical home (PCMH) through an expanded, new Collaborative Network of Services for PLWHA by expanding the existing New Haven Ryan White Consortium to promote access to and retention in primary HIV care for homeless PLWHA; 2) creating a referral form for interagency and Early Alert Service by deploying the city-wide RW Consortium electronic database to identify individuals who are no longer engaged in care; 3) provision of onsite addiction treatment and mental health services provided through a mobile outreach on the Community Health Care Van (CHCV) to ensure early intervention services (EIS); 4) use a Network Navigator (NN) to provide intensive case management (ICM) that includes elements of the Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) and ACCESS programs to ensure that homeless PLWHA are fully engaged in a PCMH structure that will overcome individual, clinician and system level barriers to housing; and 5) provide directly administered antiretroviral therapy (DAART) for homeless PLWHA who are struggling with adherence to ART.

People may self-refer.  Case Managers may make referrals.  Please use this link:

Click Here to Make Referral

Area Agency on Aging

 

WHAT ARE AREA AGENCIES ON AGING?

Connecticut Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) are private, nonprofit service organizations that provide planning, program development and grant funding for older adult services. The AAAs receive federal Older Americans Act funds and state funds through the Connecticut Department of Social Services, Aging Services Division. They allocate funds to elderly service providers through a request for proposal process. Area Agencies on Aging provide direct services in the areas of community education, advocacy, case management, information and assistance, benefits counseling and training.

 

They also administer the CHOICES Program which provides older adults with health insurance counseling, information and referral to senior services, and eligibility screening for state and federal benefit programs. They also research and evaluate elderly issues, offer community education and serve as an advocate for older individuals. In Connecticut, there are five regional AAAs – one in each region of the state.

• Southwestern Connecticut Agency on Aging
  http://www.swcaa.org/pages/home.php
• South Central Connecticut Agency on Aging
  http://www.aoapartnerships.org/
• Senior Resources – Agency on Aging – Eastern Connecticut
  http://www.seniorresourcesec.org/
• North Central Area Agency on Aging
  http://www.ncaaact.org/
• Western Connecticut Area Agency on Aging
  http://www.wcaaa.org/

COST

• No fee for services

WHO IS ELIGIBLE

• Connecticut residents
• Services are targeted for people ages 60+; People under age 60 who are disabled and who need assistance regarding Medicare issues can also use CHOICES

TO FIND PROVIDERS IN CONNECTICUT'S COMMUNITY RESOURCES DATABASE:

Search by agency name:

• Southwest Connecticut Region: Southwestern Connecticut Agency on Aging
• South Central Connecticut Region: Agency on Aging of South Central Connecticut
• East Connecticut Region: Senior Resources - Agency on Aging - Eastern Connecticut
• North Central Connecticut Region: North Central Area Agency on Aging
• Northwest Connecticut Region: Western Connecticut Area Agency on Aging

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 PREPARED BY: 211/rj
 CONTENT LAST REVIEWED: June2012

VASH Vouchers Available!

Subject: CT BOS - VASH Vouchers available
Importance: High

Dear Providers:

At our CT BOS CoC Steering Committee meeting last week, Matt Abbott from the VA let us know that there are available VASH vouchers for chronically homeless persons/families currently available.  If you have any interested clients, please contact him directly at Matthew.Abbott@va.gov

Sincerely,
Steve DiLella and John Merz
CT BOS CoC Co-Chairs