Children and Family Treatment and Support Services

Update: Effective Changes to the Children´s Waiver of Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) and Children and Family Treatment and Support Services (CFTSS)

  • Update is also available in Portable Document Format (PDF)
April 2020

On March 15, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved an amendment to Children´s Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Waiver to fully incorporate HCBS covered by Medicaid Managed Care carve-in that took place October 1, 2019. Additional, service-specific changes in this amendment include:

  • Respite: Planned or Crisis Day Respite services can be provided in the home of an eligible youth or a community setting. For clarification, examples of community settings include community centers, camp, and parks.
  • Palliative Care - Bereavement Service: Added Licensed Creative Arts Therapists as an allowable practitioner type in addition to Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSW), Licensed Master Social Workers (LMSW), Licensed Psychologist, and Licensed Mental Health Counselors (LMHC).

In addition, an amendment to the State Plan Amendment (SPA) is pending CMS approval and will be retroactively approved effective January 1, 2020. Providers are approved to enact these changes effective immediately. This amendment includes the following changes to practitioner/supervisor qualifications for Children and Family Treatments and Support Services (CFTSS):

  • Other Licensed Practitioners (OLP): additional allowable practitioner – Licensed Creative Arts Therapist has been added as a non-physician licensed behavioral health practitioner able to deliver OLP within their scope of practice
  • Community Psychiatric Support and Treatment (CPST): additional allowable staff qualification – practitioners with a bachelor´s degree and three years of applicable experience in a related human services field
  • Community Psychiatric Support and Treatment (CPST): additional allowable supervisor qualification – Licensed Masters Social Workers may provide supervision
  • Psychosocial Rehabilitation (PSR): reduced staff qualifications – practitioners must have a minimum of two (originally three) years´ experience in children´s mental health, addiction, foster care, or in a related human service field
  • Psychosocial Rehabilitation (PSR): additional allowable supervisor qualification – Licensed Masters Social Workers may provide supervision
  • Family Peer Support (FPS): reduced supervisor qualifications – individuals must have a minimum of three (originally four) years´ experience providing FPS services, at least one year of which is as a credentialed Family Peer Advocate with access to clinical consulting as needed
  • Youth Peer Support Services (YPSS): reduced supervisor qualifications – individuals must have a minimum of three (originally four) years of direct YPST service experience with access to clinical consultation as needed OR a credentialed Family Peer Advocate with three (originally four) years of experience providing FPS that has been trained in YPS services and the role of the Youth Peer Advocate

These changes will be updated in the HCBS manual as soon as possible and to the CFTSS manual, once officially approved by CMS. Please continue to send questions, suggestions, and solutions to BH.Transiton@health.ny.gov.