Minnesota Emerging Professions Integration Grant Program
Frequently Asked Questions
This document is intended for those interested in responding to the Minnesota Emerging Professions
Integration Grant Program Request for Proposals for Round’s 1, 2 and 3. It includes questions from the
May 1, 2014, August 6, 2014, and April 22, 2015 information calls as well as other inquiries received by
the program.
1. Where can I find more information about the State Innovation Model (SIM)?
Please visit the SIM Website.
2. Who is eligible for the Minnesota Emerging Professions Integration Grant Program?
Eligible applicants include any type of organization that has the capacity to employ a community
health worker, community paramedic, dental therapist or advanced dental therapist. These
emerging professions have the potential to work for a wide range of organizations in a wide
range of settings. Potential examples of eligible applicants may include hospitals, clinics,
ambulatory services, health care homes, emergency medical services, health care providers,
nonprofits, educational settings, mental health centers, dental offices, senior centers, faithbased programs, nursing homes, local public health programs, group homes, inpatient mental
health facilities, and human services programs, including substance use disorder treatment
programs.
3. Can an employer apply for this grant program as a single agency? Or is a collaboration
required?
A collaborative application from two or more organizations is not required. Eligible applicants
for this RFP include any type of organization that has the capacity to employ a community
health worker, community paramedic, dental therapist or advanced dental therapist. The
applicant will serve as the fiscal agent for the grant.
4. Can an existing staff person obtain the emerging profession credentials and move into the new
position?
No. Grant funds are not to be used for an employee to obtain the training and credentials of an
emerging profession. We expect that the employee already has the appropriate emerging
profession credentials. Round 2’s RFP does allow for a new hire or an existing employee who
already has the appropriate training and credentials of the emerging profession to move into a
new role. If you need assistance in recruiting an emerging professions practitioner, please
contact MDH.
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5. Can the grant funds be used to train a current staff member who has the desire to earn the
Community Health Worker certificate?
No. The individual who is hired should already have the necessary credentials to perform the
work. Grant funds may only be used to support professional salary and fringe benefits during
the grant period.
6. If we have another funding source to sustain the position beyond the grant period should we
include a letter of support in our grant application?
A letter of support is not required. Applicants may include information about sustainability of
the position in the proposal.
7. For the Dental Therapy position, are you looking for the employee to be involved in care
coordination?
We are looking for the new employee to work within the dental therapy scope of practice. We
expect that the emerging professional will work in, or closely partner/coordinate with,
behavioral health, long-term care, local public health, and/or social services settings, and
organizations that are participating in, or preparing to participate in an Accountable Care
Organization or similar health care delivery model that provides accountable care.
8. On Page 7 of the Request for Proposal it states that a Community Health Worker must have at
least five years of supervised experience. Does this supervision need to be from one supervisor?
The information included in the RFP is direct language from CHW state statute. The
grandparenting language in statute no longer applies and should have been removed from the
RFP. Currently, the only way for a Community Health Worker to obtain Medicaid
reimbursement is if he/she is certified through the MNSCU program. More information on
Medicaid reimbursement for CHW services is available at:
http://www.dhs.state.mn.us/main/idcplg?IdcService=GET_DYNAMIC_CONVERSION&RevisionSel
ectionMethod=LatestReleased&dDocName=dhs16_140357
9. Does the Community Health Worker need to be enrolled in Medicaid prior to the grant?
No. During the grant period the Community Health Worker can enroll in Medicaid as a provider.
MDH will provide resources and technical assistance to grantees to support this process.
10. Is the Community Health Worker certification program offered online?
Yes. The CHW Certification program is available online through two sources: South Central
College in Mankato and this fall it will be offered by Northwest Technical College in Bemidji.
11. Can you provide clarity regarding Community Health Workers who are certified and how many
are enrolled in Medicaid as a provider?
Yes. The best estimate is that there are 500-600 Community Health Workers in Minnesota who
are certified through the MNSCU program. Of the 500-600 CHWs who are certified, not many of
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them are enrolled in Medicaid as providers. MDH will support CHWs to enroll in Medicaid, so
their services can be billed for.
12. Can an applicant apply for multiple grants, for example one CHW and one CP?
Yes. However, only one grant per applicant will be funded, and grant applications to fund
separate emerging profession positions should be submitted individually.
13. If an applicant does not receive a first round award is it eligible in the future rounds of funding?
Yes, but the applicant would need to submit another proposal for the future rounds of funding.
Proposals not funded in the first round will not be held or automatically be considered again for
future funding.
14. Can an applicant use grant funds to fill 1 FTE by four Certified Community Paramedics?
Yes. The 1 FTE position can be shared by four community paramedics, so long as the grant funds
are used for community paramedic work. The applicant would need to account for each of the
Community Paramedic’s time and explain how they would budget for it.
15. Can the budget in the application include mileage?
No. Only salary and fringe are eligible for grant funding. Mileage is not an eligible expense.
16. Is the grant funding only for salary or can it be used on equipment?
The grant funding can only be used to pay for salary and fringe benefits. It cannot be used for
equipment expenses.
17. The RFP states that priority will be given to those emerging professions practitioners who will
work in, or closely partner/coordinate care with behavioral health, long-term care, local public
health, and/or with social services settings, and organizations that are participating in an ACO
or similar health care delivery model that provides accountable care. We have a Community
Paramedic employed by ambulance services, does that make a difference?
No. The RFP states partner with vs. hired by a community organization.
18. Regarding encumbering funds, can we hire the emerging professions practitioner later, after
applying for grant funds?
Yes. Grant funds are for one year. There is some time allowed for recruiting and hiring an
emerging professions practitioner within reason. Since this is s testing grant, applicants should
have the emerging professions practitioner on staff within 30 days of the grant start date.
19. Where do I find information on MA reimbursement and billing for Community Health Worker
services?
The following is a link to DHS’ Provider Manual specific to Community Health Workers:
http://www.dhs.state.mn.us/main/idcplg?IdcService=GET_DYNAMIC_CONVERSION&RevisionSel
ectionMethod=LatestReleased&dDocName=dhs16_140357. This link includes most of the
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information you need for billing MA for CHW services. DHS can provide more specific
information such as rates, billing codes, etc.
20. I was unable to participate in the Informational Call regarding the Emerging Professions
Integration Grant process. Will there be a recording of the call?
No. Unfortunately the call was not recorded. However, most if not all of the information you
need is in the RFP itself. There is additional information in the Frequently Asked Questions. Both
of these documents are available at:
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/orhpc/workforce/emerging/index.html.
21. Is the Emerging Professions Integration Grant open to Twin City organizations too, or just rural
Minnesota organizations?
Yes – The Emerging Professions Integration Grant is open to any organization that has the
capacity to hire an emerging professions practitioner, including organizations in the 7-county
metro and rural areas.
22. We have a Community Health Worker who has been working in a grant supported position for
less than one year. The grant will be ending soon. Can we still apply for the emerging
professions grant program? This would allow us the opportunity to collect more data on the
CHW.
Unfortunately without more information we cannot answer that question. We suggest you apply
for the Emerging Professions Integration Grant because the CHW work may be different than
what was supported under the previous grant funded position, and it may involve integration
into a different team environment.
Please note that the Emerging Professions Integration Grant is for new hires or existing staff
moving into a new role with the required credentials (e.g. CHW certificate holder). Priority will
be given to emerging professions practitioners who will work in, or closely
partner/coordinate care with, behavioral health, long-term care, local public health,
and/or social services settings, and organizations that are participating in, or preparing to
participate in, an Accountable Care Organization (ACO) or similar health care delivery
model that provides accountable care (including, but not limited to, the Medicare Shared
Savings Program, the Medicare Pioneer ACO Program, or the Medicaid Integrated Health
Partnerships program).
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