Maximus has been contracted by the state of North Dakota’s Health and Human Services (HHS) to implement and manage its Children’s Treatment Services Level of Care (LOC) Determinations to support the health and well-being of ND children and youth. The role of Maximus in this partnership is to determine the use of residential and treatment foster care services for eligible children and youth who are referred for out-of-home placement and/or residential treatment. The approach of using a single assessment to determine the most appropriate placement aligns with HHS’ priority of advancing the foundations of well-being through access to high-quality services and supports, and ensuring every child receives the right service, at the right time for the right duration.
As the third-party vendor for North Dakota’s Children’s Treatment Services LOC Determinations for residential setting placement, Maximus uses a single evidence-based assessment tool and established minimum set criteria to determine the most appropriate placement for ND children and youth ensuring their needs are met in the least restrictive setting for admission and continued stay decisions. This ensures that residential or treatment foster care services are reserved for those who are identified to have a clinical need, which may warrant treatment in a North Dakota residential program, such as a Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility (PRTF), Qualified Residential Treatment Program (QRTP), or Treatment Foster Care (TFC).
As the identified third-party vendor, Maximus provides a conflict-free assessment using the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS), a functional, validated, multi-purpose tool. The CANS gathers information pertaining to the child and caregivers’ strengths and needs, conducting interviews and conversations with the child/youth, referral sources, custodial case managers, parents or guardians and other appropriate parties before making a determination.
The Maximus Clinical Decision Support Model: Making an out of home placement decision for residential treatment solely based on a systemic calculation of scores has been historically referred to as algorithm, which is not an accurate representation of the detailed decision-making process required to make a determination. Instead, the CANS assessment allows for tying together logical and functional pathways by using combinations of actionable needs and levels of intensity present, to allow for increasing levels of acuity, known as a Clinical Decision Support Model (CDSM). The CDSM is not a calculation defined by an established set of numbers or a computer-generated decision, but rather a determination based on identified strengths and needs established by the CANS and then reviewed for application of clinical judgment by an experienced, licensed clinician with at least 4 years of child welfare and/or children behavioral health experience.
Stakeholder Support:
Are you a Bachelor's level professional with adolescent behavioral health experience interested in becoming an Independent Contractor with the ND CTS LOC program? Contact our recruiting team to learn more: recruiting@maximus.com.
If you are interested in direct hire employment opportunities within the ND CTS LOC program or other Maximus clinical programs, please visit the Maximus Clinical site.