Dual Diagnosis Training for Behavioral Health Clinical Staff

The deadline for completion of training has been extended to September 30, 2024. Attestations are due by close of business on September 30, 2024.

Serving individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) is an important part of Arizona’s integrated care model. Individuals supported by the Division of Developmental Disabilities and their families have expressed concerns related to barriers they encounter when trying to access appropriate behavioral and physical healthcare. As a result, the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) included one-time funding to expand access to care from a well-trained, highly skilled workforce as part of its American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) spending plan.

The Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD/the Division) has collaborated with its subcontracted health plans, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan and Mercy Care, to utilize ARPA funding to enhance training available to behavioral health agency clinical staff. The training focuses on best practices for working with individuals who have both a developmental disability and a behavioral health diagnosis. The goal of this initiative is to enhance provider competency, offer opportunities for professional development, improve member outcomes, and bridge gaps in knowledge for the professionals who serve individuals with a developmental disability and behavioral health diagnosis and their families.

Curriculum

The Division provided funding to add the Intellectual and Developmental Disability (I/DD) Course Library to the Relias course catalog and make it available to all AHCCCS registered behavioral health agencies with access to Relias statewide. The full I/DD Course Library includes 100+ courses that learners will have access to, including many that are CEU-eligible. 

Additionally, the Division is offering an incentive to behavioral health agencies for the completion by eligible staff of specified training courses. Incentive funding will be available to agencies that have at least 10% of their clinical staff complete the Training Plan titled “Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities Essential Knowledge for BH Providers” between October 1, 2023 and September 30, 2024. Eligible agencies will be compensated in accordance with the payment information detailed further below in this document. 

Training Plan: Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities Essential Knowledge for BH Providers

Twelve of the courses in the Training Plan are Computer-Based Training and one course, “Introduction to the Arizona Division of Developmental Disabilities for Behavioral Health Providers”, is a live, virtual instructor-led course.  

The specific training courses in the “Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities Essential Knowledge for BH Providers Training Plan” are:

Eligible Provider Types

Behavioral health provider agencies, contracted with either Mercy Care or UnitedHealthcare Community Plan, of the following Provider Types are eligible for the incentive.

• 39 Habilitation Provider
• 77 Behavioral Health Outpatient Clinic
• IC Integrated Clinic
• A3 Community Service Agency
• A5 Behavioral Health Therapeutic Home
• A6 Rural Substance Abuse Transitional Agency
• B7 Crisis Services Provider                    
• B8 Behavioral Health Residential Facility
• B1 Level I Residential Treatment Center-Secure (IMD)
• 78 Level I Residential Treatment Center Secure (non IMD)
• B2 Level I Residential Treatment Center-Non-Secure (non-IMD)
• B3 Level I Residential Treatment Center-Non-Secure (IMD)
• C2 Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC)
• 29 Community/Rural Health Center (RHC)

Eligible Services

Services eligible for the incentive include the HCPCS/CPT codes listed on the AHCCCS Behavioral Health Outpatient MCO Fee Schedule (effective May 1, 2023) provided to DDD/ALTCS Members during the specified time period.

Incentive Payments

The lump-sum incentive payments will be calculated using a flat percentage of eligible providers’ Title XIX Medicaid payments from a specified time period for the select eligible services.

• The flat percentage is 15%.
• The specified time period is dates of service from January 1, 2024 to June 30, 2024. Claims must be fully adjudicated and approved for payment by December 31, 2024 to be eligible. The six months of data will be doubled to approximate a full year of payments.
• The first payment was distributed. The final payment is intended to account for any eligible claims that were not in the first payment cycle.  As such, vendors should expect the final payment to be much less than the first payment. The final payment will be made by March 31, 2025. (This section was updated on December 6, 2024)

Provider Agency representatives must submit an attestation form, attesting that 10% of the clinical staff have completed the Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities Essential Knowledge for BH Providers Training Plan by September 30, 2024.

For the purpose of this incentive, “clinical staff” refers to Behavioral Health Medical Professionals (BHMPs), Behavioral Health Professionals (BHPs), Behavioral Health Technicians (BHTs) and Behavioral Health Paraprofessionals (BHPPs) as defined in the AHCCCS Contract and Policy Dictionary.

The completed attestation form should be emailed to the Division of Developmental Disabilities by September 30, 2024. Providers encountering issues downloading the attestation or with questions should email the Division's Behavioral Health Administration.

The attestation must be downloaded and completed in either Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader, it cannot be completed in a web browser tab.