DSHS HCLA Community Assistance Network Manager

State of Washington•Thurston County – Lacey, WA

1d•Remote

About The Position

The WA Cares Fund Community Assistance Network Manager is within the Home and Community Living Administration (HCLA) Office of the Assistant Secretary and reports to the WA Cares Fund Benefits and Customer Care Administrator. The Department’s Home and Community Living Administration administers home and community-based services for older adults and people with disabilities. The Home and Community Living Administration helps people with disabilities and their families obtain appropriate quality services to maximize independence, dignity, and quality of life. The WA Cares Fund team is responsible for statewide planning and implementation of the WA Cares Fund, a first-in-the-nation social insurance program, created by the Legislature as the Long-Term Services and Supports Trust Program in 2019, to provide affordable long-term care insurance coverage for all working Washingtonians. You will be responsible for the development and ongoing oversight and support of the Community Assistance Network. The Community Assistance Network is made up of contracted community-based organizations who assist Washingtonians with submitting their application for WA Cares Fund benefits. You'll work with Community Assistors to ensure they are trained, updated on WA Cares application policies and procedures, monitored for quality assurance, and ensure all assistors are properly registered and/or contracted. You must be able to respond quickly to requests for information. You will be accountable to and responsible for carrying out the expectations of the Director and for representing the division in whatever capacity the Director deems appropriate in ensuring outcomes are achieved. In this role, you'll serve as the liaison between WA Cares and the Community Assistance Network, serving on committees and workgroups and as a subject matter expert. You will participate in the development of statewide policies in the areas affecting application processes and WCF Community Assistors. You'll be responsible for developing Quality and Performance Standards and practices within the Community Assistance Network, and for their statewide implementation. This includes developing process improvement and quality assurance expectations, identifying best practices, and communicating expectations to the network. This position requires advanced communication skills and excellent interpersonal skills to work with the Community Assistance Network, WA Cares, and Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) partners. You will have regular and frequent communication with WA Cares Fund Operational Leadership to prioritize new and changing business needs and provide consultation, advise, and update on progress. This is a fully remote opportunity with occasional in-person meetings on a quarterly or as-needed basis.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in social work, human services, business administration, public administration, healthcare administration, or related field AND a minimum of five years of experience managerial experience in the service delivery field, either in program or line management AND/OR equivalent years of work experience.
Equivalent experience may substitute year-for-year for required education.

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of HCLA information systems (CARE, etc.), state payment systems (ProviderOne, etc.), and system readiness principles.
Knowledge of existing federal statutes, regulations, and programs operating under Medicaid and the Older Americans Act.
Knowledge of Washington State Assistor Network, Community Assistance programs, and regional and local public health settings.
Demonstrated experience in continuous improvement: originating action to improve existing conditions and processes, identifying improvement opportunities and contributing to generating and implementing solutions.

Responsibilities

Provide consistent guidance, direction, implementation of policies and other resources to the WCF Community Assistance Network to successfully assist beneficiaries through the application process.
Serve as a resource and a liaison between WA Cares Fund Program and the WCF Community Assistance Network (CAN).
Create and deliver training for implementation as needed for WCF Community Assistors.
Support the development of work plans for maximizing operational efficiencies with WCF Community Assistors.
Effectively communicate with the public, staff, division, legislature, partners, and the WCF Community Assistor network.
Establish and chair a regular cadence of meetings with WCF Community Assistors to share best practices, overcome obstacles, and create unity among the network.
Collaborate with the Area Agencies on Aging AAA to develop and maintain consistent information, guidance, and messaging across the Community Assistance Network (CAN) and the AAA.
Interpret cross-agency rules, policies, procedures, and WA Cares requirements.
Refer complex cross-agency issues to Employment Security Department (ESD) or Health Care Authority (HCA) partners.
Ensure the WCF Community Assistance Network is properly contracted, licensed, and current on all training, and is performing work in line with WA Cares Fund policies and procedures.
Draft, review, finalize and update the WCF Community Assistance Network contract language, performance measures, and update as needed.
Monitor the Community Assistance Network contract to ensure compliance with contract requirements, deliverables, performance expectations, reporting requirements, and program policies.
Ensure contractors meet established timelines and quality standards.
Review and identify risks or areas for improvements, and provide technical assistance and corrective action guidance as needed.
Build a strong understanding of the Community Assistance Network, its roles in supporting the WA Cares Fund.
Become familiar with contract requirements, program operations, and the scope of the Community Assistor services.
Use your curiosity to learn the program, ask questions, and build relationships with key partners.
Lead the execution of the Community Assistance Network contracts by partnering with contracted Lead Community-Based Organizations (Lead CBOs) to complete initial deliverables, establish program operations and implementation.
Support onboarding, implementation planning, and rollout of the Community Assistance Network, including coordination of training and curriculum development.