Addressing Gaps Initiative

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About Addressing Gaps

The mission of Addressing Gaps is to connect partners with resources to improve access to equitable, culturally and linguistically appropriate services for Minnesotans. This is an ongoing process to ultimately address the key gap areas that have been identified and improve access to services systems for older adults, people with disabilities and children, youth and adults living with mental health conditions in Minnesota.

“Services systems” for the purposes of this undertaking includes the systems of home and community-based services (HCBS), and the continuum of community mental health services and supports.

The Addressing Gaps Initiative works to leverage and share the existing resources and initiatives around four service priority access areas by identifying connections and building collaboration mechanisms between partners. It is a collaboration between Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS), counties, tribal nations, managed care organizations, service providers, consumers and local community members.

Priority service access areas
To address these gaps, four priority service access areas were identified through previous Gaps Analysis studies and regional community meetings. Addressing Gaps’ definitions of these priority access areas can be found below:

Crisis Stabilization Service Access
Crisis stabilization Services Access refers to mental health services that are provided after crisis intervention to help an individual return to their level of functioning before the crisis ensued. Crisis services and supports also include prevention and support for caregivers.

Housing Access and Stability
Improving housing access and stability entails local and regional efforts to ensure that housing and service system partnerships are in place to prevent and end homelessness, assist with access to housing opportunities, and ensure housing stability. This includes:
- Assessment of housing and service needs
- Coordination of services and supports that promote housing and service choice
- Development of new housing opportunities, services and resources to ensure housing access and stability
Transportation Access
Transportation Access refers to addressing the shortages in traditional services like medical or non-medical transportation, as well as strategies such as telehealth that connect a person to their community or services and supports.

Direct Care Workforce Access
Direct Care Workforce Access refers to addressing the shortage of qualified service providers, including direct care/direct support professionals, who are critical to delivering needed Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) and community mental health services and supports.
Current objectives

Leverage existing resources and initiatives within DHS, State agencies, partners and providers:

To fulfill the new mission, DHS is engaging in a collaborative effort to identify and leverage existing resources and initiatives within DHS, State agencies, partners and providers, so that they may be utilized more broadly, efficiently and collaboratively. DHS staff are currently identifying and gathering information on existing resources and initiatives.

Strengthen collaboration and serve as a conduit for resources between the state and partners and providers:

They will then examine the current collaboration mechanisms to identify connections that can be strengthened. The Addressing Gaps Initiative will serve as a conduit for resources and information to flow freely between DHS staff and partners and providers.

Engaging and supporting people receiving services to ensure they are receiving the information about resources and initiatives in a way that best suits them.

Finally, DHS will focus on engaging and supporting people receiving services and their support networks to ensure they are receiving the information about resources and initiatives in a way that best suits them
Next Steps