On this page find:
- SHIFT components
- Timeline for SHIFT
- SHIFT Learning and Advisory Council
- Learning and Advisory Council composition and meeting schedule
- Applications for the Learning and Advisory Council
- Frequently asked questions
- One page overview of SHIFT (PDF one-pager)
- SHIFT Learning and Advisory Council Application overview (PDF)
Have more questions? Contact the SHIFT program team at SHIFT@careoregon.org
Advancing behavioral health in Oregon
CareOregon’s Strategic Healthcare Investment for Transformation (SHIFT) program is a new investment in transforming specialty behavioral health organizations across Oregon. It has been created to ensure that people with behavioral health needs are truly at the center of care delivery and care teams thrive. Through a collaborative process, SHIFT will build member-driven, outcome-focused, team-based care models that reduce health disparities, assure timely access to care and prepare providers for advanced value-based payment models.
Applications for SHIFT’s key advisory body, the Learning and Advisory Council, will be open February 10 through March 7th. Diverse voices are sought! Go to the Applications for the Learning and Advisory Council section below to learn more.
Why now?
CareOregon is committed to a vision where members in each of its regions have access to a high-performing behavioral health home. After decades of systemic underinvestment in behavioral health at the local, state and federal levels that have resulted in the significant access challenges and health inequities seen today, we are entering a new phase of opportunity for transforming behavioral health. New and significant financial investments are being made to shore up specialty behavioral health services, and we must capitalize on this opportunity to reimagine and transform the practice of care delivery.
SHIFT components
Over the next five years, the SHIFT program will support clinical, financial and operational transformation by:
- Defining the principles and operational components (“building blocks”) of excellent behavioral health care, in collaboration with community stakeholders
- Engaging 8-10 diverse behavioral health organizations to implement the building blocks, and providing them with intensive technical and financial resources toward accomplishing program goals
- Depending on the success of earlier stages, refining and expanding to include additional behavioral health organizations across CareOregon’s networks
Timeline for SHIFT
- February 10 through March 7: Learning and Advisory Council Application window
- March 24: Notification to Learning and Advisory Council applicants
- April 13: First Learning and Advisory Council meeting
- October-December 2023: Behavioral Health providers apply for and are selected for SHIFT
About the SHIFT Learning and Advisory Council
In April 2023, CareOregon will convene a multi-stakeholder Learning and Advisory Council for at least the program's first year. This Council will provide strategic advice and guidance for the SHIFT program, and their specific responsibilities will include:
- Guiding development of, recommending and endorsing the building blocks for delivery of excellent behavioral health care to be used in the SHIFT program
- Advising on the components of companion tools and technical support strategies for SHIFT participating providers
- Advising on the evaluation plan for the SHIFT program
- Advising on the eligibility and selection process for SHIFT Participating Providers
Learning and Advisory Council composition and meeting schedule
The Learning and Advisory Council will be comprised of 15-20 individuals appointed to represent diverse perspectives, such as:
- Organizations representing people with lived experience of mental health and substance use disorders, or their caregivers
- Outpatient mental health and substance use treatment organizations, including those serving youth and adults, and who have experience with implementing Feedback Informed Treatment and other mechanisms for intentionally incorporating client feedback into goals and planning
- Peer and recovery mentor services
- Culturally specific behavioral health agencies or programs
- Primary care practices
- Community-based organizations
- Staff or governance representatives from the three Coordinated Care Organizations that CareOregon serves and our CareOregon Advantage Plus plan
Advisory Council members will be expected to adopt a community-centric perspective that advances the transformation of behavioral health service delivery, rather than solely in organizational self-interest, and are expected to commit to attending 80% of the following Learning and Advisory Council virtual meeting dates.
- Launch Meeting: April 13, 2023 from 9-11 a.m. PT
- Monthly meetings on the second Thursday of every month from 9-10:30 a.m. PT:
- May 11, 2023
- June 8, 2023
- July 13, 2023
- August 10, 2023
- September 14, 2023
- October 12, 2023
- November 9, 2023
- December 14, 2023
- January 11, 2024
- February 8, 2024
- March 14, 2024
Workgroups will likely be formed to support the work of the Learning and Advisory Council, but the workgroup participation doesn’t need to be the Learning and Advisory Council member themselves. These roles may in fact be better served by colleagues closer to specific operational or clinical areas being discussed.
Applications for the Learning and Advisory Council
Applications for the Learning and Advisory Council are open now through March 7. The online application is available here. A complete overview of the application questions is available here, but please apply using the online application for your submission. If you have any issues accessing or completing the application, contact SHIFT@careoregon.org.
Decisions about Learning and Advisory Council Membership will be communicated on March 24.
Frequently Asked Questions
The eligibility and selection process for the first SHIFT cohort has not been determined; advising on that process will be a responsibility for the Learning and Advisory Council. Once decided, there will be an application process in October-December of 2023.
Participation in the Learning and Advisory Council does not suggest later participation in SHIFT’s first cohort of providers. There will be a separate application process for the Learning and Advisory Council and SHIFT program participation.
Unlike Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs), that have a formal designation/certification and are required to serve clients across the lifespan, and both mental health and SUD services, SHIFT is not a certification program and will intentionally support providers who serve specific populations or offer specific service arrays (e.g., mental health only, or SUD only). We envision that CCBHCs will benefit from the operational structure and processes to be outlined through SHIFT.
“Building blocks” are the core components of specialty behavioral health care necessary to deliver the SHIFT vision. They include the specific operational processes and structural elements required for behavioral health agencies to operate efficient and effective services according to the guiding values. The full set of building blocks to be used in SHIFT will be guided by the Learning and Advisory Council. The concept of building blocks is modeled off of a similar framework established for person-centered primary care homes.
The full support plan will be developed over 2023 but is anticipated to include:
- Organizational assessments, support for business plan development
- Financial resources around $1.5-$3.5m for achieving milestones
- Operational playbook development to promote systemization, technical assistance, leadership coaching
- Financial monitoring and forecasting tools
- Engagement from CareOregon leaders and technical teams, National Council for Mental Wellbeing, financial consulting firm CohnReznick, and the Center for Outcomes Research and Education
The Learning and Advisory Council is initially being established for the program’s first launch year, and its membership and objectives will be re-evaluated in 2024.
The SHIFT program as a whole is currently resourced to support approximately 8-10 behavioral health agencies, but we are hopeful that, with successful outcomes, the program will be able to expand its reach in the future.
The meetings will be held virtually using Microsoft Teams conferencing. Invites to the meetings will be supplied once participants have been selected through the application process.
If you would like to access a fillable PDF version of the Learning and Advisory Council application instead of the online application, please email SHIFT@careoregon.org and we will send you one.