20-285 Take online training to get paid for screening for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs).

Date: 03/16/20

Take online training to get paid for screening for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs).

All Medi-Cal providers who screen Medi-Cal patients for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can receive an additional payment beginning on January 1, 2020. Effective July 1, 2020, Medi-Cal providers must have taken a certified training and self-attested to completing the training to receive payment. For details, refer to the provider training information below.

Providers will be certified and eligible to receive Medi-Cal payment for ACEs screenings, Continuing Medical Education (CME) and Maintenance of Certification (MOC) credit.

Provider training

Online training is available to engage and equip Medi-Cal providers with training and clinical protocols to screen children and adults for ACEs, detect ACEs early, respond with trauma-informed care, and connect patients to interventions, resources and other support to improve patient health and well-being.

The two-hour, online training includes trauma-informed care as well as specific training on the use of the ACEs questionnaire and Pediatric ACEs and Related Life-events Screener (PEARLS) tool. Providers have until the end of June 2020 to complete the training and must self-attest to the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) of their completion by July 1, 2020.

To get started, register for the training at https://training.acesaware.org/.
To self-attest, complete the Trauma Screening Training Attestation form available at

https://www.medi-cal.ca.gov/TSTA/TSTAattest.aspx.

ACEs screening

Screening for ACEs will evaluate the history of children and adults who were exposed to one or more of the 10 categories of adversity. With early detection, providers can provide a targeted intervention as well as connect individuals to resources and services.

Abuse: physical, emotional and sexual abuse
Neglect: physical and emotional neglect
Household dysfunction: parental incarceration, mental illness, substance misuse or dependence, parental separation or divorce, and intimate partner violence

DHCS approved two screening tools for providers to use to screen for ACEs in children and adults:

PEARLS tool: designed and licensed by the Center for Youth Wellness and UC San Francisco, and used to screen for children and adolescents, ages 0–19.
ACEs assessment tool: the tool was adapted from the work of Kaiser and the CDC, which will be used to screen adults, ages 21–65.

Providers can access the screening tools at www.acesaware.org/screen/screening-tools/. De-identified screening tools are recommended.

Refer to the frequently asked questions (FAQs) and list of resources below to learn more.

FAQs

What are ACEs?

ACEs are stressful or traumatic experiences people have by age 18 that were identified in the landmark Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Kaiser Permanente (KP) Adverse Childhood Experiences Study. ACEs relate to 10 categories of abuse, neglect and/or household dysfunction. A child or adolescent who experiences ACEs without the buffering protections of trusted, nurturing caregivers and safe, stable environments can develop a toxic stress response, which can impact brain development, hormone and immune systems, and genetic regulatory systems.

How do you screen for ACES?

An ACEs screening evaluates children and adults for trauma that occurred during the first 18 years of life. The ACEs questionnaire for adults (ages 18 and older) and PEARLS tools for children (ages 0 to 19) are both forms of qualifying ACEs screening.

How do you administer ACEs screenings?

DHCS will provide ACEs-oriented trauma-informed care training for providers and their ancillary office staff through the ACEs Aware Project website at www.acesaware.org.

What do you do after you screen a patient?

Visit www.acesaware.org > Treat > Treat: Science & Clinical Practice to find more information and resources on how to incorporate ACEs screenings into your clinical practice, create treatment plans and deliver trauma-informed care.

How is the program funded?

On November 8, 2016, California voters approved Proposition 56 to increase the excise tax rate on cigarettes and other tobacco products. Under Proposition 56, a portion of the tobacco tax revenue is allocated to DHCS for the provision of standardized ACEs screening services for adults (through age 64) and children.