October 9, 2024 • 10 mins
In an interview with podcast host Bob Gold, Bhavini Solanki, director of the Georgia Families 360 program, dives deep into autism spectrum disorder and how her team is working to build strong support systems for families in Georgia. Bhavini chats with Bob about the challenges they face and how they are addressing these with cutting-edge solutions that utilize predictive analytics and digital engagement.
Bhavini addresses not only autism but the emotional journey that comes with a diagnosis and the stress families and caregivers often face.
Listen and Learn:
- How to achieve proactive case management that empowers families to navigate the challenges of autism with confidence and clarity
- The complexities of special needs care for both the children and their caregivers
- Timely tools and solutions that can be delivered to families in their moment of need
Host:
- Bob Gold, Chief Behavioral Technologist and CEO, GoMo Health
Expert:
- Bhavini Solanki, LPC - Director, Georgia Families 360°
Thanks for tuning in. Subscribe today to receive alerts of new weekly episodes and follow @GoMoHealth on social for the latest in healthcare engagement.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
There are times in the world and life when a
discovery changes how we dothings.
Hi, I'm Shelley Schoenfeld.
Join me on this journey ofdiscovery as we unfold a
whole-person health deliveryscience for people in need.
Welcome to Human ResilienceChanging the Way Healthcare is
Delivered.
In this episode, we'll hearfrom Bhavini Solanki, director
(00:21):
of Georgia Families 360, in aninterview with GOMO Health
podcast host and chiefbehavioral technologist, bob
Gold, during which they discussthe obstacles faced by people
with autism and their familiesand unique resources available
to support them clinically,emotionally and psychologically.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Well, hello everybody .
My name is Bevini Solanke and Iserve as the director for the
Georgia Family 360 program,which is a program within
Amerigroup Georgia's Medicaidmanaged care entities in the
state of Georgia, servingGeorgian citizens, mostly women
(01:07):
and youth, and the GeorgiaFamily 360 program is a subset
of that about 31,000 memberscomposed of kids that are
currently in foster care, youththat have been adopted out of
foster care and a couple hundredjustice-involved members.
I previously served atAmerigroup as the Behavioral
(01:29):
Health Director, so thispopulation is very dear and near
to me and excited to chat withyou today.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
So, Bhavini, what are the challenges in what you do
in trying to help these childrenand their families?
Speaker 2 (01:47):
So a lot of the focus of our work in just case
management in Medicaid serviceis trying to get to members in a
proactive way, which is hard todo if you don't have the
correct analytics or the enoughstaff to make outreach.
The beauty of the GeorgiaFamily 360 program is that all
of our members are assigned to acare coordinator at the time
(02:10):
that they come into eligibilitywith us, which allows us to get
hands-on with assessments andmake sure that we have a robust
care plan based on evaluationresults.
But there are also challenges,living in a state that is mostly
rural, to find the necessaryproviders in the area where
these members live.
(02:30):
Another challenge is just thegrowing need for behavioral
health and autism-based services.
But the state of Georgia didopen up additional autism ASD
benefits a few years ago, whichhas helped with that.
But again, finding providersthat are trained and that are in
(02:52):
the areas that these childrenlive has definitely been a more
recent challenge.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
Trying to address this children and family.
What have you undertaken tohelp scale and get ahead of
things, to not only help thefamilies and the children, but
(03:18):
also help your case managers bemore effective and productive?
So maybe you could just talkabout a program that you're
going to be rolling out?
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Yeah, definitely.
So I think what is important isknowing that telephonic case
management really can only getyou so far with a person and, in
the digital age that we alllive in and with young people
really connecting much betterthrough social media and text
and those types of avenues,finding a program like what
(03:51):
we're going to be starting with,gomo Health has been really
critical.
It allows us to one, have adigital solution as well as have
a solution that really expandsour case management reach and
allows us to triage situationsgoing on at home so that our
(04:12):
case managers know where tofocus their efforts.
I think the other great thingis this tool allows us to have
some level of predictiveanalytics, because we're doing a
lot of proactive work andgetting a hold of families,
engaging them, making sure thatthey're educated on what autism
(04:33):
is, on when the screening occurs, on what the results mean, so
that we can line them up withservices well in advance.
Because we know again, with allof the workforce shortages and
just the high demand forautism-based services, there's
waiting lists everywhere.
So as much as we can get aheadof that curve, the better
(05:06):
welfare.
Even if they're in a safeadoptive home still have a high
level of behavioral healthissues going on and have a high
level of perception or highlevel of entry, a path into
juvenile justice, and so we wantto again try to be as proactive
in our work to show them thatthere's a path, to show them
there are treatment avenues toget them connected with
mentoring services, other othervalue bait, value-added benefits
(05:30):
that amerigroup can offer toreally build their path into a
successful life, wherever thathome setting is going to be for
them.
So the project that we are goingto be starting with GOMO Health
is very exciting.
It's going to have two tracks.
So the first track is to workwith families who have youth
(05:51):
that are already ASD diagnosedreally before that to even
understand what this diagnosismeans for their child and their
specific symptomology.
And any issues that familiesmight be having can then be
routed directly back to theircase managers so those folks can
(06:13):
update care plans and make surewe can get them to the right
resources before anything getsworse or there's any kind of
crisis that may come up.
So that education piece thereis going to be really important.
The second track is where ourpreventative work really comes
in and this is where we're goingto be making outreach through
GOMO to families who've gotchildren with EPSDT appointments
(06:38):
coming up where there's goingto be an autism screening, so
that they one understand you'vegot an appointment coming up,
please make sure you attend it.
Here's what to expect at theappointment and once you get the
screening results, here's whatthose results mean and if
there's follow-up that's needed,then we can help connect you
with the right provider based onrecommendations from your
(06:59):
child's PCP.
So we're really excited aboutbeing able to access these
families in advance and givethem the much needed support
that is so desired by them,especially with a diagnosis that
is really hard to accept for alot of families.
It just it comes in so manyforms, but there are treatment
(07:22):
opportunities and we want themto know that there are support
and treatment opportunities forthem.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
But, vini, just talk a little bit about from the
behavioral side, if you were aparent or mom trying to deal
with your life and your kid'slife, how this type of program
could be helpful.
You know in that parent's lifeand dealing with the child to
help the child better.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
So I think societally we know what to expect, like
when a woman is pregnant.
We know what's supposed tohappen at five weeks, at 10
weeks, at nine months.
We have all of this informationand these great books and tools
that show us how big yourbaby's going to be at a certain
age, and all that good stuff.
When your child is born,there's the same tools that show
us how big your baby's going tobe at a certain age and all
(08:07):
that good stuff.
When your child is born,there's the same tools that are
available.
But if you have a child thatdoesn't go down that path and
they are off on theirdevelopmental milestones, it can
be pretty jarring for a parent.
It can be jarring for afirst-time parent, it can be
jarring for a parent who hasother children that they're also
taking care of at the same timeand it can be really difficult
(08:30):
because you might blame yourselfa lot and what did I go wrong
and what do I need to dodifferently?
Because we all tend to compareour children.
But what's beautiful about thisprogram is it gives these
families the support that theyreally need at the time that
they need it.
(08:51):
Working with families with thesechildren, you can see that they
are under high stress.
Again, whether they have onechildren or multiple children,
it's a high stress environment.
You're working, you're livingwith a child who just doesn't
have the same engagement withthe world as you do, and so your
expectations are completelydifferent and it's hard to
(09:14):
connect with them, even from aparent to child aspect, and for
someone trying to bond withtheir child, that can be a
really challenging place to be,and for someone trying to bond
with their child, that can be areally challenging place to be.
So having information, havingGOMO and having all the tips and
tools that they will provide atthe very moment that you need
it, is the exact support networkthat even online support groups
(09:35):
and those are great.
But in the moment that you mayneed some very specific
information, it's not alwayshelpful to try and find somebody
that may have had thatexperience versus having these
(09:55):
tools from experts that canreally get you to the solution
that is gonna be most helpfulfor you and for your child.
There are times in the world and life when a
discovery changes how we dothings.
Hi, I'm Shelley Schoenfeld.
Join me on this journey ofdiscovery as we unfold a
whole-person health deliveryscience for people in need.
Welcome to Human ResilienceChanging the Way Healthcare is
Delivered.
In this episode, we'll hearfrom Bhavini Solanki, director
(00:21):
of Georgia Families 360, in aninterview with GOMO Health
podcast host and chiefbehavioral technologist, bob
Gold, during which they discussthe obstacles faced by people
with autism and their familiesand unique resources available
to support them clinically,emotionally and psychologically.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Well, hello everybody .
My name is Bevini Solanke and Iserve as the director for the
Georgia Family 360 program,which is a program within
Amerigroup Georgia's Medicaidmanaged care entities in the
state of Georgia, servingGeorgian citizens, mostly women
(01:07):
and youth, and the GeorgiaFamily 360 program is a subset
of that about 31,000 memberscomposed of kids that are
currently in foster care, youththat have been adopted out of
foster care and a couple hundredjustice-involved members.
I previously served atAmerigroup as the Behavioral
(01:29):
Health Director, so thispopulation is very dear and near
to me and excited to chat withyou today.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
So, Bhavini, what are the challenges in what you do
in trying to help these childrenand their families?
Speaker 2 (01:47):
So a lot of the focus of our work in just case
management in Medicaid serviceis trying to get to members in a
proactive way, which is hard todo if you don't have the
correct analytics or the enoughstaff to make outreach.
The beauty of the GeorgiaFamily 360 program is that all
of our members are assigned to acare coordinator at the time
(02:10):
that they come into eligibilitywith us, which allows us to get
hands-on with assessments andmake sure that we have a robust
care plan based on evaluationresults.
But there are also challenges,living in a state that is mostly
rural, to find the necessaryproviders in the area where
these members live.
(02:30):
Another challenge is just thegrowing need for behavioral
health and autism-based services.
But the state of Georgia didopen up additional autism ASD
benefits a few years ago, whichhas helped with that.
But again, finding providersthat are trained and that are in
(02:52):
the areas that these childrenlive has definitely been a more
recent challenge.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
Trying to address this children and family.
What have you undertaken tohelp scale and get ahead of
things, to not only help thefamilies and the children, but
(03:18):
also help your case managers bemore effective and productive?
So maybe you could just talkabout a program that you're
going to be rolling out?
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Yeah, definitely.
So I think what is important isknowing that telephonic case
management really can only getyou so far with a person and, in
the digital age that we alllive in and with young people
really connecting much betterthrough social media and text
and those types of avenues,finding a program like what
(03:51):
we're going to be starting with,gomo Health has been really
critical.
It allows us to one, have adigital solution as well as have
a solution that really expandsour case management reach and
allows us to triage situationsgoing on at home so that our
(04:12):
case managers know where tofocus their efforts.
I think the other great thingis this tool allows us to have
some level of predictiveanalytics, because we're doing a
lot of proactive work andgetting a hold of families,
engaging them, making sure thatthey're educated on what autism
(04:33):
is, on when the screening occurs, on what the results mean, so
that we can line them up withservices well in advance.
Because we know again, with allof the workforce shortages and
just the high demand forautism-based services, there's
waiting lists everywhere.
So as much as we can get aheadof that curve, the better
(05:06):
welfare.
Even if they're in a safeadoptive home still have a high
level of behavioral healthissues going on and have a high
level of perception or highlevel of entry, a path into
juvenile justice, and so we wantto again try to be as proactive
in our work to show them thatthere's a path, to show them
there are treatment avenues toget them connected with
mentoring services, other othervalue bait, value-added benefits
(05:30):
that amerigroup can offer toreally build their path into a
successful life, wherever thathome setting is going to be for
them.
So the project that we are goingto be starting with GOMO Health
is very exciting.
It's going to have two tracks.
So the first track is to workwith families who have youth
(05:51):
that are already ASD diagnosedreally before that to even
understand what this diagnosismeans for their child and their
specific symptomology.
And any issues that familiesmight be having can then be
routed directly back to theircase managers so those folks can
(06:13):
update care plans and make surewe can get them to the right
resources before anything getsworse or there's any kind of
crisis that may come up.
So that education piece thereis going to be really important.
The second track is where ourpreventative work really comes
in and this is where we're goingto be making outreach through
GOMO to families who've gotchildren with EPSDT appointments
(06:38):
coming up where there's goingto be an autism screening, so
that they one understand you'vegot an appointment coming up,
please make sure you attend it.
Here's what to expect at theappointment and once you get the
screening results, here's whatthose results mean and if
there's follow-up that's needed,then we can help connect you
with the right provider based onrecommendations from your
(06:59):
child's PCP.
So we're really excited aboutbeing able to access these
families in advance and givethem the much needed support
that is so desired by them,especially with a diagnosis that
is really hard to accept for alot of families.
It just it comes in so manyforms, but there are treatment
(07:22):
opportunities and we want themto know that there are support
and treatment opportunities forthem.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
But, vini, just talk a little bit about from the
behavioral side, if you were aparent or mom trying to deal
with your life and your kid'slife, how this type of program
could be helpful.
You know in that parent's lifeand dealing with the child to
help the child better.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
So I think societally we know what to expect, like
when a woman is pregnant.
We know what's supposed tohappen at five weeks, at 10
weeks, at nine months.
We have all of this informationand these great books and tools
that show us how big yourbaby's going to be at a certain
age, and all that good stuff.
When your child is born,there's the same tools that show
us how big your baby's going tobe at a certain age and all
(08:07):
that good stuff.
When your child is born,there's the same tools that are
available.
But if you have a child thatdoesn't go down that path and
they are off on theirdevelopmental milestones, it can
be pretty jarring for a parent.
It can be jarring for afirst-time parent, it can be
jarring for a parent who hasother children that they're also
taking care of at the same timeand it can be really difficult
(08:30):
because you might blame yourselfa lot and what did I go wrong
and what do I need to dodifferently?
Because we all tend to compareour children.
But what's beautiful about thisprogram is it gives these
families the support that theyreally need at the time that
they need it.
(08:51):
Working with families with thesechildren, you can see that they
are under high stress.
Again, whether they have onechildren or multiple children,
it's a high stress environment.
You're working, you're livingwith a child who just doesn't
have the same engagement withthe world as you do, and so your
expectations are completelydifferent and it's hard to
(09:14):
connect with them, even from aparent to child aspect, and for
someone trying to bond withtheir child, that can be a
really challenging place to be,and for someone trying to bond
with their child, that can be areally challenging place to be.
So having information, havingGOMO and having all the tips and
tools that they will provide atthe very moment that you need
it, is the exact support networkthat even online support groups
(09:35):
and those are great.
But in the moment that you mayneed some very specific
information, it's not alwayshelpful to try and find somebody
that may have had thatexperience versus having these
(09:55):
tools from experts that canreally get you to the solution
that is gonna be most helpfulfor you and for your child.
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