NMAS JPA Newsletter

NMAS JPA Newsletter
Volume 5, Number 2
March 2011
Board of Directors
Linda Protine, Chairperson (A)
Janice Holden, Vice-Chair
Michelle Cowart, Recorder
Cathy Bray
Tom Changnon
Sue Hamblin
Jane Shamieh (A)
NMAS-JPA Director
Don Gatti (A)
Bill Cornelius (A)
The NMAS-JPA has good news to share: we have added a few new staffing positions, and a fifth
Dr. Joseph A. Ovick
region has signed a Letter of Intent to join the JPA effective July 1, 2011. Later in this edition of
Jon R Gundry
our newsletter we will introduce you to these exceptional new employees who will be working
Marjorie Rollins
Director’s Report
closely with you during the coming months and years, and also reintroduce those you know well!
In This Issue
1—Director’s Report
2—NAME Conference
2—Children in California
2—Kathy Pranke
3—Meet The Trainers
3—Ruth Bettencourt
4—Meet the Office
6—Regional News
8—Sun Safety IQ Quiz
9—Easter Egg Tips
9—Important Dates
Santa Cruz County Office of Education, the Region 5 Local Educational Collaborative (LEC) has
finalized its intent to join the JPA. We look forward to working with Monica Morgan, their LEC
coordinator, as districts within that region hear about the JPA services and capabilities and decide
to give us a try. Region 5 supports districts and county offices of education in Monterey, San
Benito, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties.
Northern California Medi-Cal
Administrative Services Joint Powers Authority
(NMAS-JPA)
1300 H Street, Suite 100
Modesto, CA 95354
Toll Free Phone Number:
866.235.9797
Fax: 209.238.8849
The NMAS-JPA appreciates your patience as we all adjust to the new survey review procedures.
Completing all surveys - and all corrections - online has made a huge difference in the clarity,
accuracy, and timeliness of the review process. During this transitional year, the JPA reviewed
surveys using both prior year procedures and the “new-and-improved” procedures. As the 200910 reviews are very close to completion, the JPA will soon focus solely on our current year and
our fully online process.
Administrative Unit:
Stanislaus County Office of Education
Spring has arrived and with it comes the rush prior to school closure for the summer break. The
JPA is very aware of the time constraints we all face at this time, and all JPA staff are diligently
reviewing time surveys and sending out corrections requests for those 2010-11 time surveys. If
coordinators have a list of participants not returning in the fall, please send them to the JPA; we
will make those corrections the highest priority so surveys may be signed before school staff
leaves at the end of the school year.
The JPA is always maintaining vigilance over any legislative action that could potentially affect
the MAA program. A new bill has been introduced into the California Senate that may include
MAA language: we will keep you informed as it develops structure. For now, there is not enough
information to share on SB-213 (Loni Hancock-D). The NMAS-JPA appreciates your support
and hopes our efforts have assisted in making the MAA program easier and more beneficial to
both your students and staff.
Please Note:
If you would like an estimated list of participants who might need to survey for the
2010/11 4th quarter, please email Sandy Dieker.
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NAME Conference
NAME
Conference
The time and place have been announced for the 2011 National Alliance for Medicaid in Education
(NAME) Annual National Conference. The conference will be held in Albuquerque, New Mexico
this year. The event will be October 11 through October 14, 2011 at the Hotel Albuquerque, steps
away from the historic Old Town. This conference allows participants from school districts, county
offices of education, state departments of education, state departments of health services, and
federal representatives from across the United States to meet and discuss the Medicaid programs
available in the school setting. Attendees have the opportunity to listen to presentations by other
states regarding their Medicaid programs, and to share their ideas and concerns with the state and
federal decision-makers. The JPA and member LEC coordinators make every effort to be present
each year. If you have an opportunity to attend, you will find it very worthwhile. Visit the NAME
website for more information.
Children’s Defense Fund
Children in California
Children in
California
(From Margie Rollins, Region 3)
Did you know:
 Over 9 million children live in California.
 Of those 9 million, almost 20% are poor.
 As of July 2008, over 3 million children were receiving Medi-Cal.
 The annual expenditure spent on education per prisoner is over $30,000.
 The annual expenditure spent on education per public school pupil is $8,301.
Check the link for more statistics about Children in California.
Children’s Defense Fund - California
Kathy Pranke
Kathy Pranke
Kathy Pranke, one of the JPA’s popular MAA trainers, passed
away this month after a difficult battle with cancer. Kathy will
surely be missed by all who had the opportunity to work with
her and to share her enthusiasm.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family.
You can view her obituary via The Reporter.
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Meet the NMAS-JPA Trainers
~ Randy Chapin ~
Our Featured Trainer this quarter is
Randy Chapin. Randy retired in 2003
from Cabrillo Unified School District
after 31 years in education; 12 as a shop
teacher and 19 as a school principal.
Randy also served as MAA Coordinator
for his district.
Randy Chapin
Because of this experience, Sue Hamblin
contacted Randy and asked if he was
interested in providing MAA training for
the NMAS-JPA. Randy said ‘Yes!” and
has enjoyed training with the JPA for
over four years. Randy continues to stay
involved with the trainings because he
enjoys the interaction with educators and
assisting them in their professions.
Randy lives in Santa Cruz, CA where he
enjoys sailing, outrageous Mountain
“I think I may be the prime example of that old
Biking, excellent restaurants and close
saying of ‘once a teacher, always a teacher’.”
proximity to good wineries. He has
- Randy Chapin
continued his hobby of collecting and
selling fine old watches and a few grand old clocks. Randy also enjoys working in his
woodshop now that he is retired.
Thank you, Randy, for your excellent trainings and support of the MAA program!
Ruth Bettencourt Retires!
After nearly seven years with the NMAS-JPA as
the Administrative Assistant II, Ruth Bettencourt
retired in February.
Ruth
Bettencourt
Ruth plans on accomplishing many things during
her retirement; from publishing a book of stories
written by her mother to traveling around the
United States.
Ruth was a major part of the NMAS-JPA and her
personality and passion will be missed. We wish
her joy and happiness while she enjoys retirement.
Don Gatti, Ruth Bettencourt, and Tom Changnon.
02/25/11
If you would like to congratulate Ruth or simply
say hello, feel free to email Brandon Schut and he
will forward the message.
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Meet the NMAS-JPA Staff
Sue Hamblin, Director
Sue was the Region 6 LEC MAA Coordinator prior to becoming the first Director of the
then-newly formed NMAS-JPA in July, 2004. The challenges of beginning a JPA were
both exciting and a bit scary, but Sue was very fortunate to put together a great start-up
team full of knowledge and energy. Sue, Sandy Dieker, Rich Tuemmler, and (the newly
retired!) Ruth Bettencourt have worked through the JPA’s growing pains and are all still
smiling! When not at work, Sue enjoys reading, traveling with her husband, and visiting
her two sons, daughter-in-law, and her very precious soon-to-be-two years old grandson.
(Sue quickly says: “Want to see a picture?”)
Sue Hamblin
Sandy Dieker, Program Coordinator
Sandy joined the NMAS-JPA as the Program Coordinator in August 2004. She has been
coordinating the EasyMAA Online Survey System and managing the complicated database operational procedures for the office since joining the JPA staff.
Sandy enjoys spending time with her children and granddaughters, reading and trying to
keep out of trouble.
Sandy Dieker
Rich Tuemmler, Accounting Analyst
Rich has been in the accounting profession for over 20 years, and has seen many
changes in the “tools of the trade”. Rich began his career doing cost accounting for
Louis Rich Foods. In those days, he used columned accounting paper – there was no
Microsoft product turned on each morning. Fifteen years ago he moved to Stanislaus
County Office of Ed after a friend told him that Head Start was going through a major
expansion and SCOE needed an accountant. Rich said he doesn’t know how he got the
job as he had been up all night doing inventories on the day of his interview.
Rich Tuemmler
The “tools of the trade” have changed dramatically in his time; they have made his life
so much easier.
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Rodney Kreifels, Accounting Analyst
Rodney joined the NMAS-JPA July 10, 2007. His position includes activities on both
the program and accounting sides. Rodney harks from Nebraska as can be deduced
quickly when seeing all the scarlet-and-cream Huskers screensavers on his computer
screen. During his non-working hours, Rodney is kept very busy with various family
activities, including those of his three energetic sons.
Rodney Kreifels
Lisa Mizuno
Lisa Mizuno, MAA Technician II
Lisa joined the NMAS-JPA in March 2010, as a Medi-Cal / MAA Technician. She is
responsible for reviewing time surveys, contacting participants regarding their surveys,
preparing reports to aid with the invoice process, and providing customer support to the
www.easymaa.org website. She has recently taken over the responsibility of scheduling
required MAA annual trainings. Prior to working with SCOE, Lisa worked at Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory as administrative support to a former astronaut and
world renowned bioinformatics expert. Lisa enjoys spending time with family and
friends. Hobbies include sewing, cooking, camping, and doing whatever her two adult
children decide.
Peggy van den Enden, MAA Technician I
Peggy joined the NMAS-JPA in December 2010 as a Medi-Cal / MAA Technician. She
is responsible for analyzing time surveys for submission, data entry, helping to support
the www.easymaa.org website, and assisting the Accounting Analysts with invoicing.
She is currently working closely with Region 11. Prior to working with SCOE she was
with Modesto City Schools for 15 years. Peggy enjoys golfing, gardening, and traveling
with her husband in their 5-wheel.
Peggy van den Enden
Tara Correa
Tara Correa, MAA Technician I
Tara Correa joined the NMAS-JPA in February 2011 as a Medi-Cal / MAA Technician.
She is responsible for analyzing time surveys, providing customer support to the
www.easymaa.org website, and aiding the invoice process. She works with Region 4.
She has been with the Stanislaus County Office of Education for nearly 8 years; as an
Instructional Assistant for severely handicapped students, Purchasing Technician, and
most recently Guidance Technician for students in Juvenile Hall. Tara enjoys taking
pictures of the outdoors, especially with her husband and 3 awesome kids. She views
challenges as opportunities to strengthen her weaknesses. This ideal led her to climb
Yosemite’s Half Dome.
Brandon Schut, Administrative Assistant II
Brandon started at the NMAS-JPA in February 2011. While taking direction from Sue
Hamblin, Brandon helps design training materials, works with the easymaa website as
well as handling daily office operations. Brandon is also heavily involved with Modesto
Sister Cities International. When Brandon is not helping his wife chase after their two
children, he spends his free time kayaking, reading, and challenging the bonds of fringe
science. He also enjoys long walks on the beach.
Brandon Schut
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Regional News
Region 3
Sutter County Superintendent of Schools
Region 3
Margie Rollins, Lynne Koll, and Jan Perry
530.822.2945
Status of Region 3 2009/2010 Invoices Submitted to DHCS
To date, Region 3 has submitted approximately 88% of the 2009/2010 invoices to the
Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) for payment. We would like to commend
each district for its timeliness and efficiency in processing invoices prior to the due date. Are you having a shift in staffing at the end of this year? You could lose
claiming participants because they did not correct or sign their Time
Surveys before leaving?
The JPA can provide your district/COE with a Quality Assurance Review (QAR) before
the end of the school year once you have collected all of your 2010-11 survey forms from
your participants? What are we suggesting? The JPA is offering you a thorough review of
your survey forms now and thus accelerating the invoice process for you. They will
inspect your 2010-11 time surveys, validate trainings, ascertain that all corrections are in
place, check for all signatures (in blue ink), and confirm the surveys are ready for any
future reviews. Providing this service to you will allow time to correct any errors or gather
any omissions before the end of the school year. This service is at no additional cost. To
request this review, simply log-in to www.easymaa.org as the Administrator and click on
the bright crimson button that reads, “Notifications to the JPA” and then click on
“Request Quality Assurance Review (QAR)” to schedule this review. JPA staff will
contact you directly to schedule this meeting.
2011/2012 Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) SBMAA Manual
& JPA “Train-the-Trainer” Meeting
The DHCS is pleased to announce that it will be posting the 2011/2012 School-Based
MAA Manual on its website prior to July 1, 2011. We are looking forward to an early
release of the DHCS Manual in order to schedule the JPA “Train-the-Trainer” meeting in
mid-August. Please watch for an upcoming email announcing this important meeting.
Announcements
Region 3 would like to introduce Pollock Pines
Elementary School District to the NMAS-JPA
beginning in 2011-12. We welcome you to the
JPA and are looking forward to our continued
working relationship!
The DHCS will announce the 2011/2012
first quarter Time Survey period on Monday,
May 2, 2011.
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Region 4
Contra Costa County Office of Education
Michelle Cowart, Maureen Carl, and Sandy Matgen
925.942.5391
Region 4
 DHCS will be conducting a MAA 2008/09 Site Visit for the Region 4 LEC the week of
April 18, 2011. Four districts have been selected for the site visit. If you have not heard
from your LEC your district was not selected for this site visit.
 The 2010/11 Q4 Time Survey week begins April 26, 2011. This would be a good time for
MAA coordinators to remind participants about the upcoming time survey week. Also,
if participants need a MAA time survey training refresher they can visit www.easymaa.org
and go to the time survey section and view the time survey training video.
 Participants who consistently have no MAA billable activities on their time survey form
should be reviewed to determine if participation should continue and/or additional training
is needed. Please contact your LEC if you have any questions about MAA participation.
 School will be ending before we know it. Please make sure you have all of the participants
time survey forms completed and signed prior to the last day of school. Unfortunately, the
participant may not be available to sign and/or correct the form in the fall.
Region 6
Stanislaus County Office of Education
Region 6
Janice Holden, LeAnne Esguerra, Maria Ortiz
209.238.8820

Region 6 has just finished the first phase of the DHCS 2008-09 site review audit. We are
now waiting for the summary report of their findings. This year’s audit included a section
where MAA participants were interviewed on their knowledge of the MAA program. We
were very impressed with their responses and could not be more pleased.
 If you have outstanding corrections for 2009-2010 please get them in as soon as possible.
We cannot generate 09-10 invoices until all corrections are received. Our new goal is to
submit invoices in the current time survey year. To ensure that this happens, the JPA is
moving forward with 2010-11 time survey reviews. It is mandatory that everyone complete
the time surveys online for 2010-11. If you need assistance completing your survey online,
please give the JPA a call at their toll-free number 866.235.9797.
 We will be scheduling 2009/2010 MAA site visits in the near future. We look forward to
visiting each district.

We would also like to welcome Jefferson
Elementary School District to the MAA program.
 Diane Williams retired as of March 25. She was an
integral part of our office and we hope she
enjoys retirement.
 Le Anne Esguerra has transferred to the Region 6
office. She will be taking over for Diane Williams as
a MAA Accounting Analyst. Le Anne is very
familiar with the MAA program having worked with
the NMAS-JPA for almost five years.
Please let us know if we can help you in any way
with your MAA program needs.
Have a Happy and Healthy Spring!
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Region 11
Los Angeles County Office of Education
Region 11
Cathy Bray
562.922.6144
Region 11 has been a part of the JPA for almost a year now. We started in July with 2
LEAs. We now have 6 and 2 more interested. I’ve heard only compliments about the
training, enthusiasm and professionalism of the JPA staff. It is hard to believe that here
in Los Angeles County we have some rather large districts who have joined the JPA as
their initial step into the MAA Program. The support of everyone has made their
transition as painless as it can be.
2011-2012 provides an exciting opportunity for the program to grow and allows us to
reflect on the successes and challenges we’ve faced in the first year.
Sun Safety IQ
(From Cathy Bray, Region 11)
Sun Safety IQ
Quiz
What is your sun Safety IQ?
Sun Safety is not just for vacation. Are you sun-safe every day?
Take the American Cancer Society’s 9-question quiz and find out.
1. I can’t get skin cancer because my routine (work, drive to work, indoor hobbies, and vacations)
doesn’t include outdoor activities. T/F
2. My husband should use sunscreen at the football games, even though he only goes (and gets a
burn!) once or twice a year T/F
3. If I’m wearing sunscreen, I can stay in the sun as long as I want. T/F
4. A sunscreen labeled SPF 30 blocks twice as much UV radiation as one labeled SPF 15. T/F
5. It’s safe to let my children stay in the pool all day if they slip on a T-shirt after a couple of hours and
reapply sunscreen to their faces, arms and legs. T/F
6. How often do you need to reapply water-resistant sunscreen?
a. Every 2 hours or sooner
b. After sweating or swimming
c. After you towel dry
d. All of the above
7. Getting a base tan at an indoor tanning salon is a good way to prevent sunburn when I go to the
beach later this summer. T/F
8. What are the two most common (and painful) sunscreen mistakes?
a. Choosing an SPF below 15 and missing spots
b. Using too little and waiting too long to reapply
9. Now put it all together. You applied sunscreen at 12:00 noon for an afternoon of reading beside the
pool. At 2:00 p.m., which one of the following actions would best protect your skin?
a. slip on a long sundress
b. move to the shade
c. reapply sunscreen
Answers- http://www.cancer.org/healthy/toolsandcalculators/quizzes/app/sun-safety-quiz
1-F, 2-T, 3-F, 4-F, 5-F 6- All of the Above, 7-F, 8-Using too little and waiting to long, 9-move to the shade
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Easter Egg Tips
(From Janice Holden, Region 6)

Easter Egg Tips



Coloring Easter eggs can be fun, but if you’re planning to eat the eggs you dye, make sure that you
only use food-grade dyes.
When preparing hard-boiled eggs for an egg hunt, be on the lookout for cracks in the shells. Even tiny
cracks can allow bacteria to contaminate the egg. If this happens, the egg should be discarded.
Keep track of time to ensure that the hiding and hunting time do not exceed a two hour time frame.
Please remember, the eggs that are found should be refrigerated right away—or discarded if the two
hour time limit has been exceeded.
Nothing lasts forever! Even hard-boiled eggs that have been refrigerated properly must be eaten
within seven days of cooking.
The perfect boiled egg recipe
If you have struggled with how to hard boil eggs, or how long to boil an egg, look no further.
With this simple technique, you will make perfect hard boiled eggs every time.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 17 minutes
Total Time: 27 minutes
Ingredients:
 4 large eggs
Preparation:
1. Place eggs in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and cover them with cold water. Make sure the tops of the
eggs are covered by at least an inch of water. How much water will depend on the size of the pot, but
in general, a bigger pot is better. Crowding the eggs risks cracking.
2. Bring the water to a full boil, uncovered. Then remove the pot from the heat source and cover. Let
the pot stand untouched for 17 minutes.
3. Remove the boiled eggs from the water and transfer them to a bowl of cold water for 15 minutes.
Then either peel and serve or refrigerate. Enjoy.
Makes 4 hard boiled eggs.

Important Dates
NMAS-JPA Annual Staff Conference - May 25-27, 2011
Roseville, CA
 NMAS-JPA Full Board Meeting - May 26, 2011
(During Conference)
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