# COMAR Title 10 — Maryland Department of Health

## Subtitle 45 — Maryland Community Health Resources Commission

### Chapter 07 — Selection Criteria and Funding Priorities

**Authority:** Health-General Article, §§19-2107, 19-2109, and 19-2201, Annotated Code of Maryland

**Administrative History:** Effective date:

**Administrative History:** Regulations .01—.02 adopted as an emergency provision effective October 31, 2006 (33:24 Md. R. 1905); adopted permanently effective February 12, 2007 (34:3 Md. R. 299)

#### Regulation .01 Selection Criteria.

*COMAR 10.45.07.01*

The Commission's criteria for selecting community health resources grant proposals for funding under this subtitle are as follows:

A. Prospects for success of the proposed project, based on:

  (1) Clear, feasible, and achievable goals and objectives;

  (2) Reasonableness of work plan and budget; and

  (3) Adequacy of:

    (a) The project team's skills, competencies, commitment, and capacity to carry out the proposed work; and

    (b) Organizational and community support;

B. Potential impact of the proposed project, based on the likelihood of the project leading to:

  (1) Improved access to health care and health outcomes for the target population by expanding:

    (a) Existing services to make them available to a new population not previously served by the applicant; or

    (b) The types of services offered to the applicant's established population;

  (2) Expansion or replication within the community, in neighboring areas, or more broadly across the State; or

  (3) Both;

C. Community need for the proposed project, based on the:

  (1) Clarity and reliability of the proposal's quantitative and geographic identification and definition of the target population;

  (2) Adequacy of the proposal's documentation of the target population's needs through qualitative and quantitative data such as demographics, insurance coverage rates, and service utilization statistics;

  (3) Depth of the applicant's understanding of the community to be served; and

  (4) Relevance of the proposed project to the community's identified needs;

D. Sustainability of the proposed project, based on the likelihood that the project will continue to provide benefits to the target population and the community beyond the duration of the proposed grant;

E. Active engagement in the project by key participants, including relevant stakeholders, appropriate agencies and organizations, and community partners, based on their:

  (1) Participation in the project's planning and implementation process;

  (2) Allocation of dedicated staff and other resources to the project; and

  (3) Contributions of facilities and equipment;

F. Data collection in connection with the proposed project, based on the Commission's assessment of the project team's ability to:

  (1) Both at baseline and as the project proceeds, measure and report progress in achieving project goals and objectives through quantitative measures, such as the number, demographics, characteristics, and service utilization of the target population; and

  (2) Comply with the evaluation and monitoring requirements established by the Commission;

G. Organizational commitment, based on the applicant's:

  (1) Commitment to improving access to care for the target population; and

  (2) Ability to demonstrate that the proposed project will significantly contribute to this goal;

H. Financial viability and accountability, based on the:

  (1) Applicant's financial soundness;

  (2) Adequacy of the applicant's financial management systems; and

  (3) Applicant's capacity to manage grant funds; and

I. The extent to which the applicant demonstrates use of a sliding scale fee schedule effectively to increase access to care for low-income uninsured and underinsured individuals in Maryland.

#### Regulation .02 Funding Priorities.

*COMAR 10.45.07.02*

In selecting community health resources proposals to be funded under this subtitle, the Commission shall:

A. Consider geographic balance; and

B. Give priority to community health resources that:

  (1) In addition to normal business hours, operate during evening and weekend hours;

  (2) Have partnered with a hospital to establish a reverse referral program at the hospital;

  (3) Reduce the use of the hospital emergency department for nonemergency services;

  (4) Assist patients in establishing a medical home with a community health resource;

  (5) Coordinate and integrate the delivery of primary and specialty care services;

  (6) Promote the integration of mental and somatic health with federally qualified health centers or other somatic care providers;

  (7) Fund medication management or therapy services for uninsured individuals:

    (a) Whose income is up to 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines;

    (b) Who meet medical necessity criteria; and

    (c) Who are ineligible for the public mental health system;

  (8) Provide a clinical home for individuals who access hospital emergency departments for mental health services, substance abuse services, or both; and

  (9) Support the implementation of evidence-based clinical practices.