Staying connected is more important than ever. At PICS (Partners in Community Supports), we want to make sure that you’re informed about free and low-cost options for internet access at home and in the community.

Describing self-directed services to those unfamiliar with them can be a challenge. It helps to hear directly from families who use them to understand the positive impact self-directed services can have in their lives.

We love finding new ways to connect with our community and are excited to launch our new quarterly PICS E-newsletter. In this newsletter you will find the latest updates at PICS, ways to connect with us on social media, a spotlight of another service of Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota, upcoming events, and other exciting news from PICS, like our advocacy and anti-racism work.

PICS (Partners in Community Supports) formed the Anti-Racism Work Group (ARWG) in 2020 with the mission to uncover, interrupt and dismantle systems of oppression as we encounter them in our work.

The United States Postal Service (USPS) is currently experiencing significant delays in mail processing and delivery. We want to make sure you are aware of these delays and the impact they may have on you. For example, if you mail your timecard to PICS, this could result in you or your Workers getting paid late.

PICS would like to minimize the impact felt by our customers as much as possible, and, with these delays in mind, we wanted to share alternate ways to get your important documents to PICS:

Tory Merhar, who joined Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota in 2016 as the Senior Director of Partners in Community Supports (PICS), has recently stepped into the new role of Senior Operations Director.

New terms of agreement between SEIU Healthcare Minnesota and the State of Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) has been reached, and these changes go into effect October 1, 2021.

Earlier this week, the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) announced that the new self-directed services program, Community First Services and Supports (CFSS), will not go into effect in 2021 as previously planned.

At PICS, we are honoring the remarkable effort of our Workers in providing personal care during COVID-19 through a one-time Recognition Reward. Workers employed between April to December 2020 recently received a one-time payout to show our gratitude.

PICS will be incorporating electronic visit verification (EVV), an online timekeeping feature for Workers, before the end of 2021. The new EVV system is a way to virtually record the date, time and place for services provided at home and in the community.