Temporary Referral and Authorization Guidance for Care Coordinators

Mar 25, 2026

The Single Assessment (SA) process was implemented statewide on February 2, 2026, as part of the State’s obligations and commitments under the Children’s Behavioral Health Settlement Agreement. The Single Assessment is a key component of the Agreement designed to ensure consistent, clinically appropriate determinations of service eligibility, and to support service planning.

Since implementing the process, we have heard from providers and observed that the time required to schedule and complete Single Assessments is longer than anticipated. We are actively working with Acentra and system partners to improve timeliness and reduce delays.

While we address these operational challenges, it is important to emphasize that the Single Assessment remains a required component of the system and will continue to be used to determine eligibility for medium-and-high intensity services.

Effective immediately to ensure children and families can access services without delay, the Department is implementing the following temporary process changes.

Process Change	What This Means for You	Action Required
Temporary return to direct-to-provider referrals and Prior Authorization (PA)	Referrals do not need to wait for completion of the Single Assessment.	Submit referrals directly to providers for needed services, including FFT, MST, and Child ACT, as soon as need is identified, if the family is interested.
Temporary return to former PA process	Providers will temporarily submit PA requests using the process that was in place prior to 2/2/2026.	No change to your role.
Temporary extension of existing service authorization	Clients can continue receiving services during the extension period (90 or 180 days, depending on service), without interruption even without the Single Assessment being completed.	No action required. (Applies only to providers whose services are subject to the Single Assessment requirement.)
Single Assessment requirement	A Single Assessment is still required for medium- and high-intensity services	Submit a Single Assessment request at the time of referral for medium- and high-intensity services
Temporary extension of existing authorizations	Providers may extend authorizations that were in place prior to 2/2/26 (90 or 180 days, depending on service) to allow services to continue	Ensure a Single Assessment request is submitted during the extension period to support ongoing eligibility

 

Referrals should not be delayed pending completion of a Single Assessment.

Except for the Single Assessment, these changes are temporary measures intended to maintain children’s access to services while the Department works with Acentra and system partners to improve Single Assessment timeliness. Additional updates will be shared as further operational improvements are implemented.

See the updated provider list by service and public health district to support referral decisions. A town hall will be scheduled to review these updates and answer questions.

Thank you for your continued partnership in supporting children and families as we work through these operational challenges. Questions about this guidance should be directed to Kaley Haynes, Opioid Health Home and Behavioral Health Home Program Coordinator.