RANDOM MOMENT SAMPLE (RMS) TRAINING

1. RANDOM MOMENT SAMPLE (RMS) TRAINING The School Board of Broward County, Florida

2. Why Were You Selected ? You are probably wondering why you have been asked to complete a Random Moment Sample (RMS) form. The School Board of Broward County participates in a program called theMedicaid Certified School Match program. The Administrative Outreach Claimingportion of this program reimburses the school district for helping students and their families access health and therapy services. This program has been a significant revenue source for the District and allows for enhancements to Student Support and Exceptional Student Education services in Broward schools. To learn more about this program please visit our website at: http://www.broward.k12.fl.us/studentsupport/Operations/medicaid.htm

3. How Was Your Name Selected ? Your name was randomly selected based on your Florida Department of Education Job Title and it’s description. The district uses a software product to randomly select staff and randomly assign moments to be sampled. The software generates the printed Random Moment Sample forms that you receive. Your name can be randomly selected more than once a quarter and more than once a year.

4. If you have received a letter directing you to watch this presentation, you will soon receive a survey form that you are required to complete. Data gathered from the Random Moment Sample form is used for potential reimbursement from activities that our district staff perform. The school system is required to remit all participant forms at the end of each quarter. Be sure to indicate exactly what you were doing at your moment in time, regardless of the activity. These forms are permanently retained and read by state and federal auditors. Please word your response in a professional manner.

5. HOW TO STATE AN ACTIVITY Let’s go over the instructions and review a few examples. The instructions for this section read as follows: Please use the spaces below to describe the activity in which you were involved at the exact moment of your random sample time. It will be necessary for you to be as specific as possible when writing your response. Document exactly what issues, ideas, or services were being conveyed at that time as it relates to the academics, behavioral, administrative or medical concern. Review the example sentences on the back of this form to help you illustrate how to accurately record a detailed account of your sample moment. When you document youractivity, you do not need to use the entire space. Describe your activities for just the one minute you were assigned. Please do not document multiple tasks. Your statement should reflect who you were with, what you were doing, and why you were performing the activity. Remember the terms who, what, and why !

6. TWO SECTIONS TO THE RMS FORM You are being asked to complete the survey form by writing a short response describing your activities during one specific moment in time (example: June 3, 2014 @ 8:32 a.m.). You will receive the actual form, along with detailed instructions, approximately three days prior to your assigned date of documentation. It is mandatory that you complete your form and return it to the ESE & Support Services – Medicaid/504 Department immediately after completion. There are two major sections of this form that you will need to complete. These consist of . . . Section 1 the Activity portion, IMPORTANT REMINDERS and Section 2 the Signature and Date portion.

7. EXAMPLES • The sentence . . . • “I was in an IEP Meeting.” is too vague. A more specific response is . . . • “I was in a meeting explaining an ESE student’s annual goals to the student’s parent”. Notice that in the example the name of the committee, such as “IEP”, was replaced with specific details. It is not enough to say you were writing or discussing goals. It is important that we know who you were with and what was being discussed (or being done) and for what purpose, so that the form may be coded properly. We need to know if the topic was focused on academic, behavioral, administrative, or medical concerns. • Here is another example . . . • “I was talking to a teacher about a student’s progress in therapy. While we were talking, another student’s mother called and we discussed his classroom behavior. I suggested he receive a hearing evaluation. I then went to lunch.” This statement reflects too many activities. Think about what you actually did during your moment in time. If you were multi-tasking, what task would you continue doing if you could only work on one? A better response is . . . • “I was talking to a teacher about a student’s progress in therapy.” • While it is important to refrain from giving too much information, it is also important to refrain from giving too little information. For instance . . . • “I was driving in my car.” . . . is too vague. • Do tell us where you were going to and from. • “I was driving back to work from a training session on how to use behavior • modification techniques in the classroom with students diagnosed as hyperactive.”

8. SECTON 1 - ACTIVITY PORTION WHO ? WHAT ? WHY ? The response written in the Activity portion of the form should answer the following 3 questions: Who were you with? What were you doing? Whywere you doing this? (Who - student’s parents and teachers) ( What - discussing the student’s difficulty with gross motor skills) (Why - to determine if an evaluation for OT/PT is needed)

9. Keep In Mind . . . If at your selected moment you were not scheduled to work or you were at lunch, please indicate that in the area below and proceed to complete the rest of the form. No further description is required if at lunch or not scheduled to work. If you make an error while completing the form, please cross out the errorand initial, and date the change you are making and continue to complete the form.

10. JOB TITLE When indicating your Job Title, it is important to write your Job Title exactly as it appears at the top of the form. This Job Title reflects the Florida Department of Education Job Title that corresponds with your Job Description and may not be the same as the School Board of Broward County Job Title that you are familiar with. For example, Behavioral Specialists and Support Facilitators can expect to see “Teacher, Varying Exceptionalities” as their Job Title on their form. * If the Job Title on the form is not descriptive of your position, please contact our office as soon as possible at 754-321-3400.

11. SECTION 2: SIGN AND DATE WITH CORRECT JOB TITLE Now you are ready to complete the Signature and Date portion of the form. Once you have answered section 1 and review the important reminders, please be sure to complete the bottom of the form by Signing your Name, Indicating your Job Title, and Dating the Form.

12. FINISHING UP Please be sure to provide us with your work telephone number (including Area Code). Please remember that completing and dating the form prior to your assigned date will invalidate the form.

13. MAILING AND CONTACT INFORMATION As soon as you have completed the Random Moment Sample form, please return it to our office using the pre-addressed label provided with the form. Our address is :ESE & Support Services – Medicaid/504 Dept.Arthur Ashe 2nd Floor, Attn: Nanci English. If you do not receive your Random Moment Sample form via pony within two days of your assigned date, please contact our office at: 754-321-3400. Thank you for your time and cooperation with this program.

14. For Additional Information or Questions Contact : ESE & Support Services - Medicaid/504 Department Phone : 754-321-3400Fax: 754-321-8483 Deneen Gorassini - Medicaid Coordinator Lisa-Ann Clarke - Medicaid Accountant Nanci English - Customer Service Analyst