Long-term Services and Supports (LTSS) Public Awareness Campaigns

The Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) is seeking proposals to provide

marketing and communications support – including traditional and digital media buys – to

promote awareness of the long-term services and supports (LTSS) programs that are available in

Rhode Island.

Section A: Background

Rhode Island’s vision for the state’s Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) system includes

fostering a more balanced, sustainable, and responsive continuum of services that delivers person

centered support, at the right time and the right cost, while promoting choice, community, and

quality of life for older adults and adults with disabilities in Rhode Island. Rhode Island Medicaid

provides access to robust LTSS services including self-direct pathways (Personal Choice,

Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities Self-Direct), Home Health Agency Pathway, PACE, and

Shared Living. Private options for LTSS that are not funded by Medicaid are also available in

Rhode Island. Sliding scale options for LTSS for those who do not meet Medicaid thresholds are

also available in Rhode Island through RI Office of Healthy Aging’s (OHA) At HOME Cost

Share program which provide options for home and community-based services to all older adults

(65+) and those and age 19-64 who have a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s or a related dementia through

a shared-cost model.

The following principles guide the State’s efforts when it comes to LTSS services:

• Access: we promote options + information + educated choice

• Choice: we ensure that folks have a say in the services they receive and that services are person-centered + conflict-free.

• Sustainability: we control costs by shifting investments toward home and community-based services (HCBS).

• Quality: we are committed to improving consumer experience + quality of life.

• Accountability: we use data-driven management + clear governance to improve internal

operations and drive continuous improvement.

Professionals called “Options Advisors” can work closely with Rhode Islanders to learn more

about their needs, goals, strengths, likes, and dislikes. This will provide necessary insights to help

Options Advisors discover which services will be the best fit for this person.

Information about accessing LTSS programs for older adults and adults with disabilities in Rhode

Island is available on MyOptions.RI.gov. MyOptionsRI has information that connects Rhode

Islanders to the services and support they might need to live independently, wherever they choose.

Key audiences for this website are adults who are 60+, adults with physical disabilities, and adults

with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It also has information that may be helpful for

caregivers, family members, and friends. This website was selected as the landing page for this

campaign since it has information about both Medicaid-funded and non-Medicaid funded

programs. This approach helps us ensure the broadest array of services are being presented

regardless of whether someone is eligible for Medicaid.

It is worth noting that there is a culture shift happening regarding the home and community-based

services delivery model in Rhode Island. People used to go to Community Action Program (CAP)

agencies to be assessed for services, then would get services from the CAP agencies themselves.

Following a new certification cycle (with an operations rollout leading up to July 1, 2024), the

CAP agencies can no longer complete the initial functional needs assessment. People can

continue to go the CAPs or the RI Department of Humans Services (DHS) for application assistance

or the Office of Healthy Aging’s (OHA’s) contracted Vendor, the Point, for person centered options

counseling (PCOC) and application assistance.

Moving forward, DHS completes the initial functional needs assessment (for non-I/DD

participants) and eligibility determination (for all HCBS participants). If DHS deems them eligible,

the client is provided a list of available conflict free case management (CFCM) agencies. The

client chooses the agency they want. The selected CFCM agency will work with the client to

develop a person-centered plan (PCP), which is updated annually during “re-assessments”. The

CFCM agency connects the client to their preferred home and community-based services,

conducts regular check ins, and confirms the client is receiving the appropriate level of services.

There are non-Medicaid LTSS options should the person a) not qualify for Medicaid LTSS

through DHS assessment or b) self asses their financial needs for non-Medicaid LTSS by

connecting directly with OHA services through the Aging and Disability Resource Center known

as the Point.

As the process described above exemplifies, Rhode Island is committed to providing residents with

choice when it comes to their care or the care of their loved ones. This request is for a Vendor that

will develop a creative campaign and manage an array of advertising buys to help promote

awareness of the LTSS programs and initiatives in Rhode Island, as well as how residents can

access them. Strong proposals should address how the Vendor plans to reach the target

audiences identified below:

Primary audiences:

• Older adults 55 and older (with specific requirements to target subsets of this population by

different intersecting identities such as race, ethnicity, gender, LGTBQ+, Veterans over the age of 55).

• Adults 18 and older who live with a disability.

• Caregivers: individuals who perform unpaid labor to care for an aging adult or person with a

disability (family members, friends).

• Grandparents or older adults who provide primary caregiving or kinship care to a child.

Secondary audiences:

• Human services professionals, medical professionals who work in a variety of locations that serve

older adults and adults with disabilities: hospitals, primary care, behavioral health, community-

based programs, adult day centers, nursing homes, substance abuse treatment facilities, health

insurance providers, etc.; emergency responders, and faith communities.

• Other family and friends of older adults and adults with disabilities

Vendor will submit a proposal for the entire scope of work and indicate what, if any, of the work

will be completed by sub-contractor as needed. All work for this campaign must be billed by

January 31, 2025.

Section B: Scope of Work and Requirements

Scope of Work

Materials: The Vendor will develop a creative concept and corresponding assets for a multichannel marketing campaign. The Vendor must also be available to provide supplemental creative

services as needed. Any materials developed should be appropriate for printing in different sizes,

formats, and contrasting colors for ease of readability, etc.

This phase of the work must include:

• Ensuring that campaign materials align with best practices for culturally and linguistically

appropriate services and will help promote awareness and understanding among underserved populations.

• Taking steps to ensure the accessibility of all content and materials developed to support

the campaign. This will include that all materials are available in English, Spanish, and

Portuguese.

Media buy: The Vendor will execute and manage the media buy associated with the campaign as

outlined in Deliverables.

Deliverables

• Kick-off meeting and summary

The Vendor should meet with the interagency communications team to discuss the scope of

work for each campaign and the work plans. The timeline for the project and the roles of

each team member will be discussed at that meeting. The Vendor will take and circulate

notes from the meeting.

• Strategic planning

The Vendor will facilitate strategic planning meeting(s) with the interagency

communications team and key stakeholders as needed and indicated by the interagency

communications team to inform the development and implementation of the media buys.

• Communication/campaign plan

The Vendor will develop and provide a campaign plan outlining recommended tactics for

meeting the stated goals and objectives of the project. The plan will also include a strategy

to address misinformation and an evaluation strategy to analyze and summarize campaign

success.

• Creative services

The Vendor will propose a creative concept geared toward the identified target audiences

and that aligns with existing communications resources on myoptions.ri.gov. The Vendor

will coordinate the translation of all content, as indicated above, and will review translated

content. The Vendor should also allow for rounds of edits/feedback from the interagency

communications team and agency leadership.

• Media buys

The Vendor will execute and manage two campaign media buys. This should consist of

broadcast television and streaming, English and multi-lingual radio, RIPTA/transit, English

and multi-lingual newspapers, paid search, social media, satellite and terrestrial radio, and

related outlets. The Vendor should also ensure added value opportunities wherever

possible.

• Product accessibility

All materials that are developed as part of program outreach must be written in “plain

language” English, Spanish, and Portuguese so that they are meaningful and can be easily

understood by individuals of varying degrees of literacy.

Materials will need to be translated and produced in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Any

materials developed must align with national CLAS standards for culturally and

linguistically appropriate services. Any materials developed must also meet the standards

of the Americans with Disabilities Act. This includes remediating electronic materials, so

they meet standards for document accessibility.

• Campaign monitoring and analytics

The Vendor should collect all necessary data, as available, from all subcontractors and

gather and compile data on engagement with the myoptions.ri.gov landing page and all

associated marketing channels. The Vendor should report on data trends/analytics on a

quarterly basis. Analytics should reflect performance of all strategies and tactics.

The Vendor should elevate to the interagency communications team any trends or issues of

concern indicated in the data and work with the state to pivot strategy as needed, and

outside the required quarterly analysis. A Vendor with multilingual staff who can monitor

translated media campaigns (Spanish and Portuguese) and assist the State team in

responding appropriately to questions or comments in that language is preferred. The

Vendor should be prepared to adjust the campaign implementation strategy, including

media buys, to address any challenges or opportunities identified from campaign analytics

or other external data sources.

• Final files

Final files and artwork will be transmitted to the interagency communications team in an

editable format. Any files to be incorporated into the myoptions.ri.gov webpage should be

in hypertext markup language (html). The interagency communications team and the

Vendor will discuss additional technical specifications during the planning phase of the

project, as needed. Materials that are to be printed should be transferred as InDesign files

(INDD), with applicable fonts included.