Exhibit B - State Plan On Brain Injury Plain Language Companion.pdf

Colorado State Plan on Brain Injury Plain Language Version

August 1, 2024 - July 31, 2027

Making the State Plan Accessible for All

Created July 1, 2025

1575 Sherman St., Denver, CO 80203 P 720.457.3679 cdhs.colorado.gov

Jared Polis, Governor | Michelle Barnes, Executive Director

Summary

About MINDSOURCE

MINDSOURCE Brain Injury Network is Colorado’s main agency for brain injury. It is part of the Colorado Department of Human Services. MINDSOURCE helps find gaps in brain injury services, creates plans to fix those gaps, and works with other groups to help people with brain injuries and their families.

Colorado Advisory Council on Brain Injury (CACBI) MINDSOURCE runs the Colorado Advisory Council on Brain Injury (CACBI). This group includes people with brain injuries, their families, and professionals. Together, they helped create the 2024 - 2027 State Plan on Brain Injury. This plan is a guide for

MINDSOURCE and brain injury work in Colorado.

How the Plan Was Made

The plan was developed in 2023 and finalized in 2024. It includes ideas and feedback from council members and community members.

Simplifying the Plan

In July 2025, this version of the plan was written to be easier to read and understand. It includes four clear goals, new tasks based on recent work, and a simpler layout that makes it easier to find information. This version does not replace the original plan. It works alongside it to help more people understand and use the information. The main ideas and values are still the same.

Thank You

Thank you to all current and past members of the Colorado Advisory Council on Brain

Injury. Your hard work and care have helped make this plan possible. With your help, Colorado is ready to keep making life better for people with brain injuries.

Goal 1: Help People Know About Brain Injuries

What this means: Everyone in Colorado who has a brain injury is aware of it and everyone understands its impact.

Objective 1: Talk About Brain Injuries All Year

Key Tasks

● Add a link to the Mind Your Brain campaign on the MINDSOURCE website

● Work with the Brain Injury Trust Fund Board to fund outreach in key communities

● Find new and creative ways to share brain injury information all year, not just during Brain Injury Awareness Month

● Partner with sports groups to help share brain injury information

Objective 2: Create and Improve the OBISSS Tool (Online Brain Injury Screening and Support System)

Key Tasks:

● Review how well OBISSS works and if it can be used across the state

● Make sure OBISSS and the tips sheets focus on the person’s needs and do not cause distress.

● Keep tip sheets up to date with helpful information

Objective 3: Get More People to Use OBISSS

Key Tasks:

● Learn where brain injury screening is happening and where it’s missing https://mindsourcecolorado.org/mind-your-brain/ https://mindsourcecolorado.org/ https://mindsourcecolorado.org/ https://www.nashia.org/obisssprogram https://www.nashia.org/obisssprogram

● Focus on reaching partners and communities with less access to screening

● Make easy-to-use training and outreach materials

● Make OBISSS easier to find on the MINDSOURCE website

● Try adding brain injury screening to regular doctor visits

Objective 3: Support People Using OBISSS

Key Tasks:

● Share reports every 3 months on how OBISSS is being used

● Hold regular meetings with users to share feedback and ideas

● Test OBISSS in real places and learn how to make it easier to use.

Goal 2: Help People Find the Services They Need

What this means: People with brain injuries can easily find and use the services and supports they need, when they need them.

Objective 1: Organize Resource Information

Key Tasks:

● Work with BIAC to clean up and organize local information on providers, groups, and classes

● Update the MINDSOURCE website with clear statewide and national resources

● Gather job support resources and share them in a simple way

Objective 2: Create Tools to Help People Navigate Services

Key Tasks:

https://mindsourcecolorado.org/ https://mindsourcecolorado.org/

● Make a step-by-step guide that shows what help is out there and how to get it

● Create a workbook to help people track contacts, appointments, and notes

Objective 3: Teach People About the Brain Injury Waiver

Key Tasks:

● Help Medicaid members understand services available through the

Brain Injury Waiver

● Support caregivers by sharing information about rights and services

● Offer training to get more people using the waiver

Goal 3: Teach Providers About Brain Injury

What this means: People who work in healthcare, behavioral health, and community services understand brain injury and know how to support people with a brain injury in the right way.

Objective 1: Offer Brain Injury Training

Key Tasks:

● Work with the BHA (Behavioral Health Administration) to create the

Brain Injury Essentials Course

● Set up a way to get feedback on future training needs

● Build a library of training videos and resources

● Make materials that explain symptoms and helpful supports

● Post training videos on the website

● Make flyers and information for organizations that want to learn more https://hcpf.colorado.gov/brain-injury-waiver-bi https://learninghub.ownpath.co/product?catalog=BHCUBRNSRS

● Track who attends trainings and use surveys to improve

● Make a list of who we should train first

Objective 2: Add Brain Injury Information to Mental Health Services

Key Tasks:

● Train mental health providers on brain injury

● Try out brain injury-informed care at one location

● Ask BHA to include brain injury in training for new staff

Objective 3: Learn How to Help People After Hospital Stays

Key Tasks:

● Learn how hospitals help people after brain injuries

● Find gaps where people might not be getting support

● Share new ideas for how to help during hospital discharge

● Talk with hospitals that may want to try something new

Goal 4: Support People with Brain Injuries in Everyday Life

What this means: People with brain injuries can fully take part in school, work, home, and community life in ways that are meaningful to them.

Objective 1: Train People Who Help Others

Key Tasks:

● Find peer support, navigator, and health worker roles and offer training

● Make a list of these roles and prioritize who to train first

● Make sure these helpers understand how to support people with brain injuries

Objective 2: Create Tools That Support Inclusion

Key Tasks:

● Work with people who have brain injuries to create training for supporters, like peer workers, employers, teachers, and families

● Host training on how to apply for MINDSOURCE community grants

● Hold training on person-centered practices and post it online

● Make checklists for how to be more brain injury inclusive

Objective 3: Support Independence and Self-Advocacy

Key Tasks:

● Share the A.H.E.A.D. (Achieving Health Through Education, Accountability and Determination) course to help people with brain injuries

● Support the SAIL (Self Advocacy for Independent Living) course at

Arapahoe Community College with scholarships and feedback https://mindsourcecolorado.org/grant-programs/ https://mindsourcecolorado.org/ahead/ https://www.campusce.net/arapahoe/course/course.aspx?catId=103