What Illinois Districts Need to Know About Relay
Over the past several months, Relay has been working closely together to learn, plan, and prepare for next steps with Illinois school districts/cooperatives. This page serves as a central place to share updates, answer common questions, and provide helpful resources.
Tech Meeting
Who should attend: SIS Admin, IT Director or Tech Administrator
What we will cover: The meeting will cover the necessary details regarding the file that needs to be built in your Student Information Service and sent to Relay on a daily basis. This file will provide Relay with the necessary student demographic information that is required for Medicaid documentation and billing.
Contact your CSM to schedule
Portal Configuration (Basecamp) Meeting
Who should attend: Special Education Director
What we will cover: The meeting will discuss all of the files to get providers (users) into Relay’s system, as well as compliance data (e.g. parental consent, DX, Achieve file, etc.).
Contact your CSM to schedule
Schedule Your Medicaid Administrator Training
Please sign up below to schedule your virtual Medicaid Administrator Training with Relay.
Who Should Attend: Medicaid Coordinators for the district
Dates Available: May-August
What We Will Cover: This training will cover a number of topics to ensure your district is setup for success when the school year begins so you can successfully submit, track and receive Medicaid reimbursement. We will show you in our system the process of: Managing Student Records, Managing Providers, Billing Cycles, Held Services, Performance Reports, Reviewing Logs, and Payment/Denial Data.
Webinars
Meet Relay: The Next Step for Our Clients:
This webinar provides an overview of the work Relay has been doing together and what districts/cooperatives can expect moving forward.
In this session, we covered:
- An introduction to Relay and its key capabilities
- Progress made through collaboration
- What to expect in the coming weeks and months
- How Relay will support districts/cooperatives throughout the transition
- Questions and feedback from districts/cooperatives participants
Watch the webinar recording here.
FAQs
We have hosted several client discussions and multiple client webinars. This collection of questions and answers represents the most frequently asked questions from our district feedback sessions.
Is there a timeline for when a district/cooperative will be transitioning and services to Relay products and services?
Relay has been engaged in months of review, education and learning, and planning and do believe that the Relay products (Dash and Podium) reflect an improvement for our districts/cooperatives. It was important for us to gather feedback from our Illinois districts/cooperatives customers to help inform the strategy of when we will transition. There are no set dates to make this transition, we are still in the discovery process and are eager to receive your feedback and questions.
Will we still have access to our support team?
Yes, your customer success contacts will remain the same.
What if we want to move to Relay Dash as soon as possible?
Our team welcomes districts/cooperatives who see the value and ease of use of the Relay products and services to choose to make this transition. If you would like to discuss making the transition soon, please let your contact know.
Relay uses the term “Provider” throughout the product demo, who is considered a provider?
A provider is considered any user/person who documents services. In IL, examples of a provider would include all related service personnel, including your one-on-one aides. All providers will have an account to access Relay and this information can be bulk loaded and managed.
When we are transitioned to the new Relay tools, is there a cost?
For clients moving to the electronic billing system and converting to the Relay platform, we expect the cost to remain the same. Service level expectations for each service type will be clearly defined as to what is included from Relay in those existing costs.
Relay allows for more integration of data and automation of importing data like IEPs, SIS Student Data, etc. If we need help setting these up, what can Relay do to assist?
Implementation teams are experienced in helping districts/cooperatives understand the data exchange processes. In some cases, where IT staff may need assistance, we also have a network of experts with most common SIS and IEP products who can help configure the initial data exchange process.
Will the data import from our IEP vendor update service start dates, account for amendments, etc. automatically?
Yes, the system will reflect the changes based on the updated IEP and associated amendments ensuring consistency and accuracy between systems.
Will paras (aka aides) still complete paper logs?
Yes, the aides will still complete paper logs and have those paper logs co-signed by their supervising teacher. Someone (the aides themselves or another data-entry person like an administrative assistant) will then enter/submit the aides’ services into Dash using the paper logs as their guide.
What will training look like to help staff understand the Relay platform during the transition?
The Relay team will provide a full implementation and onboarding process that includes initial training for administrators of the system as well as providers. In addition, there are many virtual, online and ongoing options available to provide additional training, if and when necessary beyond the initial onboarding training. Your customer success contact will aid in ensuring successful adoption of the products for the districts/cooperatives.
I have district specific questions about logging – such as questions on specific scenarios, time entry, district policy, etc. How can I get answers to these questions?
We expect districts will want to take a more personal and closer look at the tools. Contact your customer success contact schedule time for a one-on-one overview and Q&A session.
How can we monitor and understand if a para (provider) is logging all of their services?
As billing and claiming is managed automatically on the back-end, the best practice is to have providers/paras log all student interactions. The platform then reports only what is eligible to be reported based on compliance, logic and rules. Further, there are multiple reports dynamically updated and available for all administrators to monitor provider compliance (for example, Prescribed vs. Delivered Reports, Student Reports, etc.).
What help will we receive with compliance review, audits, etc. going forward with Relay?
Relay has reporting for ongoing review of compliance, validations that match compliance rules that are applied to all billing and claiming. If a District is audited, Relay Client Success Manager will assist in pulling and reviewing the correct data to determine compliance.
Learning Resources
Video Tutorials
What's Next?
- Continued collaboration between Relay and your district
- Ongoing communication and updates for Illinois districts
- Additional resources shared as plans and timelines are confirmed
