HJAR Jan/Feb 2022

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS I  JAN / FEB 2022 33 online application process for public assis- tance programs. Lindsey Dorneman, with the Colorado Department of Human Services’ Office of Early Childhood, said Colorado’s Family Voice Council (FVC) became an “incredible and needed resource as we completed an as- sessment and plan for the Preschool Devel- opment Grant.” “FVC provided information up front and helped us to test ideas as we thought about responsive solutions to families’most press- ing needs,” she added. Chelsey Hall serves as Director of Family and Community Engagement for the Colo- rado Department of Human Services, and she, too, noted the impact the program has had in her state. “As the facilitator and coordinator for the Family Voice Council, I have the honor of working directly with families, responding to their expertise, and instituting lasting sys- tems change,”Hall said. “Family Voice Coun- cil members have challengedme andmy col- leagues to defy the status quo and come up with real programmatic and policy solutions that will build prosperity and well-being for all children and families for generations to come.” TheArkansas Medicaid Client Voice Coun- cil plans to meet every other month in Little Rock, with the goal of improving the qual- ity and delivery of Medicaid services for all Arkansans by learning from the experienc- es and hearing the ideas of the people DHS serves. Clients will help set the agenda for meetings, have opportunities to present ideas Jason Pederson Deputy Chief of Community Engagement Arkansas Department of Human Services and questions to DHS staff and offer feedback on policy changes. “I didn’t feel alone,” said one member of Colorado’s Family Voice Council. “I felt in- cluded in everything and when I looked around the table, I saw people that looked like me, that had the same passion and voice as me, who wanted to fix the same issues as me, and we became a family unit. I am so proud to be a member of this Council. This is one of the best groups I have ever been a part of.” Clients and caregivers can apply online (ar.gov/clientvoice) to participate, or they can pick up an application at any DHS office. Applicants should have both the time and desire to serve. Council members will be paid a stipend for each meeting attended, and re- imbursement for transportation costs to and from Little Rock will be available if needed. For more information about the Medicaid Client Voice Council, please contact Jason Pederson at 501-658-1217 or Jason.Pederson@dhs.arkansas.gov . n As deputy chief of community engagement for the Arkansas Department of Human Services,Jason Ped- erson works to connect with beneficiaries across the state who rely on DHS programs and services. Ped- erson, who joined DHS in 2018, previously worked as the agency’s department-wide ombudsman as well as its representative to the Joint Information Center, a multi-agency panel that handled communications needs surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.Pederson began working as a broadcast journalist in El Dorado, Arkansas, in 1993 and moved to KATV in Little Rock two years later. In 1999,he took on the duties of Seven onYour Side, a platform fromwhich he fought for the rights of consumers.