Information Technology

This report describes South Carolina’s programs for older people and people with physical disabilities to gain access institutional and community Medicaid supports through a single access point, and have increasing opportunities to direct their own services. The report also describes how the state has been particularly innovative in using information technology to improve the quality of community supports and participants’ access to services.

In most cases, systems in use are paper-based and time intensive, which can lead to a high risk of fraud and abuse. The AuthentiCare Solution is an automated point-of-service verification system developed by GovConnect. The solution is designed to provide accurate, real-time access to information and to document that services have been provided. The solution uses a simple, secure, integrated phone and Internet environment.

A new website, the ADA Collection, offers visitors over 3,000 documents pertaining to the Americans with Disabilites Act. This new one-stop, one-shop ADA source is online at http://www.adaportal.org. The website offers in-depth information about a variety of topics, but also includes general and easy-to-understand information about the ADA. Document categories include employment, state & local government, private business, facility access, transporation, communication, and enforcement.

The University of California & San Francisco’s Center for Personal Assistance Services provides research, training, dissemination & technical assistance. The center, which was created with the help of a grant from the National Institute for Disability and Rehabilitation Research, toffers number of useful resources, including materials about the direct-care workforce and a well-stocked library of publications on issues relating to personal assistance services.

This report describes a recruitment effort lead by the Metro Region of the Massachusetts Department of Mental Retardation (DMR). DMR and provider agencies, in collaboration with a communications company, conducted a marketing campaign to recruit direct support professionals. The report highlights the implementation and impact of the project.

Teleconference introducing Tennessee's Web-Based Housing Registry for People with Mental Illness with Deborah Wolkhamer and Support Staff.

The District of Columbia, Department of Health, Medical Assistance Administration is undergoing an effort to improve its ability to perform case and care management for the aging and disabled populations within the District. As part of this process, MAA is seeking to implement an information system that can support effective care management assessment and planning.

This paper analyzes and answers the critical question: Does the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) apply to commercial and other private sector Web sites, and if so, what does it require. Much discussion of this question seems to be conducted without careful attention to the case law and other authorities that have already built-up around this question.

These materials are from the national conference sponsored by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and held in Nashville on May 2-3, 2002. The goal of the conference was to provide an opportunity for information exchange among decision-makers in the design and implementation of quality management/improvement. This conference was designed to facilitate communication around quality management among state staff, federal agency staff, providers, and consumers/advocates.

This is a NASDDS Policy Buletin on how to get federal financing for management information systems (MIS) to manage services for persons with developmental disabilities.