Aging/Older Adults

The Vermont ADRC publishes this bi-monthly newsletter to keep partners and staff connected to the activities of the grant within the two local pilot regions and nationally. They will use this newsletter to highlight key activities of the grant: progress in establishing partnerships across service networks, cross training, utilization of refer and other resource databases, the formative evaluation, and community events.

This memorandum of understanding was signed as part of the Vermont ADRC project between the Vermont Department of Aging and Independent Living and the Department of Children and Families (Medicaid). The MOU is informative for streamlining access efforts. Other ADRCs designing programs will find this MOU a useful example.

As part of the Oklahoma Real Choice Systems Change Grant, Oklahoma developed a number of training tools for their partnership members. The group consisted of Consumer Consultants and Grant Partners. The presentations and handouts describe roles, working as a team, communication, decision making, policy history, state specific divisions and services and the ADvantage program.

The Minnesota Department of Human Services, through its Continuing Care Administration, is seeking Proposals from qualified Responders to work with DHS staff and key stakeholders to complete a State Long-Term Care Profile. A State Profile tool was developed by Thomson Medstat under contract with CMS. The Profile must describe the state’s long-term care delivery system for 7 population groups that account for the majority of people who need hcbs in MN. Proposals are due January 28, 2008.

This guide offers a quick reference on housing resources that can be used to create integrated, affordable, and accessible housing and basic information on how to use these resources. Including community strategies that increase the amount of integrated, affordable, and accessible housing units that usually fall into three general categories: development of housing units; access to existing housing units; and asset development.

The out-of-pocket cost of caring for an aging parent or spouse averages $5,531 a year, according to the nation's first in-depth study of such expenses, a sum that is more than double previous estimates and more than the average American household spends each year on health care and entertainment combined. This Evercare/NAC study found that as many as 17 million people care for a loved one 50 years or older and are spending more than 10 percent of their annual income on caregiving expenses.

This report describes the process evaluation findings related to ADRC implementation approaches in three expansion sites, presents an initial evaluation of the role and functioning of the ADRC Coalition, and describes the formation of the collaboration between the AAA and the Regional Offices of MHDDAD. A framework includes benchmarks for successful collaboration development, and program logic modeling is discussed as an evaluation framework to guide future process and outcome evaluations.

This report provides information about family caregivers of older Americans and the state-level programs serving them. The profiles provide information on state demographics and programs related to caregiving. They offer a snapshot of each state's caregiver support programs, services offered, funding sources, eligibility criteria, and options for consumer direction. Also, information about locating grandparent support programs is included along with highlights of recent state legislation.

The purpose of this survey analysis is to provide states with an overview of the implementation of these DRA changes across the country, specifically in terms of Long-Term Care services and the steps the states have taken. Findings address eligibility, Children with Disabilities, Money Follows the Person, HCBS State Plan Amendments, Transition from Institutions, Managed Care, SPA for Personal Care Services, Cash & Counseling, Care Coordination, Disease Management and Long-Term Care Reform.

At this conference held in Chicago in March 07, experts from research, policy and practice considered critical questions in long-term caregiving. What is different now than in the past? How can we address the key challenges for family care in the decades ahead? The Proceedings, which cover both plenary sessions and workshop panel presentations, conclude with a summary of recommendations put forth and also highlight policy issues and progress in the field.