Aging/Older Adults

Some states incorporate caregiver support services into their programs that serve older people or adults with disabilities; in other states, it is separate with distinct eligibility criteria. Because many states are increasing HCBS funding, policymakers and administrators have a strong interest in emerging trends. This report highlights three: caregiver assessment, consumer direction in family caregiver support services, and collaborations between the aging network and the health care system.

Support brokerage is a potentially important development that can assist in enabling people to make informed decisions and promoting independence. This discussion paper from England raises a number of pertinent debate questions about the practicalities and potential difficulties of support brokerage. As we here in the US implement system transformation that includes self-determination, we can learn from the examples illustrated in these UK brokerage pilots.

The CMS Systems Change conference, Transforming Systems: Keys to Success was held April 10-12 in Baltimore. Presentations from the 2006 sessions are available in both PDF and text formats. Topics range from ideas on system transformation, stakeholder involvement, coalition building, strategic planning, sustaining systems change, and the Deficit Reduction Act. Full titles are listed in the keywords section.

The Hennepin County Human Services and Public Health Department outlines the accomplishments made to date after their one-year initiative. They also offer their future plans for implementation.

This brief provides background information on characteristics of the MR/DD population and describes the major information and service needs of the MR/DD population and the existing supports and services system. The brief also addresses implications for grantees serving this population and provides additional resources to facilitate ADRC planning and operations.

The third paper in the series examines what contemporary social service systems can do to promote consumer-directed services. We identify different features that make a service \"self-directed,\" and we identify characteristics of successful consumer direction and self-determination. In its present form, this paper serves as foundation work for additional dialogue and will also undergo continuing development in discussions with representatives of projects and consumer leaders in states.

The second in the series, this paper identifies the features of high-quality integrated community services and the systems that support them and serves as the foundation work for additional exploration. The paper will undergo continuing development in discussions with representatives of projects and consumer leaders, will augment assessment of existing systems and planning of new or improved systems, and ideally become an even more useful tool for those involved in systems transformation.

This report draws on interviews with Medicaid care planners for insight into the issues that arise in establishing programs to move individuals with significant long-term care needs from institutional to community settings. The five states that participated in this study—Florida, Louisiana, New Jersey, Ohio and Washington—each received federal grants for nursing home transition activities and had varied experiences.

This report draws on interviews with state Medicaid program officials for insight into the issues that arise in establishing programs to move individuals with significant long-term care needs from institutional to community settings. The five states that participated in this study—Florida, Louisiana, New Jersey, Ohio and Washington—each received federal grants for nursing home transition activities and had varied experiences.

Due to concern that wealthy elderly Americans were transferring assets to gain Medicaid coverage for nursing home care, the Deficit Reduction Act tightened Medicaid eligibility rules. About 43 percent of all nursing home residents eventually become Medicaid eligible. Over the six-year period examined, the authors estimate that, when applying the DRA asset transfer rules, federal savings to Medicaid could amount to $1.87 billion.