Developmental/Intellectual Disabilities

The Center on Youth Voice, Youth Choice is a national youth resource center that supports alternatives to guardianship through research, self-advocacy, outreach, coalition building and education. The Community of Practice will discuss best practices, support long-term change, and help elevate the voices of youth leaders in this work. Applications to join this network are now being accepted.

On Friday, January 14, 2022 the White House announced that free at-home, rapid COVID-19 tests are now available for order online. Those who do not have internet access or who need additional assistance with ordering can call 1-800-232-0233 (TTY 1-888-720-7489) to place their orders. The Eldercare Locator and the Disability Information and Assistance Line (DIAL) also can assist older adults and people with disabilities with placing orders, and connect people to accessible instructions.

Do you want updated, consumer-friendly handouts about the COVID-19 vaccine or booster recommendations, COVID-19 testing availability, or Medicare coverage during a public health emergency? The SHIP National Technical Assistance Center maintains fact sheets about these issues. The fact sheets have been updated to explain the following: 1) COVID-19 boosters are now recommended for people aged 12 and older, 2) How Original Medicare covers COVID-19 tests, but it does not cover at-home test, 3) Ways people with Original Medicare can access free at-home COVID-19 tests.

Through the Better Care Playbook, CHCS has organized a virtual panel of innovators to discuss challenges in applying evidence when designing and refining complex care program. This blog post shares key themes from the panel's discussion at the 2021 “Putting Care at the Center”conference, hosted by the Camden Coalition’s National Center for Complex Health and Social Needs. During this discussion, panelists shared their experience translating research findings into decision making for complex care program design and improvements.

On January 12, 2022, CMS released the Medicaid LTSS Annual Expenditures Report for Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2019. This report discusses the LTSS rebalancing trends and growth in expenditures for home and community-based services as compared to institutional spending during the time period reviewed.

ACL has summarized the CDC's latest COVID-19 vaccination and booster reccomendations on their resources page. The webpage includes a section of resources for the Aging and Disability Networks and guidance for people who are immunocompromised.

As part of its ongoing efforts across many channels to expand Americans’ access to free testing, the Biden-Harris Administration is requiring insurance companies and group health plans to cover the cost of over-the-counter, at-home COVID-19 tests, so people with private health coverage can get them for free starting January 15, 2022.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, is working with states to promote access to Medicaid services for people with mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) crises. Authorized under President Biden’s American Rescue Plan (ARP), states have a new option for supporting community-based mobile crisis intervention services for individuals with Medicaid. This option will help states integrate these services into their Medicaid programs, a critical component in establishing a sustainable and public health-focused support network.

Acknowledging and understanding an individual's racial and cultural identities is essential for providing person-centered supports with cultural competence. There are limited resources that directly address the intersection of culture, language, and identity with person-centered practice. The NCAPPS community has published a series of short videos that narrate how personcenteredness relates to race and culture. More videos will be released over the next several month.

The Arc has annouced their new Virtual Program Library that includes free, on-demand activities for people with disabilities, their familes and service providers. The library features resources related to the arts, community and life skills, health and wellness and more.