Developmental/Intellectual Disabilities

CMS released a SHO letter with updated guidance to assist states in planning for resuming normal state Medicaid, CHIP, and BHP operations for the eventual end of the public health emergency. The SHO provides updated guidance regarding the extended timeframe for states to complete pending work in eligibility and enrollment to up to 12 months after the PHE ends and redetermination of eligibility requirements states must complete after the PHE for all beneficiaries before taking adverse actions.

On August 10, 2021, the U.S. Senate introduced the Nursing Home Improvement and Accountability Act of 2021. The bill aims to increase transparency, accountability and oversight as well as improve staffing in nursing homes.

The Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RERC) on Technologies to Support Aging-In-Place for People with Long-Term Disabilities (TechSAge RERC II) published a new tool titled "Guidelines for delivering telewellness programs to older adults with disabilities." This tool provides guidelines for designing telewellness classes for older adults with disabilities and touches on design elements, such as software selection, safety, class organization and logistics, time structure and more.

ACL is introducing a new blog feature intended to keep the aging and disabilities networks up to date about new policies. Visit their blog page to read about the latest policy advancements in the field.

CMS Office of Minority Health is recognizing National Immunization Awareness month by providing immunization and vaccine resources on their website. The site houses shareable information about available, low cost vaccines, Medicare coverage for vaccines, COVID-19 resources, and more.

NAMD spoke with Medicaid Directors and senior program leaders to understand where they are focusing their time as they continue to respond to the pandemic, pursue long-term program innovation and improvement, and manage their staff. NAMD has found that Medicaid Directors and senior leaders are currently focusing on program innovation and strategic initiatives, stakeholder engagement, program operations, staff management, COVID response.

The EngAGED National Resource Center has released this data brief summarizing a survey of organizations within the aging network to see what social engagement programs were offered during the COVID-19 pandemic to older adults, people with disabilities, and caregivers.

As HHS commemorates the anniversary of the ADA, the Office of Behavioral Health, Disability, and Aging Policy (BHDAP) is working to advance data capacity to generate evidence to implement policies, programs, and practices that promote inclusion and participation of individuals with disabilities in society. This blog post introduces the BHDAP's project, Dataset on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, which builds data capacity for person-centered outcomes research for people with ID/DD.

The Center for Health Care Strategies, with support from the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health, conducted a 50-state survey and a set of interviews to gauge the broad range of engagement strategies being used by Medicaid agencies. This report highlights key findings from the survey, including engagement themes, challenges, and recommendations for Medicaid agencies that can have lasting impact on outcomes, quality, equity, and cost.

Funded by ACL, this resource library collects digital materials from the Older Adults' Equity Collaborative member organizations to provide tools and guidance to the aging services network, providers, older adults and family caregivers. The resources included cover topics of social isolation and mental health, Alzheimer's and Dementia, disabilities, caregiving, retirement income and security, and emergency planning.