Developmental/Intellectual Disabilities

The Money Follows the Person (MFP) demonstration grant program helps long-term residents of institutions move back to the community. This report aims to answer several questions about the expenditures (medical care and long-term services and supports [LTSS] expenditures) of people who transition from institutional care to community-based LTSS.

This report fulfills NCD’s statutory mandate to annually report and make recommendations concerning the state of disability policy in the United States. Specifically, the 2014 Progress Report focuses on seven key areas: the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPD), employment access and inclusion, subminimum wage, education outcomes, Medicaid managed care, mental health care, and data trends in disability policy.

In 2014, ADvancing States surveyed state aging and disability agencies regarding the significant policy, fiscal, and operational issues occurring within each state. The survey collected detailed information about the structure of agencies, the supports provided, and the populations served by aging and disability agencies. Of particular interest is the summary of services provided in Medicaid waivers across the country. All of this information is presented in the charts accompanying this document.

The report features select qualified, demonstration, and supplemental services that seem particularly innovating and promising. The MFP grant program allows states to test and implement innovative services without the restrictions of a waiver. This report provides illustrative examples of how states are taking advantage of this flexibility, particularly in the areas of pre-transition and short-term services.

Review the progress by the 42 MFP grantee states (including the District of Columbia) that are actively transitioning MFP participants. MFP grants support state efforts to help individuals living in institutions move to home and community-based settings if that is where they wish to receive LTSS. During the second half of 2013, states transitioned 5,485 new enrollees, bringing the total number of people that had ever transitioned to the community through MFP to 40,693 at the close of 2013.

A resource for participant direction program stakeholders, this toolkit is in response to new rules promulgated by the US Department of Labor (DOL) that will take effect January 1, 2015. This webpage is designed to be your one-stop location for information and resources about the FLSA Home Care Final Rule and it's impact on participant direction programs. Resources include webinars, toolkits, and flowcharts. More resources will be added as they are developed.

The National Disability Institute released a report on the financial capability of people with disabilities. The report shared insights on various agencies' work to advance financial capability for youth and adults with disabilities. The report found that people with disabilities are less financially stable than people without disabilities in nearly all categories including making ends meet, planning ahead, managing financial products and financial knowledge and decision making.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has developed an online course which provide federal employees with basic information and resources to successfully hire, retain, and advance employees with disabilities. The course is available to agencies at no cost on HR University and the training should be considered required for human resources personnel and hiring managers.

Self-employment has long been an option for individuals seeking a new or better career. And today, many individuals with disabilities are turning to the flexibility self-employment offers in assisting them to meet both professional and financial goals. This report is intended to help policy makers, workforce development professionals and people with disabilities view self-employment as a viable source of income for people with disabilities. Review the final report of the START-UP initiative.

The annual Medicaid Long Term Services and Supports expenditure report for FFY 2012 is now available. The report includes Medicaid expenditures for all LTSS, including institutional and non-institutional settings, by service category and state. The data comes primarily from CMS-64 reports.