Physical Disabilities

The National Center on Caregiving at Family Caregiver Alliance (FCA) has developed a new online resource. The toolkit is a practical resource targeted to practitioners and program administrators interested in integrating caregiver assessment into their work with caregiving families, older people and adults with disabilities. A compilation of materials and techniques are provided which incorporate fundamental principles and practice guidelines. Review the definitions and assessment tools.

In many ways, consumers are the best experts on their disabling conditions, including their own needs for support and the effectiveness and quality of programs. As a result, obtaining consumer participation and input at all stages of program design, implementation, evaluation and quality assurance is important. Effectively and efficiently involving consumers and obtaining their input, however, requires creative and innovative methods. This checklist will help to enhance full participation.

This report assesses the appeal of the Cash and Counseling demonstration by: (1) estimating the proportions of eligible beneficiaries that participated and comparing the characteristics of participants and nonparticipants; (2) describing beneficiaries’ most common reasons for agreeing or declining to participate; and (3) examining whether the demonstration affected the number of beneficiaries accessing personal care services or home and community-based services over time.

Assessing the well-being of workers hired under consumer direction and addressing their concerns is critical, because the model is sustainable only if workers are satisfied. While care recipients who manage their own care appear to be much more satisfied than others, the primary reason given for dropping out is difficulty finding or keeping a worker. Moreover, tapping consumers’ family members and friends as additional sources of labor could help solve the serious worker shortage.

Enacted by the Deficit Reduction Act, the MFP Rebalancing Demonstration is a part of a comprehensive, coordinated strategy to assist States in making widespread changes to their long-term care support systems. With the history and strength of the Real Choice Systems Change grants as a foundation, this initiative will assist in reducing reliance on institutional care while developing community-based opportunities. Applicants' teleconference - August 22, 2006. Proposals due November 1, 2006.

The new consumer-directed Medicaid program in Montana, Big Sky Bonanza (BSB) program has created the following products provided to new enrollees. The Waiver Orientation manual contains a program overview, roles and responsibilities and training process. My Support Services Plan is an 18 page worksheet to help consumers develop goal statements, capture personal, health, and spending plan, create an emergency back-up plan and list medical information.

This brochure was created using feedback from consumer focus groups, peer trainers, and other stakeholders. The brochure provides safety & prevention strategies, planning for backup care, preparing for attendant support during a community-wide disaster, how to minimize risk of theft, and health care emergency instructions and form. The strategies address emergency backup and incident management for consumers directing their own care or who have an authorized representative directing their care.

What are the specialized needs of seniors, people with disabilities and individuals with mental illness during emergencies? This brief describes how ADRCs can assist consumers before, during and after crisis situations. Although numerous federal, state and local agencies are involved in emergency activities, this issue brief focuses on the key roles of ADRCs in emergency planning, response and recovery.

Because effective partnership is a cornerstone of successful ADRC program development and ongoing operations, the Lewin Group has completed several aging and disability case studies on existing successful public-private partnerships. The case studies describe the approach, implementation, and outcomes of each partnership as well as reported “lessons learned.”

The ServiceLink Resource Center has developed and shared a number of resources they are using to market the expansion of their service. Visit this ADRC’s website or review their outreach material which includes a fact sheet, newsletter guidelines, marketing plan and messages, advertisements for print and radio, a general press release, flyers, brochures and logo.