Physical Disabilities

Designed to provide a comprehensive, searchable bibliography summarizing research on cognitive technologies, this database can be utilized by persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The database is structured to allow visitors to identify research articles relevant to their specific needs. Users can enter a specific search term or go to an \"advanced search\" page where users search by keyword, author name, journal, category of assistive technology, or other fields.

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.

Granite State Independent Living (GSIL), working collaboratively with the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), solicited proposals from organizations interested in becoming consumer-directed personal care services providers (PSCP). Although this RFP is a few years old, it serves as an example of how to seek out providers. Moreover CHAPTER He-P 600 sets forth the procedures and requirements for operating as an other qualified agency.

Parent to Parent and Family Voices are proud to announce the new Family to Family Health Information and Education Center called the Virginia Integrated Network of Family Organization or The VA-INFO Center. The center provides youth and parents of children with special needs, service providers and others one place to call to get information and referrals, parent to parent peer support, annual family support conference, and other training opportunities.

Coordinated care organizations (CCO) are an emerging person-centered health delivery system for community-based Medicaid adults with disabilities or complex chronic disease. This report develops recommendations on how states can support CCOs. The recommendations are drawn from visits to seven pilot programs in NC, MN, MA, NY, VT, WI. This report reviews the challenges the CCOs encounter in measuring quality and offers a comprehensive approach for developing an actionable measurement set.

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.