Physical Disabilities

The State of Colorado plans to initiate a five-year research and demonstration program in 2002. Participants will be able to use money that otherwise would be spent on Medicaid home health agency and personal care services to purchase in-home services from attendants they personally select, hire, and train. The model is expected to improve the quality of attendant support and decrease the state's costs of providing care.

Transportation is an essential community element that is all too often overlooked. In New Hampshire, the failure to prioritize transportation issues at the state & community level is difficult to understand for two primary reasons. First, unmet need. Secondly, inefficiently spending on transportation with the result being duplicative efforts, lack of coordination among service providers, and a weak infrastructure. National studies show that fixing the second may, in fact, fix the first.

The State of Michigan combined several funding sources in its contracts with local community mental health agencies, which serve people with developmental disabilities, mental illness, and addiction disorders. To ensure access and improve choice, the contracts require local agencies offer a wide array of services and use a person-centered planning process to determine a person’s service plan. In the first two years of using this model, access to services improved and costs were reduced.

The Participant Experience Surveys (PES) is an interview tool developed by MEDSTAT under a contract from CMS. The surveys capture data that can be used to calculate indicators for monitoring quality within the waiver prograns. Two versions of the PES are included, one for frail elderly and adults with physical disabilities and another for adults with MR/DD. A Users' Guide accompanies each PES. Each survey can be conducted in a face-to-face interview in 30 minutes or less.

Under their Real Choice grant, Arkansas developed a training curriculum for people who wish to be advocates for people with disabilities and for people who are elderly. The purpose of the Arkansas Aging and Disability Leadership Academy was to identify, train and develop volunteer leaders and educators in issues related to aging and disabilities. Academy participants will be empowered to become effective advocate leaders to represent the interest of Arkansans.

AR-GetCare is Arkansas’ statewide listing of services for older adults and people with disabilities. AR-GetCare is designed to help you locate resources that may assist you or a family member to continue living at home or in your community. The Website’s Self-Assessment Tool can help you clarify your own needs or those of a loved one.

In this letter to State Medicaid Directors, Glenn Stanton (Acting Director, DEHPG, CMS) describes the modifications made to the HCBS Quality Framework. The modifications emphasize the importance of building quality into the design of HCBS programs. Included here are Mr. Stanton's letter, the final Quality Framework, and a working draft of \"sub-domains\" which provide specificity within each focus area. This letter is also referred to as CMS Quality Communication #3.

The Department of Human Services administers, coordinates and serves as the state agency for all publicly financed services and programs, exclusive of health and housing needs, for the territory’s poor, disabled, juvenile delinquents, senior citizens and low income families with children.

This site provides links and information specifically related to the government of the Virgin Islands.

This website provides a comprehensive listing of Disability Programs and Information for Wisconsin. Listings include Addiction Services, Blind & Visually Impaired Services, Community Mental Health Services, Deaf & Hard of Hearing Services, Developmental Disabilities Centers, Developmental Disabilities Council), Developmental Disabilities Services, Disability Advocates: Wisconsin Network (DAWN), Physical Disabilities Services