Psychiatric Disabilities/Mental Illness

This document provides guidance to state policymakers on developing more inclusive telework policies and programs. It includes an overview of workplace protections under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) pertaining to telework; details the components of state telework programs; and indicates how each component can be modified to better accommodate all employees. This brief also offers best practices states are using to advance inclusion in their telework programs.

The National Guardianship Association, along with the American Bar Association Commission on Law and Aging and the National Center for State Courts have developed an FAQ for guardians about consent for the COVID-19 vaccine for residents of long-term care facilities.

The AARP Public Policy Institute recently launched a three-year initiative which aims to transform long term care in the United States. LTSS Choices will be a series of reports, blogs, videos, podcasts, and virtual convenings that seek to catalyze reform and spark ideas to modernize LTSS, long term services and supports. The goal is a long-term care system that provides a wide range of choices to meet the dynamic needs and preferences of consumers and their families.

CMS released an update to the COVID-19 Vaccines Toolkit that was released on 10/28/20 and first updated on 11/23/20. This update includes more information on vaccine administration reimbursement and outlines a streamlined review process available to states looking to quickly adjust vaccine administration reimbursement rates in state plans. The toolkit also provides more clarification on managed care network adequacy and the phased distribution and administration approved COVID-19 vaccines.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is approving Nebraska’s fourth submission to amend the following 1915(c) Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waivers with the Emergency Preparedness and Response Appendix K in order to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The amendments that the state has requested in the Appendix Ks are additive to those previously approved and are effective from March 6, 2020 through March 5, 2021.

The Aging and Adult Services Agency at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) has announced the launch of CV19 CheckUp in Michigan, a free, anonymous, personalized online tool that evaluates someone’s risks associated with COVID-19. BellAge developed the tool to help people be safer & healthier, and ensure their individual needs are met during the pandemic. CV19 CheckUp uses artificial intelligence to analyze data each person provides by completing an online questionnaire.

This resource was developed for human service agency leadership whose role is directing the organization and delivery of services and supports. The five competency domains include: Strengths-Based, Culturally Informed, Whole Person-Focused; Cultivating Connections Inside the System and Out; Rights, Choice, and Control; Partnership, Teamwork, Communication, and Facilitation; and Documentation, Implementation, and Monitoring.

AARP has released its fourth iteration of the Long-term Services and Supports Scorecard. This scorecard ranks states and DC in order from 1 to 51 on a wide range of issues pertaining to older adults and people with disabilities. The LTSS scorecard has five domains that states are ranked within, and each of those domains has multiple indicators that are used to derive the overall score.

During the Friday September 25, 2020 MACPAC meeting, MACPAC presented on the Management of HCBS Waiver Waiting Lists. The talk included background information on Medicaid and HCBS Waivers, data on HCBS Waiver waiting lists, and strategies for reducing or eliminating waiting lists. The slides from this presentation are included here.

CMS has released a new report on community transitions that occurred under the Money Follows the Person (MFP) program from 2008 to the end of 2019. The report states that during this time, states transitioned 101,540 people to community living through MFP. In the most recent year (2019), MFP grantee states transitioned a total of 4,173 individuals. The report includes additional information on transitions broken down by population and state.