Information and Referral

To support self-employment, START-UP / USA provides resources to people with disabilities and generates data and information to validate systems change and capacity-building strategies. The site offers case studies, fact sheets, training materials, webcasts and seminars.

Finding and enrolling older adults and adults with disabilities into benefit programs for which they may be eligible represents an enormous challenge to the agencies that serve them. This website provides tools and resources to these local, state and national agencies to assist them in helping their clients access benefit programs, along with information on best practices and cost-effective strategies for outreach and enrollment.

This curriculum, "Choices for Long-Term Care" was developed by the New York State Office for the Aging in partnership with Albany area institutions. These materials serve as a tool for NY Connects professionals to better understand the philosophy and definition of information and assistance, enhance their communication skills, and become familiar with the call map to better assist callers.

This resource guide gives consumers information about quality in long term care services, outcomes expected from services, and information about how the state of Vermont assures and improves its services. It also discusses the how consumers can receive more information or assistance and their role in assuring and improving quality of services. Other states can use this as a template when designing their own quality programs.

The goal of Rewarding Work is to give people who need support with daily activities choice and control in finding personal assistants. So far, the site has partnered with five states in the Northeast. The searchable database can be used by both people looking to hire help and job seekers. The attached news release describes a special connection these services made possible - the example, a 14-year-old with severe disabilities, and a nursing student looking for a work as PCA.

Check to ensure that your providers are eligible to receive Medicaid funds. Bases for exclusion include convictions for program-related fraud and patient abuse, licensing board actions and default on Health Education Assistance Loans. States cannot be reimbursed with Federal Medicaid dollars for any item or service furnished, ordered, or prescribed by individuals or entities on this list. Further, no payment will be made for services or products from providers that employ someone on this list.

This website is an on-line query system based on AoA-related data files and surveys, and includes population characteristics from the Census Bureau. The system allows users to produce descriptive information in graphical or tabular form, at the level of detail most suited for their needs. The four options through AGID provide different levels of focus and aggregation of the data from individual data elements within Data-at-a-Glance to full database access within Data Files.

AARP offers a list of resources to help plan for long-term care. Especially helpful is the “Staying in Your Home” section. Here you can find tools on preparing homes for aging in place, locating quality home and community-based services, and hiring home care workers.

One way Indiana communicates with HCBS waivers consumers is via this document. Updated periodically, it describes available waivers and what services they cover, eligibility requirements, quality assurance mechanisms and the rights of the consumer. It also provides instructions for applying, contact information for other HCBS resources, and tips on choosing good providers. The guide comes with a feedback and evaluation survey.

How do you explain the long-term system and benefits available in your state to consumers? Use these resources from Arizona as examples of how to communicate to people with developmental disabilities their choices, rights, and responsibilities. Also covered are eligibility requirements, application instructions, and contact information of local offices.