Peer Supports

PSWH is a person-centered planning process that looks comprehensively at a person’s health life-style, focuses on a person’s strengths, interests and natural supports, stresses creating new health life-style habits and disciplines, and provides peer support delivered by peer specialists to promote self-directed whole health. Attached find a presentation given at the 2010 HCBS conference and an information sheet.

How is California disseminating information to its disabled college students and newly graduated college students about work incentives and who to connect to in the community to obtain assistance? The California Ambassadors Program hires and trains disabled college students to provide outreach and education for fellow disabled peers. Attached, find a multitude of resources, presentations, and trainings put out by the state of California regarding this important program.

How does the state of New Hampshire reach out to individuals with disabilities and their families? The Office of Consumer & Family Affairs (OCFA) provides information, education and support for children and youth, families, adults and older adults who are dealing with the challenges of mental illness. Attached is a newsletter put out by OCFA that provides important updates and resources as well as a link to their website.

One of the greatest challenges, and greatest hopes, for consumer direction as a service option is to integrate this approach into existing case-managed programs. This chapter was part of Consumer Voice and Choice in Long-Term Care and it explores the issues faced when consumer direction and case management are integrated.

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.

This website is designed to increase transportation options for older adults and enhance their ability to live more independently within their communities throughout the United States. It features the development, collection and distribution of information and resources for use by communities, transportation providers, state and local governments, aging and human service providers, and older adults and their caregivers.

This cross-disability synthesis white paper presents an overview of direct service workforce (DSW) challenges and practices across sectors and provides a call to action regarding these issues. Little has been written about how DSW jobs vary by population served. Beyond demographics and challenges, the authors also examine the development of different service models, promising practices and areas for planning and action. The appendix catalogs core competencies for each group.

Revisit the material presented at the 2008 HCBS Conference. The DSW Intensive provided an overview of the direct service workforce challenges and the initiatives being researched and developed to address them. Intensive materials posted include a planning document, trends in policy and recommendations for data collection.

This report presents findings of a national review—or environmental scan—of caregiver training programs and curricula, conducted by the International Longevity Center (ILC) as an initiative of the Caregiving Project for Older Americans, a joint project of the ILC and the Schmieding Center for Senior Health and Education.

This report is the first product of the newly launched Caregiving Project for Older Americans, a multiyear, joint project of the International Longevity Center-USA (ILC) and the Schmieding Center for Senior Health and Education (SCSHE). The report focuses on integrating what is known about both the paid and the family caregiving worlds.