Grantee produced

Michigan developed a six-part training on transition and diversion. Module 2 is an overview of independent living and person-centered planning. It discusses the history and philosophy of independent living programs and definitions of person-centered planning. This module particularly emphasizes interacting and communicating with persons with disabilities.

Michigan developed a six-part training on transition and diversion. Module 1 is an overview of transition and diversion in the long-term care system. After a brief introduction to nursing facility transition programs, the presentation dispels some myths about the outcomes of transition and diversion programs. In addition, Module 1 discusses different aspects of nursing home transition and the legislation and lawsuits that have affected this process.

A goal of the Maryland Real Choice grant was to “provide information and assistance to consumer in acute care hospitals to aid decision-making and assist with transitions back to the community.” In 2003, a hospital discharge initiative was used to pay for nurses to work with patients being discharged from acute-care hospital stays. This paper reviews and answers whether there has been any change in discharge patterns from pilot sites to nursing homes relative to the rest of the state.

In laying the groundwork for sustainable improvements in the infrastructure for LTC policy and program implementation, Massachusetts Real Choice grantees conducted an assessment of current Service Coordination practices across State agencies. The research objective was to better understand present service coordination practices among agencies dealing with elderly and individuals with disabilities with the intention of identifying “promising practices”. This report presents the review results.

These reports are reviews of Utah’s long–term care system and waiver programs and provide recommendations for change. The Focus Group Findings focused on non-institutionalized and community based settings. The Long-Term Care paper provides more generalized findings about the structure of Utah’s long-term care system and how to transition forward based on input from stakeholders and administrators, comparisons to other states, and review of current documents and policy.

MA grantees hired an independent evaluator to conduct qualitative assessments of consumers’ experiences at two and nine months of participation. At two months, the successes included connections to community supports and services. Identified challenges included developing and managing an individual budget. Successes at 9 months include increased independence, self-determination, and availability of workers and supports. Challenges included community liaison training and out-of-pocket spending.

The goal of the Massachusetts Real Choice Pilot Project was to increase the quality of life and independence of participant through cost-effective flexible funding. Two pilot projects were developed under the grant to serve adults with disabilities. Attached documents include the pilot project summary, the request for proposals for organizations to participate in the pilot project, methodology of the project, and a descriptive presentation.

The Consumer Planning and Implementation Group (CPIG) was formed as a way to include consumers in the Real Choice Systems Change grant activities. CPIG represents consumers across disability, age, ethnicity, geographic locations, and include community advocates/providers. CPIG provides input on grant activities and provides recommendations to the Collaborative Team (consumers and representatives for Massachusetts’ Real Choice and Independence Plus grants).

When accessing health care for children there is another level of advocacy and information needed. Learning to advocate, learning to research and learning how to communicate with multiple systems are all skills to be acquired. Many times families are asked to “Put your request in writing”; for the parents of children with disabilities, there are even more reasons. The New York F2F grantee developed this booklet with hints, suggestions or models for families to use when writing letters.

During the Spring 2006, a total of thirteen sessions that included key informant interviews and focus groups ranging in size between eight to twelve participants were conducted. The report states several key areas of concern that emerged from the discussions in relationship to Illinois’ Choices for Care program of offering older adults alternatives to nursing home placement. Potential solutions to these identified areas may be found at the end of this report.