Rutgers/NASHP

This is the first in a series of newsletters produced at the Exchange to provide assistance to our CMS Real Systems Change grantees. This newsletter is produced biannually. Topics include: 2004 Real Choice Systems Change Grant Solicitation; Real Choice Systems Change Grant Summary Chart; Clearinghouse for The Community Living Exchange Collaborative. A table includes the types of Real Choice Systems Change Grants that the Community Living Exchange Collaborative provides technical assistance to.

This is the second in a series of newsletters produced at the Exchange to provide assistance to our CMS Real Systems Change grantees. This newsletter is produced biannually. Topics include: Connecting the Dots: Maryland; Money Follows the Person: Grantee Meeting in Nevada; Information Technology (IT) Systems Survey for Single Point of Entry; Housing Work Group Established for Real Choice Grantees; Children’s Mental Health Audio Conference.

This is the third in a series of newsletters produced at the Exchange to provide assistance to our CMS Real Systems Change grantees. This newsletter is produced biannually. Topics include: Physicians’ Role in Determining Level of Care, Nurse Practice Policies for Home and Community Living, ADRC Toolbox, Massachusetts Connecting the Dots, Making Medicaid Work in the 21st Century, Assessment Instruments, HCBS Quality Management Roles & Responsibilities, Family Caregiving, and Housing.

In 2001, the State of New Jersey was awarded an Administration on Aging grant as part of the National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP). New Jersey’s project involved integrating a focus on caregiving into the existing long-term care system. The project included activities aimed to better identify caregivers and their unique needs and increase awareness among senior service staff of diverse caregiving situations.

Discusses options for combining Medicaid long-term care funding and expanding the scope of long-term care services. The call was organized in response to a need identified by a grantee and included states that were available and had relevant experience with the questions being raised.

Ohio has been using its Real Choice Systems Change grant to bring people together to consider options to streamline access to information about long term services. A group of county, municipal and private organizations in Ohio are working with state agencies to develop a pilot project. On December 13-14, 2004, policy experts from Rutgers Center for State Health Policy and the National Academy for State Health Policy met with stakeholders to provide information and technical assistance.

The Massachusetts Supportive Housing Program (SHP) was developed in 1999 to strengthen coordination between housing and service agencies to support aging in place by creating an “assisted living like” environment in state funded, public elderly housing. On site service coordination and seven-day a week, 24-hour available personal care services contribute to important resident perceptions of increased safety and security.

States that are trying to streamline policies and paperwork to help people receive long term care and support in community settings are re-examining the processes they use to determine eligibility for programs. This technical assistance document focuses on one of those processes, determining “level of care”, and provides clarification about federal requirements for physician involvement.

The objective of this workshop was to create an ongoing mechanism within the state to continue communication, coordination, and improved collaboration among key public and private stakeholders involved in systems change activity.

The primary purpose of this technical assistance activity was to promote sustainability of CMS-funded infrastructure developments that demonstrate promise by explicitly linking them to the state’s strategic plan.