All States/Territories

Only 10% of Americans have long-term care insurance and many insurance companies have terminated, or significantly raised the cost of their long-term care insurance offerings. Within this context, the author examines the CLASS program and compares its various features to currently available long-term care insurance policies, focusing on benefit eligibility, enrollment procedures, scope of benefits, ease of acquisition, program solvency, premium stability, and other features.

According to results from this comprehensive national survey, 11 million adults (4.8 percent) in the U.S. have suffered serious mental illness in 2009, and in many cases these individuals also have a substance use disorder. The survey provides many insights into the nature and scope of mental illness. Because of its statistical power, it is a primary source of information on a wide range of behavioral health matters including mental health and substance abuse issues.

Computer-based testing (CBT) has emerged as one of the recent innovative approaches to assessments most pursued by states. CBT is lauded as the answer to having cheaper and speedier test delivery for state and district-wide assessments, as well as an avenue toward greater accessibility for students with disabilities. This report explores the context of CBT, current state computer-based tests, and considerations for students with disabilities.

With Medicaid slated to become the nation's single largest insurer covering 25 percent of all Americans, getting Medicaid payment right is critical. This policy brief examines the requirements of federal law that govern Medicaid payment practices and reflects on the implications of federal health reform. It is intended to provide federal and state government officials and other Medicaid stakeholders with an accessible legal context for understanding Medicaid payment as we know it.

This guidebook explains what schools need to do when providing transition services to youth with disabilities. It is written to parents with a primary emphasis on the legal rights of students with disabilities during the transition years. Although developed for residents of Pennsylvania, much of the information can be useful for assisting individuals in other states as well.

Future life planning is a growing concern among families with children with disabilities. This article presents a needs assessment evaluating feasibility of a new model for future life planning for family caregivers, Lifetime Assistance, which will provide ongoing planning and monitoring for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Findings show that caregivers overwhelmingly identified the need for the program and many were willing to pay for it themselves.

Self-directed programs that allow individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities to exercise greater control over their finances have become increasingly common, however challenges in the recruitment, retention and training of direct support workers have grown more acute. In this article, the authors investigate the status of the Direct Support workforce for people using self-directed supports in one Midwestern state, based on the results of a statewide survey of service users.

How is Florida helping their youth with disabilities to transition into the job market and find employment? Find a presentation with information on applying for SSI benefits and work incentives, helpful hints regarding job interviews, as well as sample resumes. These resources could be useful to other states seeking to address this demographic.

Review a presentation aimed at educating human resource workers on how to properly recruit and work with individuals with disabilities. Information is provided on the Americans with Disabilities Act, hiring individuals with disabilities, reasonable accommodations, etc.. Also attached is a quiz on the information that could be used to test HR professionals’ knowledge.

States are confronting challenging budgets along with the need to implement health reform. Many are looking to improve long-term care as a way to control costs and serve seniors and people with disabilities in settings they prefer. This newsletter describes provisions in the Affordable Care Act that assist states in expanding HCBS, the growing movement to improve facility-based care, and innovative programs in three states that seek to provide consumer-directed long-term care.