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The population is aging & the demand for long term care and services at home is increasing. Medicaid is the most critical program for individuals who are aged & disabled because it pays for almost 46% of all nursing home care & 38% of home health. Medicaid HCBS have been the focus of efforts by the federal & state governments to expand access for several reasons. The focus of this article is to examine issues of access, cost, & quality for Medicaid HCBS programs and to suggest policy changes.

The purpose of a personal assistant is to help perform tasks that a person has difficulty doing due to a disability. This curriculum, developed by Boston University's Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation, delivers training to prepare individuals to become providers for those with psychiatric disabilities. Included are three skill building components each with a trainer guide and participant workbook.

Looking for ways to help consumers start planning their futures? Review this self-guided program. The Arizona ADRC has completed and implemented an online Options Counselor module, as part of the state's main ADRC web site. The Options Counselor content was crafted through the cooperation of a multi-organization committee. The site function and design was developed and implemented by the Arizona Department of Economic Security, Division of Aging and Adult Services.

The National Aging in Place Council launched a new Web site last week in conjunction with Aging in Place Week 2009. The site helps link older adults with services in their neighborhood. Visit the site to find local chapters, service providers and ideas and news. In the September 2009, AoA granted over $4.5 Million dollars for Community Innovations for Aging in Place, further assisting growth in this service area.

The purpose of the review is to determine whether essential participant-directed program components are in place and to identify areas where assistance may still be needed. Review a presentation and audio archive to understand expectations. Also included is a consumer experience flowchart which describes the criteria sites must meet in order to be approved to deliver VDHCBS.

The Stories and Guides demonstrate Think–Plan–Do: how to think about what you want, create a plan to get there, and take action to be successful. These online guides and videos help people with developmental disabilities live self-determined lives. There are 15 topics including Planning and Decision Making, Taking Care of Yourself, Listening and Speaking, and Making Goals Happen.

This brief highlights key strategies to address financing, program administration and community workforce challenges that key experts, federal and state officials and advocates believe must be overcome to expand access to home and community-based services (HCBS). Among the key ideas drawn from a working group discussion at the Foundation are the benefits of providing additional federal financing to states to provide Medicaid HCBS and to administer these benefits.

Developed with aging and transportation professionals in mind, this paper provides an overview of the challenges and opportunities involved in senior transportation. Addressing the need to increase public knowledge about options for older people, promising practices in coordination, cooperation, integration, volunteer programs, financing, and using technology to improve services are addressed. The paper also provides an extensive list of annotated references.

A certificate-based instructional program designed to teach participants the basic roles and responsibilities of being a Community Guide; one who works with an individual with a disability to help with the process of self-directing services and supports. Use this guide as you designs your program as one way to approach training and enabling members of your community to better provide these desired services.

The Medicaid Buy-In program is a key component of the federal effort to make it easier for people with disabilities to work without losing health benefits. This issue brief, the ninth in a series on workers with disabilities, examines the prevalence and characteristics of Medicaid Buy-In participants who leave the program as well as their participation status in other public programs and their employment outcomes after disenrollment.