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While progress is being made in finding meaningful jobs for individuals with developmental disabilities, an economic downturn makes it difficult to hold the focus on employment goals and maintain momentum within state agencies, services providers, and community employers. State officials offer talking points to guide and assist decision-making to maintain critical components of the service delivery system.

Follow the link for a comprehensive listing of state statutes, regulations, policies, and procedures regarding the use of emergency or planned physical, chemical, mechanical, or other restraints. Additional documents offer information on positive behavior support guidelines, training manuals, and other policy-related materials. Many emphasize the use of positive or non-aversive interventions. Links are provided to access documents on many state DD agency websites.

Here are resources used to educate consumers about MN’s Consumer Directed Community Supports, Personal Care Assistance, and Road to Independence programs. The first handbook gives guidance on the processes and protections of consumer direction and also provides sample care plans and assessments. The handbook on personal care assistance is available in English, Somali and Vietnamese and reviews eligibility, management, and use of services. The last guide assists in moving out of an institution.

In 2004 the Veterans Affairs' Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) program was reviewed by a VR&E Task Force. It recommended numerous changes, in particular focusing on employment through a new Five-Track service delivery model and increasing program capacity. Since then, VR&E has worked to implement these recommendations. This report includes VR&E's progress in implementing the 2004 recommendations and includes additional recommendations moving forward from the Accountability Office.

One-Stop Career Centers serve a diverse range of customers. These include individuals with a variety of educational and work backgrounds, as well as individuals with a wide range of disabilities and support needs. An effective way to serve this broad customer pool is to provide One-Stop services according to the principles of what is known as “universal design,” using common strategies that benefit many groups. This brief discusses the benefits of One-Stop services in detail.

Young people and their families are in the best position to make choices about working when they have good information about the impact of work on benefits. The Social Security and Medicaid/MassHealth programs have work incentives that can help young people give work a try, and provide a “safety net” in case the job does not work out. The purpose of this booklet is to give families and professionals working with young people some practical, hands-on information about work incentives.

As part of these demonstrations, six successful interventions that overcome barriers to independent living and employment for young adults are studied in-depth. The first document gives detailed information on the design of the study's evaluation. The second summarizes the core components, services, and strategies of each demonstration project.

Three key issues affecting the understanding of low rates of successful employment outcomes for people with mental illness are explored. These are: lack of a common definition of successful employment; lack of clear, objective, standardized data; and differences among states and programs in measuring client characteristics. Peer critiques to the data and analysis are provided along with tables comparing employment outcomes by state.

In addition to recommendations for reforming long-term care, this report goes over why it should be reformed and suggests the first steps for accomplishing change in the public and legislative arenas. Finance, service delivery, workforce, and quality are all identified as focus areas for improvement, and options are provided for each. Special attention is paid to low-cost options as a place to start with bipartisan cooperation. The report is accompanied by presentation slides.

Minnesota’s Legislative Auditor investigates the state of the personal care workforce and the regulation of these services and presents recommendations for improvement. Information is provided on eligibility and access as well as the demographics of people that are assessed for or receiving personal care services. Program traits examined include regulation, expenditure trends, fiscal integrity, and quality. Family caregivers are looked at in the final section.