All States/Territories

These guidelines were written to ensure that people with disabilities receive the support and assistance they need to fully contribute to NASDDDS sponsored activities, however the issues, challenges, and solutions offered are universally applicable to the involvement of all self advocates. This document provides a framework for involving recipients of state-funded developmental disabilities services in meetings and activities in an effort to obtain their valuable expertise perspective.

What’s health got to do with transition? Everything…there is a generation of youth with special health care needs, chronic health conditions and disabilities who have survived beyond their diagnosis/prognosis. The HRTW Center’s desired outcome is for all youth with special health care needs (YSHCN) to receive the services necessary to transition to all aspects of adulthood, including adult health care, employment and independence. Review their tools and solutions for transition planning.

Federated Human Service Co-op exists to assist in the creation of Human Service Cooperatives (HSC) and to support those efforts in the most effective, efficient manner possible. They have developed two new resources to aid with the development of co-op groups. The Board of Directors Training Manual is designed for self-directed board of directors leading their own human service organization. The Policy and Procedures handbook is a template that can be modified to be program specific.

For more than three decades, CQL has been at the forefront of the movement to improve the quality of services and supports for people with intellectual disabilities and people with mental illness. Plan to attend one of their upcoming regional conferences or review the overview from last year's session on the Community Life Initiatives. Visitors to the website can register for Capstone, the CQL Newsletter, read archived issues, or review their innovative and one-of-a-kind tools and resources.

Legisbrief is a briefing papers that offers important issues of the day. This volume provides an overview of new ways to help residents of nursing homes who want to return to their own homes but still receive services. The federal New Freedom Initiative awards grants to help states find ways to enable nursing home residents to use community-based care instead.

Recognizing the importance of measuring progress toward rebalancing, CMS contracted with Thomson Medstat to develop a model profile of one state and a companion technical assistance guide that other states can readily use to replicate and adapt the profile. Review Pennsylvania’s profile based upon their long-term support system across all disability and age groups. The technical assistance guide illustrates what a profile can provide and discusses the methods for development.

This letter announces the availability of a new technical assistance tool for use by States who wish to assess the current state of their long-term care systems, including their progress towards rebalancing. \"A Model State Profile for Assessing a State Long-Term Care System\", along with a \"Technical Assistance Guide to Assessing a State Long-Term Care System\" are now available on the CMS website.

Forty-three states and territories have received three-year competitive grants since the ADRC program was launched. This report details findings at the overall ADRC level and the pilot level on the outcomes, accomplishments, and contributions of the ADRC program over the grant period, including more immediate results related to key consumer and program outcomes. It also documents lessons learned and program and policy implications at the pilot, state, and national level.

The report presents six strategies or policy levers, gleaned from previous research reports that can be implemented on the federal and local levels to promote collaboration and coordination and support livable community objectives. Examples were selected from a vast array of actions that can be taken. Each of the strategies is illustrated by actual promising practices at both the federal and state levels that can be adapted and replicated elsewhere.

Putting innovative research to work in the policymaking process takes tenacity and understanding on the part of researchers and lawmakers. This report offers a four-stage framework to support effective use of research in health policymaking and improve communications between researchers, state policymakers and program administrators. Review a case study from Massachusetts plus communication strategies and key practical lessons on understanding, developing, implementing, and evaluating policy.