All States/Territories

The aim of this policy brief is to offer state planners and program administrators an overview of strategies being used to improve and develop programs to support individuals with co-occurring psychiatric and developmental disabilities.

Throughout the development process, programs must consider the steps to sustainability including people, planning and preparation, publicity/public relations, facilities, programs, policies and procedures, and persistence and positive passion. This entry includes a paper by Florene Stewart Poyadue offered to Family to Family grantees during a technical assistance call, plus the transcripts from the session where participants discussed the 7Ps of sustainability.

Practitioners and policy makers who focus on youth must be knowledgeable about youth development concepts, but it is critically important they know how to apply those concepts in the context of specific functions and program responsibilities. The emphasis of this paper is on incorporating youth development into state adolescent health programs however, the information is relevant to other state-funded programs that address various adolescent issues.

This issue provides an overview of what happened when 7 Mental Health Transformation State Incentive Grants (MHT SIGs) convened in Washington D.C. The article “Moving From Vision to Reality” discusses transformational leadership, the central theme of the meeting. This publication also includes: +State Profile: Maryland Builds On History Of Mental Health Transformation +Federal Partner Spotlight: Social Security Administration +Consensus Statement on Recovery Issued +The CMHS 2007 Budget

The National Center on Caregiving at Family Caregiver Alliance (FCA) has developed a new online resource. The toolkit is a practical resource targeted to practitioners and program administrators interested in integrating caregiver assessment into their work with caregiving families, older people and adults with disabilities. A compilation of materials and techniques are provided which incorporate fundamental principles and practice guidelines. Review the definitions and assessment tools.

This report describes grant activities in three major LTC systems areas: Access to Long-Term Care Services and Supports, Services, Supports, and Housing, Administrative and Monitoring Infrastructure. For each of the focus areas the report describes Grantees’ accomplishments, illustrates the challenges and discusses the consumers’ role in the implementation and evaluation of activities. The report uses information provided during the reporting period October 1, 2004 to September 30, 2005.

This report highlights the work of nine CMS Money Follows the Persons Grantees, with a focus on Texas and Wisconsin. The report describes the initiatives, and discusses policy and design factors states should consider when developing MFP programs, including developing legislation and budget mechanisms for making transfers of funds, assuring availability of services and housing, identifying potential consumers for transition, developing NFT infrastructure, and monitoring and quality assurance.

States' Initiatives to Address the Needs of Persons Dually Diagnosed with Psychiatric and Developmental Disabilities.

In many ways, consumers are the best experts on their disabling conditions, including their own needs for support and the effectiveness and quality of programs. As a result, obtaining consumer participation and input at all stages of program design, implementation, evaluation and quality assurance is important. Effectively and efficiently involving consumers and obtaining their input, however, requires creative and innovative methods. This checklist will help to enhance full participation.

Enacted by the Deficit Reduction Act, the MFP Rebalancing Demonstration is a part of a comprehensive, coordinated strategy to assist States in making widespread changes to their long-term care support systems. With the history and strength of the Real Choice Systems Change grants as a foundation, this initiative will assist in reducing reliance on institutional care while developing community-based opportunities. Applicants' teleconference - August 22, 2006. Proposals due November 1, 2006.