All States/Territories

The role of the Maryland Access Point (MAP) Advisory Board is to guide the design and operations of the Resource Center. MAP developed the attached job descriptions to assist board members in carrying out their roles efficiently. The board is composed of individuals representing all populations served by the program, including individuals who have a disability or a chronic condition and public, private, and government agencies that provide services to individuals served by the program.

This website is from a research project administered by the University of Colorado. The site houses a list of publications, offers state profiles data and a complete list of helpful links. Visit the website to review the charts and tables for each state or to order a publications such as the new State of the States in Developmental Disabilities: 2005.

The December Gerontologist highlights a study which reviewed the state-level Medicaid 1915c data from 1992-2001 and compared state predictors of waiver utilization and expenditures for waivers serving both older and working age individuals relative to waivers serving individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The results found that increased community-based-care capacity appears to be an important factor in efforts to expand the availability of Medicaid community-based-care.

The Center for Personal Assistance Services has prepared this case study of the Washington state Medicaid Personal Care Services (PCS) program. This report first presents an overview of the states characteristics, and then reviews the Medicaid program and management of HCBS programs including the personal care in waivers. The primary focus is on the organization and management of the Medicaid PCS optional state plan program. The report highlights eight best practices.

Amid federal and state budget pressures, policymakers in many states are either planning to start new managed care programs for Medicaid beneficiaries with LTC needs or are expanding existing programs. This AARP Public Policy Institute Issue Brief reviews the limited but important experience of states that have implemented such programs to date, identifies key policy issues going forward, and assesses the likelihood of future growth in these programs.

Review this two-part report on establishing an Association for Direct Care and Direct Support Workers in Maine. The materials feature a timeline of activities, challenges and outcomes for the Maine PASA program. The companion piece, Our Stories provides snapshots of the work that PAS face everyday. These informative reports illustrate the developments and productivity of the program through examples and pictures.

The Ohio Department of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities has been implementing an internet-based centralized reporting system to report and track major and unusual incidents. The following MUI Reports for 2004 include data such as total incidents and total MUI by category and county. The web-based reporting and tracking system have been very successful in improving timeliness and monitoring quality.

CMS has developed the final revised working draft of the 1915 (c) HCBS waiver application, Instructions and Technical Guide, Resource Documents, and the CMS Review Instrument. This is the version that CMS is currently automating for use as a web-based application available in Feb 2006. The new application was designed to solicit more complete information from states about the design of their waiver program to better determine whether a proposed waiver has the capacity to meet the requirements.

CMS is pleased to announce the new and improved CMS website. The new site employs a user-friendly design to get visitors the information they need with the least amount of clicks. It introduces one-stop shopping “centers” targeted to specific professionals such as providers and partners, who frequent the site. The main changes include timely, relevant and accurate content, improved Google search features, and consistent organization and navigation sections.

IL NET of Independent Living Research Utilization (ILRU) will present a three-week distance learning course. The online program is designed to help CIL and SILC leaders manage organization finances more effectively. Upon completion, participants will be able to identify key components of sound fiscal management, develop fiscal reports, prepare and deliver agency and program budgets, identify fiscal risk management controls, and define appropriate roles for board and staff financial oversight.