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The Children with Special Health Care Needs programs of Nevada assists children with special needs and their families through a variety of health and support services. The Real Choice Systems Change Project has partnered with the Nevada Broadcasters Association to air the various media information on Nevada's television and radio stations. They also host a website with links to support, advocacy, assistance and education.

This ILRU publication addresses common myths about abuse against people with disabilities by personal assistance providers and family members. The newsletter also addresses the personal barriers to stopping abuse and violence. This issue is Vol. 3, Issue 1.

The West Virginia QAI Project has produced two procedure handbooks for their program. The first is for the Aged/Disabled Waiver (ADW) Quality Assurance & Improvement (QAI) Advisory Council and the second is for the Medicaid MR/DD Waiver Quality Assurance & Improvement Advisory Council. The handbook describes the group purpose, role, membership, terms, responsibilities plus other responsibilities and expectations.

The South Carolina Department of Disabilities and Special Needs has produced a flowchart for the Quality Assurance Review Process. The process is performed by First Health and relates to the overview of the contract.

As part of the New York Family to Family Health Information Center, They provided information to families related to the issues of health care and children with special health care needs.They have created this listing of website links that they suggest families find valuable. They share this resource as an example for other Family to Family grantee programs can create.

Surveying Maryland’s 3,180 dual eligibles who are enrolled in hcbs waiver programs, the author finds that the end-of-2005 transfer of prescription drug coverage from Medicaid to Medicare under the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 could put these beneficiaries in jeopardy. The experience in MD is likely to be typical for other states. The paper recommends a number of federal policy remedies, including 90-day prescriptions, using open or shared formularies, & lengthening the enrollment period.

The state of Wisconsin developed this piece in a continuing attempts to explain what is meant by \"quality management\" as separate from all the other things waiver staff do that promote quality. It's useful, for example, when interviewing local waiver staff about their QM practices, or give a report to different departments and management about the grant project. The Quality Cycle is also illustrated within the report.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) invite proposals for grants in three categories: a. Family-to-Family Health Care Information and Education Centers b. Systems Transformation Grants c. Aging & Disability Resource Centers. In FY 05, during the consolidated appropriations process, Congress appropriated $39 million to fund a new round of RCSC grants. States and other eligible organizations, in partnership with their disability & aging communities, may submit proposals until 7/7/05.

The Forsyth County North Carolina ADRC has shared their advisory council insite. This website is an on line resource for council members. The website was designed to keep the local advisory council updated on meetings and obtain copies of important documentation. The site offers the RFP, the grant application, acronyms, fact sheets, work plans, work group descriptions, meeting minutes and more.

For older adults and individuals with disabilities, some website designs can pose access problems. Users may be unable to use a website’s navigational menu, fill out online forms, or even access content. Addressing accessibility issues is important. This brief addresses the adaptation of standard website construction techniques to meet the needs of the target populations. It includes considerations & strategies for design that are informative, functional and useful for these populations.