All States/Territories

This bulletin from the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services focuses on the operation of what have come to referred to as \"supports\" waiver programs - i.e., Medicaid home & community-based waiver programs that offer a broad, flexible array of comparatively low cost services and supports that are intended primarily to assist individuals living in their own home or the home of their family to avoid placement in a licensed, out-of-home residential facility.

This Data Digest from the AARP Public Policy Institute, Disability: Federal Survey Definitions, Measurements, and Estimates, examines different ways disability has been defined and measured in national surveys sponsored by the federal government. The brief discusses the sources of some of the variation in disability rates and illustrates how broader definitions of disability yield higher prevalence rates.

“Engaging Advisory Committees to Provide Effective Meaningful Input and Direction”<br>This ADRC-TAE issue brief provides: an overview of developing an effective advisory committee and approaches to engage members, key considerations when forming and facilitating a committee, tips to promote ongoing involvement of a committee, and resources for more information.

The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 has far reaching implications for consumers, state Medicaid agencies, health care providers, and the public and private entities that provide benefits counseling and supports to Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. This issue brief provides an overview of the measure, resources for more information, and suggested action steps for ADRC projects.

Social marketing is a relevant approach that can enhance communications with ADRC’s external audiences. The purpose of this brief is twofold: (1) to familiarize grantees with the principles of social marketing; and (2) to provide a brief overview of the key steps involved in developing and implementing a social marketing campaign.

The purpose of this issue brief is to describe why excellent customer service is important within the context of an Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC), to illustrate lessons learned about providing excellent customer service from the private and public sectors, to highlight implications for designing and operating an ADRC that provides excellent customer service, and to recommend steps an ADRC might take to achieve excellence in customer service.

In many instances ADRC projects are faced with development of a new program. Any new program, in either the public or private section, requires basic business planning to ensure the development of a sustainable model. This Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) Technical Assistance Exchange brief provides an overview of business planning including information on market analysis and organizational structure.

This study compared the use of treatments for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among three distinct subpopulations of Medicaid-insured youths who have very different mental health needs and patterns of service use: those with federally documented disability, those in foster care, and those in families with low income. This one-year, cross-sectional study of community mental health services used administrative data.

The three documents provided here focus on elements of ADRC research and evaluation. The documents specifically address data sources, minimum data sets, national evaluation design, potential indicators, and a draft ADRC evaluation framework.

Provided here are serveral articles, resources & a presentation on social marketing. Social marketing is the planning and implementation of programs designed to bring about social change using concepts from commercial marketing. Key Concepts: -A social or behavior change strategy -Most effective when it activates people -Targeted to those who have a reason to care & who are ready for change -Strategic & requires efficient use of resources -Integrated & works on the “installment plan”