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CMS letter allowing coverage of transition costs under 1915 (c) waivers. This letter clarifies some methods by which HCBS waivers under section 1915(c) may aid in the transitioning of individuals from institutional settings to their own home in the community through coverage of one-time transitional expenses. This clarification was promised in the HHS New Freedom Report to the President.

This document that provides useful advice on how to sustain change in grant-funded activities. Although it is written from the perspective of a foundation, the suggestions contained in this report parallel the concerns that many grantees have in their Real Choice Systems Change activities.

Access to assistive technology for people with disabilities is a basic foundation of the President's New Freedom Initiative. The Executive Memo summarized here furthers the President's desire to ensure that all people with disabilities have access to programs and services that promote the opportunity for them to live independently and lead productive lives. Access to the Memo is available from the file included here.

The Living and Working in the Community 2003 conference, sponsored by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), was held March 4-5, 2003. Participants included Medicaid grantees, consumers, advocates, Federal and State representatives, providers, and academics. The link provide here will direct you to the presentations from this conference. Topics include: Quality assurance, nursing facility transition, mental health, single point of entry, workforce issues and housing issues.

This article is entitled: \"Mentally Ill Adjusting to Community Settings\". The article describes the personal experiences of people with mental illness who leave institutions to live in the community.

The United States General Accounting Office study conducted on home and community based long-term care that is supported by Medicaid waivers. The population that they focused upon was older adults. The reasons for the study were to look at trends in uses of Medicaid waiver programs, to review quality assurance approaches used by states in their administration of the waivers, and to determine the adequacy of federal oversight of the waivers.

This teleconference is focused on nursing home transition issues for grantees of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Real Choice Systems Change Grant program. The conference discussed the CMS’ recently released State Medicaid Directors letter allowing home and community-based services waivers to cover nursing home relocation transition costs and the results of case studies conducted by MedStat of state nursing home transition programs.

This teleconference was intended to provide information about the Supported Housing And Homeless Program, which is part of the Colorado Department of Human Services. The presenter describes the housing authority and how it is organized.

This audio conference was organized specifically to meet the needs of grantees who expressed interest in finding out more about both the Cash and Counseling demonstrations and the Independence Plus Waivers.

This Community Living Brief explores the history of Medicaid Waivers and the challenges that remain for ensuring equality and inclusion for all citizens.