All States/Territories

On November 13th and 14th in Washington, D.C. teams from Kentucky, Florida, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Delaware and the District of Columbia participated in a Regional Housing Forum to increase understanding and shape the design and implementation of strategies that promote affordable and accessible housing choices for persons with disabilities. Forum participants generated recommendations for CMS and HUD to help support their systems change activities and improve housing choices.

If your job includes recruiting, training, or supervising direct care staff, then you have one of the most challenging jobs in long-term care. This Guide: •gives immediate, concrete suggestions for how to find and keep direct care staff •offers resources both within and beyond your local health care and human service systems •suggests long-term strategies—direct care staff shortages will not disappear easily or soon •offers a view of the nationwide forces causing the staffing crisis.

In this segment of PBS News Hour, an Arkansas program provides new options in health care for the disabled. Independent Choice is a Cash & Counseling program.

This article reports on Arkansas' telephone survey of consumers and surrogates. The survey focused on consumer satisfaction with current services and consumers’ and surrogates’ perceptions regarding the cash option. Survey data address how Arkansas can reach the most interested consumers and surrogates, what messages Arkansas should emphasize in its communications and marketing, and what issues should be explored further in postsurvey focus groups.

The IndependentChoices Website has been provided for both participants and those looking for information about the program. IndependentChoices is a special project in Arkansas that gives people the opportunity to direct thier own care at home, by providing a monthly allowance in place of "Personal Care Services."

Arkansas is part of a demonstration project to measure the impact of substituting a cash allowance for Medicaid services from provider agencies. This report describes how the participants were randomly assigned to two groups, one that received Medicaid personal care through a provider agency and one that received a monthly cash allowance and services to help them effectively use the allowance, and their respective outcomes.

This paper provides states (both the legislative and executive branches) with background about how to involve stakeholders in planning, program development, and quality improvement related to home and community-based services and supports.

This paper report son the author's forays into Systems Chnage.The system change efforts include the closure of a state operated institution for people with mental retardation in Maine (Pineland Center), the closure of a state operated institution in Arizona (theArizona Training Center in Tucson) and the introduction of consumer selfdirected model also in Arizona.

This issue paper explores how consumers can be involved in monitoring community services for people with disabilities. It explores the challenges of finding real roles for people with disabilities as well as other barries, but concludes that goal is worthy of the struggles.

This report briefly describes a managed long-term care pilot project the State of Florida has initiated to test a Medicaid managed care program that includes incentives for coordinating acute and long-term care and for using less expensive, community-based alternatives to nursing homes for people age 65 or older with disabilities. This report includes background information and descriptions of the intervention, implementation, and impact.