California

The DB 101 Training covers public and private health, benefit and employment programs and protections, Benefits Planning Calculators, plus other information and tools. Participants include benefits planners, non-profit and state agency employees. Cross agency trainees achieve an awareness level knowledge that youth and adults with disabilities can access and retain needed benefits when working. The training spans public and private health, benefit and employment programs and protections.

This website for workers and job seekers includes easy-to-read descriptions of state, federal, and private benefit programs, paginas en Español, life situation articles, a glossary and bulletin board. There is also an interactive tool that helps users predict what would happen to benefits, in a number of what if scenarios. Calculators included: the benefits to work, job to job, school and work, Medi-Cal for working disabled, and Plan for Achieving Self Support (PASS).

This memorandum presents data on Medicaid long-term care expenditures in Federal Fiscal Year 2006 (Oct 2005-Sept 2006). Table 1 presents national data on Medicaid expenditures for Long-Term Care from 1994-2006. Other tables present state-by-state data for Nursing Homes, ICF/MR, Personal Care, HCBS Waivers, Home Health, Home Care, Inpatient Hospital Care, Inpatient DSH, Inpatient Mental Health, Mental Health DSH, Medicaid Managed-Care, Prescribed Drugs, Targeted Case Management and PACE.

Two multi-county regions in California established one-stop clinics to diagnose autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and coordinate service planning across the education and developmental disabilities systems. Both regions also established ongoing collaborative teams to coordinate supports and improve the local service system for children with ASD. An evaluation reported a four-month reduction in the average age of ASD diagnosis.

The IHSS handbooks were the product of many people’s efforts. The topics covered were determined by input from the IHSS Enhancement Initiative Task Force, focus groups of consumers, providers, social workers, and public authority staff in three California counties. The guide includes topics such as assessment, public authority, hiring, practical details like timesheets and benefits, communication and organization skills. Publications are also available in Armenian, Chinese, Russian, and Spanish.

This report describes grant activities (accomplishments and progress) in three major LTC systems areas: Access to LTC Services and Supports, Services, Supports, and Housing, Administrative and Monitoring Infrastructure. The report also provides illustrative examples of the challenges Grantees have faced as they implement grant activities, and consumers’ roles in the implementation and evaluation of these activities.

Need an overview of the basic components of the nation’s largest health coverage program? Medicaid covers 55 million low-income individuals and is the dominant source of long-term care financing. Examine the structure of the program, who it covers, what services it provides, and spending. Because Medicaid is jointly financed by the federal and state governments programs vary across states. Tables examining the state-to-state variation in eligibility, enrollment, and spending are included.

The Compendium contains basic information about each of the Real Choice Systems Change Grant awards in FY03–FY04 plus the Family to Family and Systems Transformation Grantees awarded in FY05 and FY06. The Compendium will help Grantees identify others with similar goals and activities. Learn more about how the grants will be used to allow more people of all ages with a disability or long term illness to live and participate in their communities. The sixth edition replaces all previous editions.

One objective of the Texas’s QA/QI grant was to develop a uniform and automated critical incident reporting process. Information was collected on critical incidents reported most often by other states to be used with the Quality Assurance and Improvement (QAI) Data Mart. The QA/QI task force reviewed and used this information to develop a list of critical incident definitions and recommendations.

A new database showcases the efforts of many of the TA providers serving CMS’ grantees. The database allows users to see the wide range of activities that support and enrich the grantees under the New Freedom Initiative. The database contains important information regarding existing and upcoming research products, conferences, and significant meetings as well as a wide variety of toolkits, surveys, and policy briefs, intended to be of interested to the disability and long-term care community.