Connecticut

The Real Choice Systems Change grant was awarded in 2002 to the Connecticut Department of Social Services. The project has two primary goals: 1) To build the capacity within the state of Connecticut to support informed decision making, independent living, and a meaningful quality of life for persons with disabilities across the life span. 2) To assist three communities in Connecticut to become models of support for opportunities and choices for persons with disabilities across the lifespan.

Expanding upon the \"lessons learned\" from the first Model Communities forum held in Connecticut in May 2004, this Community Inclusion forum held in Ridgefield CT brought together a variety of communities interested in \"enhancing awareness among community members of the barriers faced by people with disabilities in becoming fully included & integrated into communities.\" Participants identified barriers to inclusion and suggested numerous strategies communities can use to address these issues.

As represented in the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1999 Olmstead decision, our nation’s values and laws have moved to a point where states should be developing community supports and services with people, not for them. Yet many professionals were trained and agency protocols were set in motion in an earlier time period, when the current view was far from predominant. This research looks at how a sample of agencies within the State of Connecticut promotes self-determination.

On May 25, 2004 representatives from seven Connecticut towns gathered at the University of Connecticut A.J. Pappanikou Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities in Farmington to share ideas and experiences related to the inclusion of people with disabilities in the life of their communities. In attendance were representatives from the Model Communities of Bridgeport, Groton and New Haven, as well as four other community representatives from municipalities not selected for funding.

In October 2003, the Connecticut Department of Social Services, in collaboration with the Real Choice Steering Committee, which includes Consumers, State agencies and the University of Connecticut A.J. Pappanikou Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research and Service, received a three-year grant from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to implement CHOICE (Connecticut Has Opportunities for Independence, Choice and Empowerment).

National Core Indicators is a collaboration among participating NASDDDS member state agencies and HSRI, with the goal of developing a systematic approach to performance & outcome measurement. Through the collaboration, participating states pool their resources & knowledge to create performance monitoring systems, identify common performance indicators, work out comparable data collection strategies, & share results. This multi-state collaborative effort to improve performance is unprecedented.

This report provides analysis of NFT grantees annual reports (2002-2003). It includes aggregate data on the number of people who left or where diverted from a nursing facility, transition costs, length of nursing facility stay prior to transition, type of housing after transition, and age at time of transition.

This report describes the FY ‘01 & FY ‘02 Grantees’ accomplishments & progress, using information from 10/1/02 to 9/30/03 (Year Two of grant period for FY ‘01 Grantees & Year One of grant period for FY ‘02 Grantees). The report describes grant activities in six major areas: Consumer Direction & Control, Access to LTC Services & Supports, State Budgeting & Reimbursement Rates & Methodologies, Service Creation/Modification, LTC Service & Support Workforce, Quality Management Mechanism.

Antidepressant Medication Use in Youth and Suicide Risk Controversy Recent Food and Drug Administration Hearings and Interim Recommendations: On Sept. 14, 04, mental health professionals, researchers, mental health advocates, and concerned parents and youth presented additional information to the Psychopharmacologic Drugs and Pediatric Advisory Committee (PDPAC) to the FDA. Meeting minutes included background information, researcher testimony, DCF PMAC Consensus Statements & recommendations.

One of the most significant barriers to the development of comprehensive home and community-based support systems the availability of affordable, accessible housing. To help persons with disabilities of all ages locate housing, a handful of states have developed information and assistance programs that provider information on rental housing. This brief provides an overview of a sample of existing web-based housing registries in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Tennessee.