Minnesota

The statehealthfacts.org had recently added a data on states who offer Individual Budget programs. Use this interactive guide to compare and review activities related to participant-directed care. Data includes the program type, program name, CMS waiver authority, includes elderly, and a status update. Current as of January 2006.

With this funding for Systems Transformation, CMS will be awarding several states and non-profit agencies with small supplemental grants. States and other eligible organizations, in partnership with their disability and aging communities, may submit proposals to design and construct systems infrastructure that will result in effective and enduring improvements in community long-term support systems.

The Compendium contains basic information about each of the Real Choice Systems Change Grantees. The Compendium will help you learn more about how these 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. Real Choice Systems Change Grantees will also find the Compendium useful to identify other Grantees with similar goals and activities. The fifth edition of the Compendium replaces all previous editions.

Where are the ADRC pilot sites and what have they accomplished? A new handout provides an easy overview of the projects and their target population(s). A new one page fact sheet explains recent activities based on information provided by grantees through the Semi Annual Reporting Tool (SART).

Advances in medicine and technology plus changes in social attitudes have improved employment opportunities for working-age adults with disabilities. Despite progress there are still barriers to employment. The Medicaid Buy-In program is an important component of the federal effort to make it easier for people with disabilities to work without losing health benefits. This report, the third in a series offers a profile of the 28 states with both Buy-In programs and Medicaid Infrastructure Grants.

This document outlines the methodology for assessing alternatives for meeting the state of Minnesota’s need for a Vulnerable Adult Reporting and Investigation System (VARIS). The report also defines the capabilities of the existing Social Services Information System (SSIS). A description of viable alternatives is included along with an assessment of each, as well as a recommended direction for moving forward.

Can agency consolidation bring about consistent policymaking and focus long term care services on persons with disabilities rather than on program providers? This AARP Public Policy Institute Issue Paper provides readers with an examination of a consolidated agency approach, by studying agency structure, reviewing the arguments for consolidation, and the barriers to achieving it. It also reviews several states accomplishing consolidation and a checklist of steps towards such a model.

Studio AID (for Adaptable and Inclusive Design) operates within the University of Arkansas School of Agriculture and provides numerous resources for developing more affordable, adaptable, inclusive, and universal design practices and solutions. Review the resources and research about inclusive design in housing.

The Nursing Home Transition Summit, convened by Rutgers Center for State Health Policy, was held September 28 through September 30, 2005. It brought together 39 participants from ten states, in addition to representatives from CMS, to discuss how to sustain nursing home transition programs. The New Jersey Community Choice Counseling program served as the summit centerpiece, with presentations by program staff and visits to several sites in the Central New Jersey area.

The National Council on Disability is calling on administration to reform long-term services and supports systems to better serve people with disabilities and the elderly. In this new report, the NCD looks at current state activities, identifies the problems with our currently fragmented federal system and offers recommendations on future needs.