Oregon

Thanks to the steadily increasing demand for home care, the second fastest-growing occupation in the country is that of personal and home care aides (PHCAs). Yet PHCA wages - which were low to begin with - are failing to keep up with inflation nationwide. A new publication looks at the decline in inflation-adjusted wages. Based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, it charts the wages received by personal and home care aides in all 50 states and the nation over a seven-year period.

This report presents findings from Oct ‘05 – Oct ‘07, which includes the first nine months of strategic planning for the FY05 and FY06 Systems Transformation (ST) Grants and the subsequent initial 15-months of implementation (through Oct ‘07) for the FY05 ST Grants. The report focuses primarily on documenting grantees' experiences during the start-up period and grantees' progress during early implementation and suggests early trends and findings.

States are ranked in this report based on the outcomes of Medicaid services provided to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The key outcomes measured are the promotion of independence and meaningful employment, tracking quality and safety, keeping families together, and reaching those in need. Each state’s progress is measured by comparing data from the previous year. This report is issued annually with past editions available on the included website.

This comprehensive report provides data and macro level analyses on public and private residential services. The Executive Summary and Section 3 compare Medicaid utilization and expenditures for home and community-based services with services provided in institutional settings. Data are also presented in state-by-state profiles. Past editions of this annual report dating from 2000 are available at the website provided.

This paper examines the extent to which states have balanced the delivery of Medicaid-funded LTC services and supports to people in their homes and in institutions. What is unique about this report is its primary focus on older people and adults with physical disabilities separate from other LTC populations, such as people with developmental disabilities. Explore what has been accomplished under current Medicaid law and review how federal policies impact the ability to balance service delivery.

Medicaid exception trusts are generally exempt under federal law from the usual rules of counting trust income and resources. A Special Needs Trust (SNT) is a type of exception trust established by certain third parties for the benefit of a disabled individual under age 65. This report highlights examples of state laws, forms, eligibility rules, and operating practices states use to properly administer the statutory SNT provision and make recoveries.

Here, consumers and advocates can find information and tools needed for effective self-directed mental health care. The guide summarizes the goals of self-directed planning and the rights of the consumers. It also lists strategies by states to support these services. Fact sheets and questions-and-answers provide further information on financing, eligibility, evaluation, planning, and support brokerage.

The first of these two presentations is for volunteer partners who help persons with disabilities and their families integrate employment transition into individual education plans (IEP). It is broad in scope, touching on the rights of the individual and family, employment and training resources, and state supports available. The second training focuses on the policy level and describes the goals, participants, outcomes, and keys to success of a statewide youth transition program.

State leaders are interested in the experience of states that developed adult foster care as part of their service array, trends in provider supply, regulations governing providers, and quality oversight practices. This report is based on the policies and practices in five states – Arizona, Maine, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin. The states were selected based on their approach to licensing and Medicaid coverage for this residential option. The report focuses on programs for older adults.

In order for Oregon to balance its two-year budget for 2001-03, the Seniors and People with Disabilities Division (SPD) in the Department of Human Services was mandated to reduce LTC spending by nearly 30%. This paper analyzes the 2003 cuts to Oregon’s Medicaid long-term care (LTC) system, the impact of those cuts on a well-developed home and community-based services (HCBS) system, how the state has responded, and lessons that could be learned from its response.