Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania ADRC program has developed a number of measurement instruments including three surveys and an assessment instrument. This program is a joint effort between Pennsylvania’s Office of Health Care Reform as well as the Departments of Aging and Public Welfare. The products include a survey for eligible, ineligible and enrolled consumers and a community choice assessment instrument.

This report focuses attention on a growing issue facing the nation: how to support & sustain those who are the cornerstone of our LTC system—the dedicated families & informal caregivers. This national study is the first to examine publicly funded caregiver support programs throughout all 50 states. The report identifies key findings, describes state approaches to providing caregiver support services, offers state-by-state profiles, pinpoints challenges, & expands recognition of caregiver needs.

NCHSD held its 4th Annual National Fall Technical Assistance Conference for Medicaid Infrastructure Grantees. This year’s meeting featured pre-conference regional gatherings, a day-long session on building public-private partnerships with employers, updates from our CMS partners, and a series of state expert panel presentations. Attached are the Fall 2004 Conference Edition eNews with highlights and promising practices plus the conference materials and presentations from every session.

Medstat identified common factors of system change in a six-page brief, based on a review of organization transformation literature and, more importantly, the experiences of eight state long-term support systems that were the subject of a series of case studies on comprehensive system reform.

To assist states in preparing for the challenges and opportunities they will face as baby-boomers age, the National Governors Association's Center for Best Practice's (NGA Center) published this report designed to identify current trends and future directions, and to assist state policymakers in creating programs and policies that respond to need. This data book provides information on demographic shifts, health care concerns, & long term care workforce shortages.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has published final FY 2005 Fair Market Rents (FMRs) that reflect the estimated 40th and 50th percentile rent levels trended to April 1, 2005. The FMRs determine the Section 8 payment amounts established by HUD for counties. FMRs apply to both renewal rents and initial rents for vouched programs. HUD is legally required to publish FMRs at least annually, adjusted to be effective on the first of October of each year.

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 matrix represents the AoA Aging and Disability Resource Center Fiscal Year 2003 Grantees. The chart summarizes current or planned components for the ADRC Program for each grantee including Project/RC Name, State, Target Population, Eligibility Determinates and Contact Information.

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.

On 10/7/2004 eleven new states were awarded three-year Cash & Counseling grants, allowing them to replicate and expand on the Cash & Counseling model. Funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Assistant Secretary of Planning and Evaluation and the Administration on Aging, the following states will receive approximately $250,000 to implement Cash & Counseling programs: AL, IA, KY, MI, PA, RI, VT, WA, and WV. MN and NM will receive an additional $100,000 to enhance their programs.