Vermont

This paper describes the activities of the 19 Grantees funded in fiscal year 03 and 04 from CMS and six Grantees funded in fiscal year 02 by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB). F2F Health Information Centers assist families of children with special health care needs. This paper provides information states and stakeholders will find useful when planning or implementing similar initiatives. Read about the grant activities, implementation challenges, and accomplishments.

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.

This monograph discusses program design considerations to assist as states move toward greater individuality and flexibility in the provision of services and supports. The paper outlines topics to consider when expanding opportunities for participants to choose and direct individual who provide assistance, including the risks/benefits arrangements, provider qualifications, training, person-centered planning, the case manager role, and safeguards to prevent abuse, neglect and exploitation.

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).

Research findings show that older workers are interested in direct care jobs and that long-term care employers view older workers as being able to provide better quality care - presenting one potential solution to a workforce shortage. This study was the first to explore the feasibility of engaging older workers. Telephone interviews were conducted with almost 700 lower-income job seekers in the seven states. These findings show a real potential for hiring older persons as frontline workers.

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.

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.

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.