Accessibility

WV Real Choice worked in collaboration with other agencies and organizations to create improvements in long term support systems so persons with disabilities and/or long term illnesses can make their own choices and have the necessary supports to live and work in their communities. The grant worked on many recreation activities including the attached guide (and web version) created to list accessible recreation sites, features and locations of destinations for state residents and visitors.

In many ways, consumers are the best experts on their disabling conditions, including their own needs for support and the effectiveness and quality of programs. As a result, obtaining consumer participation and input at all stages of program design, implementation, evaluation and quality assurance is important. Effectively and efficiently involving consumers and obtaining their input, however, requires creative and innovative methods. This checklist will help to enhance full participation.

The manual is a nursing home to community discharge planning manual designed primarily for use in nursing homes and may be of help to others to use in developing manuals for their communities. It is designed to orient the long-term care providers to the nursing home discharge process by defining the roles of the key partners who are involved in returning residents to community living and to document a standard protocol for accessing and maximizing partner resources.

During the Pathways to Employment Conference in December 2006, the Ohio MIG program administered surveys and conducted three focus groups in order to assess the struggles and successes of consumers with disabilities in finding work, being in the workforce, and experiences with health coverage. A final report and executive summary were produced which recap and analyze the results of the surveys and focus groups.

The State of Vermont was seeking proposals from individuals or organizations interested in becoming the Medication Assistance Consultant. The deadline for submission of proposals was June 23, 2006. This RFP serves as a great example when seeking out contract work.

Designed to provide a comprehensive, searchable bibliography summarizing research on cognitive technologies, this database can be utilized by persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The database is structured to allow visitors to identify research articles relevant to their specific needs. Users can enter a specific search term or go to an \"advanced search\" page where users search by keyword, author name, journal, category of assistive technology, or other fields.

The CMS Systems Change conference, Transforming Systems: Keys to Success was held April 10-12 in Baltimore. Presentations from the 2006 sessions are available in both PDF and text formats. Topics range from ideas on system transformation, stakeholder involvement, coalition building, strategic planning, sustaining systems change, and the Deficit Reduction Act. Full titles are listed in the keywords section.

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.

The Dept. of Health Care Policy & Financing awarded four grants totaling $125,000 to improve services to rural residents with disabilities in the areas of non-emergent medical and specialty transportation, adult day and mental health services. The programs are designed to remove transportation barriers, to increase the availability of psychiatry and to provide adult day services. This report summarizes program outcomes, analyzes the opportunities and challenges and outlines the lessons learned.