Assistive Technology

How is the state of California teaching its consumers with disabilities about ways of working and maintaining health benefits? Through a slide presentation, Facebook update, video update, and newsletter, California reaches out with information and resources on career planning, job training, job hunting and workplace support for job seekers. Attached are replicable MIG program materials for states seeking ways to provide similar information.

Family caregiving has long been the most common source of long-term care for older people with disabilities in the U.S. Explore this report looking at recent trends in the types of assistance that older people with disabilities receive and sources of payment for this assistance. It presents major findings on the growing number of older people with disabilities in the community and their care arrangements, summarized by seven trends.

Looking for samples of MIG program evaluations? The state of Connecticut created the attached evaluation reports for their Connect-Ability Program. These samples contain program details and the needs, experiences, and satisfaction of individuals who received services. Also included are the procedures and outcomes of nine strategic plans implemented by Local Level Pilot programs. These reports could be helpful for states interesting in evaluating similar initiatives.

Find seven practical,person-centered planning tools for transition planning for youths with disabilities. This toolkit is for youths with disabilities ages 12-18+, with the ultimate goal of easing the transition from junior high school into high school, then on to college and/or employment. Included is information on developing Individualized Education Programs, 504 plans, Individual Transition Plans and more.

Alaska's Supported Employment Task Force has created a Strategic Action Plan for increasing the number of people with developmental disabilities receiving supported employment services and how to most effectively shape protocol to assist employees and employers. Attached are a proposed funding matrix and a strategic action plan for employment services for individuals with behavioral health disabilities. These sample documents may be useful for other states implementing similar programs.

Disability rates among older Americans have declined, and the ways in which community-dwelling older people with disabilities managed their conditions have substantially changed over the 20 years covered by this survey. Among those receiving human assistance, the vast majority were helped by family caregivers, who are increasingly taking full responsibility for providing care. Find detailed analyses of the data in two research reports that provide insight into the factors driving these changes.

Ten grants were awarded to states to develop a profile of the publicly funded LTC system and to assist CMS to develop national benchmarks that will be used to measure the degree and success of states' efforts to offer community based LTC services. Review Michigan’s report which focuses on the priority population of the elderly and adults with physical disabilities, but also includes systems that serve adults with developmental disabilities, adults with mental illness and children.

How are states using online resources to educate consumers about their choices? The state of Utah developed a resource site for the following areas: Employment, Benefits, Education and Training, Housing, Transportation, Finances and Money Management, Legal and Advocacy, Assistive Technology, Healthy Living. A link to the site is available and could serve as an example to other MIG states.

What are some of the highlights and milestones of the CLP programs? Review the presentations given at the The Gerontological Society of America Annual Meeting on November 19-22, 2009. Officials from the Administration on Aging and representatives from Connecticut, Georgia, Massachusetts and New York on presented.

Connect-Ability’s goal of enhancing and supporting employment for people with disabilities is informed in large part by the experiences of people with disabilities themselves. The Pathways to Success project collects information on individual experiences, on an ongoing basis through periodic in-person interviews. With this information, the findings will be used to inform not only state agency policy, but also potential employers, so that they may better assist job seekers with disabilities.