Consumer/Participant Direction

The presentations from the November 2007 F/EA Workshop are now available. Topics included Promising Practices in Workers’ Compensation, CMS Policies, the Role of Reporting Agents in the Provision, plus Government and Vendor F/EA Operations, Design and Implementation Issues. Review the presentations by states, vendors and subject matter experts.

This presentation is used for education and awareness about Virginia's No Wrong Door system. It describes the system of seeking services before No Wrong Door and then explains the programs goals, functions and model for collaboration among service providers.

The guide is based on the lived experiences of consumers who participated in uncharted waters with States during the Real Choice Systems Change initiative. It was written to demonstrate that partnerships can and do work effectively.

How can a community advisor help find choices and supports? The MA CPASS grantees developed two tools to support self-determination. The first is a checklist of suggested competencies, attributes and skills of necessary to be a Community Advisors. The second resource is a guide defining the role of an advisory, how to use and select the right person, plus checklist of other considerations.

Two different reports assessed the MA C-PASS activities. First, an independent evaluation of the goals and accomplishment, information gathered from structured interviews. The second report is a ‘self-evaluation’ from the Coordinating Council who evaluated their own performance. Review the findings on self-determination, the planning process, the barriers encountered and goals achieved.

A product of the MASS C-PASS mini-grant project operated by the Multicultural Services Center of the Pioneer Valley (Otro Puente) this bilingual guide was designed for newly arrived Latino individuals and families to the city of Holyoke, MA. Written in response to concerns that many families don’t know how to start looking for supports for a person living with a disability, the guide reviews how to prepare for an interview or home visit, ways to gather information and a list of local agencies.

This site was created to support self-advocates and their communities to participate in Statewide personal assistance service systems change, promoting consumer-directed service models through community councils and customized training and technical assistance. The list of tools includes CPASS Business such as the calendar and newsletter as well as Consumer Direction & CPASS Resources and Training materials (Self-Advocacy and Personal Assistance Handbooks, Service Models, Support Brokerage).

The Center for Health Care Strategies, Inc. summarizes findings from a survey of Medicaid agencies to identify which consumer-directed approaches are being considered and implemented. Findings show growing trends toward consumer direction, agencies initiating policies to reward health-related behaviors and increasingly allocating control of funds to recipients, and states interest in health savings account-like plans and increasingly providing health plan quality data to the public.

Partnerships to Independence (PTI) was created by the Birmingham Independent Living Center in Birmingham, Alabama through a grant from CMS. This transition guide addresses nursing home outreach, support needs and skills, follow-up, and barriers. The purpose of PTI was to develop a model program that could be replicated in other CILs in Alabama and the US. ILC staff identified a number of basic resources and strategies that can be used to promote nursing home transition.

HHS announced an $8.8 million investment to help states provide more affordable choices to individuals struggling to remain in their homes and communities as they age. A total of $5.7 million in federal funding was awarded to 12 states for grants for this nursing home diversion program that will improve state efforts to assist individuals avoid unnecessary nursing home placement, impoverishment and spend-down to Medicaid.