Consumer/Participant Direction

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.

Real Needs-Real Costs With an Eye Toward the Future: A Process for Developing Service Plans and Individual Budgets was presented on October 12, 2004 at a teleconference for CMS Independence Plus Grantees. The presentation draws on 6 years of prior experience in developing Consumer Directed Programs for adults at the Area Agency of Greater Nashua.

On October 12, 2004 the Community Living Exchange Collaborative at Rutgers Center for State Health Policy hosted a Self-Direction audio conference for Independence Plus and CPASS grantees to discuss Person-Centered Planning and Individual Budgeting. Presentations inlcuded CMS, Minnesota, Wyoming, and New Hampshire.

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.

On Tuesday, September 28, 2004, Susan Flanagan presented her recent report: Accessing Workers' Compensation Insurance For Consumer-Employed PAS Workers. This study focused on workers’ compensation (WC) laws and systems as they pertain to domestic service workers, and in particular, personal assistance workers, in 50 states, the District of Columbia, five U.S. territories and the tribal government of the Navajo Nation.

This Impact Newsletter was printed in the Spring of 2004 and the feature is \"Issue on Consumer-Controlled Budgets and Persons with Disabilities\". This issue of focuses on various aspects of and experiences with supporting personal freedom through self-directed supports and individually managed budgets. It includes articles from policy, service, and individual/ family perspectives illustrating what is possible when self-determination guides service provision.

On September 17, 2003, CMS sent a letter to state Medicaid directors addressing the principles of Money Follows the person. This letter is a follow up to the August 13, 2004 letter. Because the concept has been widely discussed in “Open Door” forums, this letter provides additional examples and clarification of the concept.

There are three customer satisfaction surveys from the Pennslyvania Community Choice program included here. There are two surveys for consumers found to be eligible for HCBS services: one for those who enrolled and one for those who did not. The third survey was intended for consumers who were found to be ineligible for HCBS services.

You Have a Choice! DVD in four formats: standard, with English subtitles, with Spanish subtitles, and audio described. The video is excellent for informing consumers about their options to leave a nursing home and to educate nursing home staff, family members and the general public about the option of transition. Produced by the Nursing Facility Transition project at the Center for People with Disabilities in Boulder, CO. To recieve a copy of the DVD please contact Sharon Finney.

These two papers outline ways governors can support caregivers who assist people who need in-home services. State Support, lists strategies to help both kinds of caregivers as they restructure their LTC systems. A Lifetime of Health & Dignity recommends that officials inform home care workers about their eligibility for the Earned Income Tax Credit, assist in the development of employer health insurance purchasing pools, & connect low-wage workers to support systems.