Employment Programs

To keep states abreast of Maine’s efforts to achieve comprehensive health policy reform, the Governor’s Office of Health Policy and Finance has partnered with NASHP to chart the progress and implementation of the Dirigo Health Reform Act. This issue brief addresses benefit design of the health plan, DirigoChoice designed to provide Maine businesses that have 50 or fewer eligible employees, the self-employed, and individuals with an affordable, high-quality option for health coverage.

Find a variety of outreach materials for New Jersey WorkAbility. Included are English and Spanish versions of brochures, fact sheets and frequently asked questions about the program.

A federal judge’s decision that the Fair Labor Standards Act applies to thousands of home care workers who had been exempt is causing providers to rethink the way they provide services. The ruling in Evelyn Coke v. Long Island Care at Home, Ltd. & Maryann Osborne found that workers who are employed by agencies or other third parties are entitled to overtime pay if they work more than a 40 hour week & they are covered by minimum wage laws & other FLSA rules, such as compensation for travel time.

In October 2003, the Connecticut Department of Social Services, in collaboration with the Real Choice Steering Committee, which includes Consumers, State agencies and the University of Connecticut A.J. Pappanikou Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research and Service, received a three-year grant from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to implement CHOICE (Connecticut Has Opportunities for Independence, Choice and Empowerment).

Notes from TAE Monthly Grantee Teleconference on corrdinating Employment Supports held on May 6, 2004. Presenters: Shelia Fesko, Vicki Brooke, Cindy Thomas and Melissa Wittman.

Oregon report summarizing findings of survey of community mental health agencies concerning their perception of the need for technical assistance/training for staff on strategies for improving employment outcomes for individuals with mental illness or in recovery from such an illness.

This report looks at the Javits-Wagner-O’Day program, which employs people with disabilities to provide services for the federal government, through partnerships with local vocational support agencies. In the spring of 1998, the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Albany Financial Operations Center entered into such a contract with Northeast Career Planning (NCP), a non-profit, vocational rehabilitation organization. This report describes the implementation of that program.

Millions of Americans with disabilities or long-term illnesses need assistance with daily activities. Family members and friends fill much of that need, but paid workers are a critical source of care and services. The need for assistance is increasing yet the number of people available is growing slowly. CMS funded this paper to summarize literature and research on the home care, home health, and personal assistance services workforce, highlighting issues raised and lessons learned.

The Formative Evaluation of the Real Choice Systems Change Grants evaluates how the Systems Change grantees are progressing towards meeting their goals. The Formative Evaluation identifies problems faced by the grantees and ways that they deal with the problems. This document provides summary information about each of the FY2003 Grantees.

In fiscal year (FY) 2004, Congress appropriated approximately $40 million in funding for a new round of Real Choice Systems Change Grants. With this solicitation, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) invites proposals for grants totaling approximately $31 million of these funds.