Resource Center

This issue brief describes the implications of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 for consumers, state Medicaid agencies, health care providers, and the public and private entities that provide benefits counseling and supports to Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. The Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) made a number of significant changes to law that affects ADRCs, most notably, MMA established prescription drug coverage for Medicare beneficiaries.

This report presents information aggregated from 13 F2F HICs and provides an early indication of the extent and importance of the activities of these critical family centers. The data indicates that F2F HICs are steadily increasing their capacity to document what they do. Both families and professionals frequently seek expertise and assistance from F2F HICs. The most common concerns reported relate to needs for adequate health care financing and links to community resources.

This web site is a resource center for Family Support 360 grantees and other organizations serving individuals with developmental disabilities. This initiative from The Administration for Children & Families and Administration on Developmental Disabilities (ADD) has provided planning and implementation grants to local service providers nationwide to create one-stop centers. Take a look at the Library, Resource Links, News, Events and a variety of information to support one-stop centers.

Older people living in rural areas face unique challenges, not only in accessing benefits and services, but also in gathering information about programs that can help them. This brief tackles the issue of information and assistance (I&A) in rural areas by profiling an area agency on aging that has successfully established an I&A program designed to meet the needs of rural elders. We offer tips from the agency’s experience and insight from experts in the field.

The Children with Special Health Care Needs programs of Nevada assists children with special needs and their families through a variety of health and support services. The Real Choice Systems Change Project has partnered with the Nevada Broadcasters Association to air the various media information on Nevada's television and radio stations. They also host a website with links to support, advocacy, assistance and education.

As part of the New York Family to Family Health Information Center, They provided information to families related to the issues of health care and children with special health care needs.They have created this listing of website links that they suggest families find valuable. They share this resource as an example for other Family to Family grantee programs can create.

The Forsyth County North Carolina ADRC has shared their advisory council insite. This website is an on line resource for council members. The website was designed to keep the local advisory council updated on meetings and obtain copies of important documentation. The site offers the RFP, the grant application, acronyms, fact sheets, work plans, work group descriptions, meeting minutes and more.

For older adults and individuals with disabilities, some website designs can pose access problems. Users may be unable to use a website’s navigational menu, fill out online forms, or even access content. Addressing accessibility issues is important. This brief addresses the adaptation of standard website construction techniques to meet the needs of the target populations. It includes considerations & strategies for design that are informative, functional and useful for these populations.

This is the third in a series of newsletters produced at the Exchange to provide assistance to our CMS Real Systems Change grantees. This newsletter is produced biannually. Topics include: Physicians’ Role in Determining Level of Care, Nurse Practice Policies for Home and Community Living, ADRC Toolbox, Massachusetts Connecting the Dots, Making Medicaid Work in the 21st Century, Assessment Instruments, HCBS Quality Management Roles & Responsibilities, Family Caregiving, and Housing.

The ADRC Pilot Site in Broward County Flordia shared a plan used to measure the agency's goals, strategies, and progress towards provision of culturally competent services. The plan offers guiding principles: responsibilities, implementation period:and outcomes for each of the strategies.