Transition/Diversion from Institutions

Seamless collaboration with and for students with disabilities transitioning to employment, education/training, and adult life is vital to making transition programs successful. Utah created a Transition Action Guide for students with disabilities and agencies to accomplish this. A sample copy, revised in April of 2010, is attached. A link is also provided to a copy posted on Utah’s State Office of Education site, where it is updated periodically.

Turning the many acronyms that make up the landscape of MIG programs into something youth with disabilities and their families can understand and utilize is essential in effecting successful transitions from school to employment. Utah created the attached presentation for a workshop designed to break down these acronyms into meaningful opportunities. This playful approach is something that other MIG grantees could find useful.

What is the net fiscal impact of the IHSS Program on the public sector? The program, which is available to low-income elderly and disabled persons, provides services to recipients in their own homes and can enhance quality of life by making it easier to live at home. This report concludes that the state maximizes its net fiscal impact by targeting IHSS services to those recipients who are most likely to enter a nursing home in the absence of the program.

What are the policy changes related to the continuum of care for older people—specifically long term services and supports (LTSS) and chronic care coordination? This analysis examines major provisions in these areas which are organized into five categories: 1) national insurance for long term services and supports; 2) Medicaid options and incentives to expand LTSS; 3) other LTSS provisions; 4) chronic care coordination; and 5) nursing home reforms.

What role can community colleges play in supporting initiatives to improve the quality of in-home care? The Caregiving Training Institute was created to support a wide range of training programs at Community Colleges. This brief provides an overview of the trend toward in-home services, highlights the importance of well-trained caregivers, and discusses the unique role community colleges can play in this arena.

Reducing In Home Support Services (IHSS) in California will be costly for taxpayers according to this report, which summarizes and refutes the conclusions of an earlier CA Legislative Analyst’s Office report. It presents what it sees as a more realistic set of assumptions and re-estimates the relative benefits of the IHSS program, considering the savings to the state if it transitioned one third of nursing home residents back into the community.

Why is California preparing its disabled children for their transition to teen-hood? By engaging these children early, California hopes to get these kids involved in their own health care and future employment opportunities. The end goal is a transition to adulthood that is successful, fulfilling and without limitations. The attached health care booklet contains advice, tips and more for kids preparing to take charge of their own future, and includes advice for their parents.

West Virginia created a handbook to prepare students and their parents for transition through school and into life. Some transition options are outlined for employment, independent living and post secondary education. A transition checklist for students is included. A sample handbook is provided, which could be useful to other MIG grantees interested in marketing the transition programs.

What types of agency collaborations can benefit youth and those transitioning from school to work? The attached presentation has California asking this question as part of a multi-agency collaborative effort working to remove barriers to employment and self-sufficiency of people with disabilities. Focusing on The CHIIP program and efforts geared to empowering youth, this presentation was given at the CAPED Conference Workshop and could be helpful to other MIG grantees.

Examine the results of health assessments of 584 people receiving services from the PA Office of Mental Retardation. The information represents a portion of the data obtained through the Health Risk Assessment process, which began as an initiative to gather health care information on people who had moved, or were in the process of moving, from state operated facilities to community settings. A number of recommendations for improvement are discussed.