Announcement/Press release

CMS has announced the standards effective January 1, 2008. Review the minimum, maximum and monthly maintenance figures.

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.

The Pennsylvania MIG project developed the Work Incentive Planning Assistance (WIPA) Program in order to promote employment among those receiving SSI/SSDI benefits. WIPA produced the following newsletter entitled “Employment Resource Guide for Persons with Disabilities”, which sought to succinctly list services available to individuals with disabilities who wish to work. Some of these resources include Family Savings Accounts and information about the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program.

AoA announced the availability of $5 million for these grants which provide an opportunity for States to modernize their existing efforts by adding flexible service options to help individuals who are not eligible for Medicaid to avoid nursing home placement and spend down to Medicaid, and to remain in their homes and communities. The applicant teleconference is scheduled for July 11 at 3pm. Submission of letter of intent is for July 20, 2007 and the deadline is August 24, 2007.

The New Hampshire MIG program, the Granite State Employment Project, and its programs within, Employment for All and the Monadnock Center for Successful Transitions, have held several planning meetings so far in 2007. Included below are the minutes for each of these meetings.

The Minnesota Department of Administration, Department of Health, Department of Human Services, Brain Injury Association, and MIG program held a workshop that provided an overview of disability in Minnesota and its economic impact on the state. This flyer served as a “save the date” for the event. You can also review the agenda and registration as a sample.

Thirteen states and the District of Columbia will get more than $547 million in grants over five years to build Medicaid long-term care programs that will help keep people at home and out of institutions. This “Money Follows the Person” initiative was included in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA), currently being implemented by CMS. The press release lists the states and the amount of money committed over the next five years.

The Georgia QA/QI Real Choice Systems Change grant employed a variety of person centered planning (PCP) techniques in order to change services to fit the needs of consumers. This document is a variety of flyers and notices that the grantee used in order to recruit consumers to participate in its PCP focus and planning groups.

As part of its quality management program, Wisconsin revised its Individual Service Plan (ISP) form that was required as part of the Medicaid waiver process. The new revised forms address individual outcomes. Attached forms include the ISP Instructions, Medicaid form, and Individual Outcomes.

One objective of the Texas’s QA/QI grant was to develop a uniform and automated critical incident reporting process. Information was collected on critical incidents reported most often by other states to be used with the Quality Assurance and Improvement (QAI) Data Mart. The QA/QI task force reviewed and used this information to develop a list of critical incident definitions and recommendations.