Fact Sheets

See a variety of resources on assistance to people with disabilities in Michigan. Included are the Freedom to Work brochure, a Persons with Disabilities and Prescription Drug Coverage fact sheet, the Work Incentives Planning and Assistance brochure, Outreach Materials contact information, an on-line resources sheet, and a copy of the Michigan Freedom to Work for Individuals with Disabilities Law. A link to the Michigan Freedom to Work Website is provided.

This fact sheet offers a short overview and history of Personal Assistance Services (PAS) as they developed out of institutional based services to community-based services and discusses some key pieces of legislation that impact the utilization of these services. The article also highlights promising practices, including self-directed PAS services and PAS at the workplace.

Visit this on-line library for people in search of solutions to the direct-care staffing crisis in long-term care. The site includes government and research reports, news, issue briefs, on topics such as recruitment, career advancement supervision, workplace culture, and caregiving practices plus training manuals and how-to guides. The Clearinghouse publishes original research and analysis, fact sheets, an annual survey of state initiatives, and Quality Jobs/Quality Care, an on-line newsletter.

Partnerships to Independence (PTI) was created by the Birmingham Independent Living Center in Birmingham, Alabama through a grant from CMS. This transition guide addresses nursing home outreach, support needs and skills, follow-up, and barriers. The purpose of PTI was to develop a model program that could be replicated in other CILs in Alabama and the US. ILC staff identified a number of basic resources and strategies that can be used to promote nursing home transition.

The Job Accommodation Network: JAN Fact Sheet reports findings from over 1,000 employers interviewed between Jan '04 and Dec '06. Findings include the following: employers want to provide accommodations so they can retain valued and qualified employees, most employers report no cost or low cost for accommodating employees with disabilities, employers report accommodations are effective and employers experience multiple direct and indirect benefits after making accommodations.

Working Healthy, the Kansas MIG program, offers people with disabilities who are working or interested in working the opportunity to get or keep Medicaid coverage while on the job. The website offers an interactive map of benefit specialist, a chart on premiums (SRS Form ES-3165) , information on Work Opportunities Reward Kansans (WORK), publications, and FAQs. Also review their brochure in English and Spanish and their one page fact sheet used for outreach.

Indiana Works (Indiana’s Benefits Planning Assistance and Outreach Programs) received a MIG grant to conduct a statewide needs assessment in the disability community of the informational needs regarding state and federal programs and resources that support employment. The website contains general information about subjects and does not replace the expertise and assistance from trained benefits counselors. Also included for review are project overview and updates, fact sheets, and final reports.

The DB 101 Training covers public and private health, benefit and employment programs and protections, Benefits Planning Calculators, plus other information and tools. Participants include benefits planners, non-profit and state agency employees. Cross agency trainees achieve an awareness level knowledge that youth and adults with disabilities can access and retain needed benefits when working. The training spans public and private health, benefit and employment programs and protections.

The Arkansas MIG grantees, the EmployAbility Project, developed a number of handouts and fact sheets to help medical professionals and counselors understand the program. Review the definition of working disabled and medically improved plus a fact sheet on Medicaid Screening for Working Disabled Medicaid.

How do you define reasonable accommodation? The process is about accommodating a qualified person with a disability; it is about problem resolution and is a key nondiscrimination requirement. Alaska MIG grantees put together a presentation to explain that not every employee with a disability is going to need an accommodation but, others are excluded because of unnecessary barriers in the workplace. Two articles are included that generate interest in the training plus a two-page FAQ fact sheet.