Links / Websites

Find a user-friendly toolkit outlining a community-based planning process to promote healthy aging. The guide includes an overview with key elements of an aging well planning process, step-by-step guides for data gathering activities, case studies of communities addressing these needs, and a resource list of web sites and organizations offering information. Also attached is a related article co-authored by the Center for Civic Partnerships staff.

Experts were asked about the current state of LTC in the US and potential reforms in the delivery and financing of these services. Eight articles appearing in the August 2010 issue of Medical Care Research and Review explore the survey findings and analysis, revealing opinions on the state of the industry, the nature of its problems, its dissatisfaction with past efforts at repair, and its preferences for future strategies for improvement.

Find interactive timelines for health insurance, revenue and delivery system reform provisions of the Affordable Care Act. An graphic overview is included, as well as PDF documents with interactive year by year listings of the legislation’s provisions.

Find case studies and articles related to organizational change from traditional facility and group-based services to individualized supports. Reports present learned lessons and challenges based on site visits to organizations which offer supports for community living, employment and are engaged in change initiatives. New reports from 2011 include "Organizational Change: Approaches & Strategies" and "Stepping out of the Organizational Comfort Zone."

The Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging sponsored PPAR’s Winter/Spring 2010 issue. It includes seven articles written by national experts describing recent and notable changes in LTC policy, with its increasing emphasis on HCBS services. An introductory essay provides a 30-year review of the evolutionary process of LTC. Consumer-directed initiatives, caregiver and workforce issues, maturation of the service delivery system, and a review of recent state-level initiatives are discussed.

Health Affairs has published a special issue devoted entirely to long-term care. Review articles on providers, issues related to Medicare and Medicaid, transition and diversion programs, new state strategies to meet LTC needs, quality of care, demographic issues, policy and financing, health spending, caregivers and the workforce, and palliative care and end-of-life.

Recently enacted health care reform has a number of implications for PAS users. The Center for Personal Assistance Services has compiled a number of publications on this topic. The information is divided into the categories of: overall, long-term care, Medicaid, Other and Implications. A link to the full text of the Act is included as well as a summary and timeline of the Act

This brief underscores the role of asset development for individuals with disabilities given that they are more likely to be unemployed and live in poverty than any other demographic in the US. It describes some of the interaction between asset accumulation and disability benefits programs, particularly SSDI and SSI, and presents information on Individual Development Account programs and strategies by which Assets for Independence grantees can improve access to IDAs for people with disabilities.

What are the housing challenges facing older adults? Find out in this report that also explores strategies to better enable older adults to age in place or in their community. It discusses accessible, safe, and affordable housing, access to social services and transportation, and housing models that help to allow aging in place. Also included is a link to an online toolkit, and a series of fact sheets on housing for seniors.

Explore the website of an independent, non-profit organization for long-distance caregivers. The site offers service directories to help locate local help and support, as well as information on topics such as evaluating needs and abilities, managing finances and legal documents and setting up caregiver family conferences. A number of related links and resources are offered including a secure repository for families to use in gathering information.