Reports

The Real Choice Systems Change grant was awarded in 2002 to the Connecticut Department of Social Services. The project has two primary goals: 1) To build the capacity within the state of Connecticut to support informed decision making, independent living, and a meaningful quality of life for persons with disabilities across the life span. 2) To assist three communities in Connecticut to become models of support for opportunities and choices for persons with disabilities across the lifespan. 

Recognizing that states are engaging in risk planning for HCBS waiver participants, CMS requested this report that explores the topic of effective individual risk management. Potential risk falls into three general categories: health, behavioral and personal safety risks. The project selected 11 states to determine: how programs are addressing risk for participants, identify risk management themes and emerging issues, identify any state tools or policies that can be useful to other states.

Access to Recreation’s purpose is to expand opportunities for integrated recreational, social and cultural activities in Maine for people with disabilities by providing information to programs and to raise awareness and level of program and facility accessibility and to inform consumers about accessible locations and activities. The grantees have developed a resource guide for fitness facility managers, ran focus groups, produced reports, comment card, calendars, icons and keyword lists.

This document describes IDA, a proposed generic, virtual information service, supporting both operational (e.g., client service) and analytical needs for integrated data. In IDA, source data would stay with the agency that owns it and be made available to an end-user only when permitted by the owning agency. IDA responds to many of the persistent barriers to data integration that confront the State.

The supply of affordable assisted living facilities is now insufficient to meet the demands of low-income, frail older persons. This gap between demand and supply is much more apparent in some locations than others. This article uses various measures of locational inequality to assess the extent to which counties in Florida have less than their fair share of ALFs, particularly in comparison to the locations of Medicaid nursing home beds.

The purpose of this project is to promote transition from an institution-based to a community-based system, in keeping with the goals of the federal New Freedom Initiative. This document summarized the policy recommendations of the Texas Independent Living Partnership over the three-year grant period, providing a resource to Texas state agencies, Centers for Independent Living, and other interested parties for ongoing systems advocacy and program development.

Consumer advocates and state leaders have been exploring ways to identify nursing home residents who want to return to their homes and communities. One effort involves the potential use of the Long Term Care Minimum Data Set (MDS), particularly Section Q, which addresses residents’ discharge preference. This technical assistance document provides practical information about how state agencies can use these federal data on nursing home residents to improve their nursing home transition efforts.

A number of states have developed rental housing locators that allow online searches for affordable housing units. These sites range from bare-bones databases of state-financed developments to elaborate sites with multiple search criteria, extensive information about accessibility for persons with disabilities, current vacancy information, and links to local service agencies. This report reviews several web-based sites based on several factors and compares the findings.

This is the first in a series of papers synthesizing the ideas and practices of states as they improve the quality of home and community based services (HCBS) and supports for older persons and persons with disabilities. Building on the experiences and challenges of the QA/QI Systems Change grantees, the paper addresses four fundamental questions about quality management. The intent is to provide an account of current practice, and a structure for how states view their options.

Washington’s automated, comprehensive, person centered assessment and planning tool measures the personal care needs of anyone receiving services at home or in a residential setting and develops a care plan. The tool contains 60 different screens, some relate to risk. Participant selects a service setting and then the program computes eligibility, need and a service plan that crosses settings. The package contains: CARES Training Manual, CARES Assessment, Eligibility & Rates for LTC Services.