Reports

The fifth in a series of annual reports from the national evaluation of the MFP rebalancing demonstration, the report presents three sets of analyses that show the overall progress and effects of the MFP demonstration: progress made by grantees on their statutory transition and expenditure goals; the extent to which states are rebalancing their LTSS systems; and 3) changes in expenditures patterns and utilization of select services following an individual's transition from institutional to HCBS.

This report discusses how the public workforce system developed, how it operates today, significant programs and target groups, common employment services and job training strategies, and what is known about program effectiveness. In some instances, the report speculates on how the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 (WIOA) might influence such programs. Particular attention is given to services benefiting dislocated workers.

Health plans for people with pre-existing mental illness, if they included mental health benefits at all, have historically been more expensive, with limited benefits and significant administrative hurdles to obtaining care.This report describes a survey conducted by NAMI to assess the experiences of people living with mental illness and their families with private health insurance.The findings of the survey are supplemented with an analysis of 84 health plans in the top 15 states.

This report offers recommendations for federal and state entities from a thorough review of the legal and regulatory home and community-based services (HCBS) framework outlined by the Americans with Disabilities Act and new HCBS regulations. The bearing of setting size and configuration on the quality of supports and services received by people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and individuals with mental health disabilities in home and community-based arrangements is the focus.

In light of a rapidly aging population, increasing costs, and funding that is not keeping pace, programs like Meals on Wheels face unprecedented challenges to meet the growing need for meal and nutrition services. Decision-makers at all levels of government and community-based organizations within the Aging Network are increasingly seeking lower cost solutions to stretch constrained budgets. This report investigates the impact of meal service delivery on the health and well-being of adults 60+.

This is one in a series of annual reports on participation in the Medicaid Buy-In program. It provides updates on both national- and state-level trends in enrollment, employment, and earnings among the 35 reporting Medicaid Infrastructure Grant (MIG) states with a Buy-In program in 2011. Additionally, it addresses recent changes to state program rules and policies, and identifies factors that have affected recent Buy-In program enrollment, as reported by the states in an annual questionnaire.

The Federal Partners in Transition, an interagency workgroup, has published a strategy report to ensure that federal programs and resources effectively support American young adults with disabilities in reaching their goals of independence. This report identifies five outcome goals to operate across agency boundaries in an effort to enhance coordination and improve compatible policies among the multiple federal programs that support transitioning youth with disabilities and their families.

This report explores a range of issues relating to skills training and education for older workers, including the challenges older workers face when deciding whether to enroll in education and training programs, and, if so, how to choose a program and pay for it. In its key findings, the report states that while various factors influence older job seekers’ success in the labor market, many older unemployed workers lack the skills that are currently in demand.

This article, published in the Social Security Bulletin, presents long-term cumulative statistics on the extent to which individuals who began receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability payments from 1996 through 2006 found work and used SSI work incentives.The article also provides analysis on initiatives affecting SSI, including the Ticket to Work program and the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996.

These are three case studies of LTSS services in Minnesota, Idaho, and Georgia done by the Public Policy Institute of AARP as follow-up studies to the Raising Expectations 2011 State Scorecard on LTSS. The State LTSS Scorecard examines states' performance across 25 indicators that comprise four key dimensions of a high-performing system.