Reports

States provide long-term care services in homes and community-based settings through 1915(c) home and community-based services (HCBS) waiver programs. To ensure strong oversight of waiver programs, this report reviews documents from CMS's most recent quality review of waiver programs from 25 States, as well as information gathered from structured interviews with staff from the 10 CMS regional offices. The report also identify five recommendations to meet assurances related to quality of care.

Supported by the Pew Home Visiting Campaign, NASHP conducted a scan of state policies and practices and convened an expert panel to identify mechanisms for supporting home visiting services through Medicaid. This report explores various Medicaid financing mechanisms states could use to support home visiting services and considerations for states exploring these financing options.

The first National Alzheimer’s Plan includes current federal activities and initial recommendations to expand, coordinate or condense programs to overcome Alzheimer’s disease. The plan was called for in the National Alzheimer’s Project Act (NAPA), which President Obama signed into law in January 2011. The National Plan sets forth five goals, including the development of effective prevention and treatment approaches for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias by 2025.

States have continued to rebalance their long-term services and supports (LTSS) toward more home and community-based services (HCBS). This report uses diverse methods to assess the different incentives affecting states’ decisions to implement the four Medicaid HCBS options under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA); two new options (Community First Choice and the Balancing Incentive Program) and two existing [Money Follows the Person and 1915(i)].

This report discusses recent major policy developments that pertain to the service needs of people with developmental disabilities and their families, and recommends opportunities to enhance collaboration among the aging, disability and long-term care networks. Key policy initiatives addressed include the Aging and Disability Resource Centers, the Lifespan Respite Act, the National Alzheimer’s Project Act, and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

This report advocates for a stronger, more rigorous research approach in Title IV (Activities for Health, Independence, and Longevity-Program Innovations) of the Older Americans Act. Title IV authorizes the Assistant Secretary for Aging to fund training, research, and demonstration projects, which Congress did not fund in FY 2012. Recommendations include creating a new Chief Science Officer, establishing a national advisory council for aging services program research, and renaming Title IV.

This document outlines the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) approach to implementing a Federally-facilitated Exchange (FFE) in any State where a State-based Exchange is not operating. This report also provides general guidance on how states can partner with HHS to implement selected functions in an FFE, key policies organized by Exchange function, and how HHS will consult with a variety of stakeholders to implement an FFE.

As technology continues to transform the workplace, demand is growing for the development, purchase, maintenance and use of information and communication technology (ICT) that is accessible to and usable by all applicants and employees, including individuals with disabilities. This paper provides a framework that can be used to develop technical assistance tools to help employers design, purchase, lease, maintain and use ICT that is accessible to & usable by people with disabilities and others.

Summarizes a program evaluation of a Federally-funded state-based system to protect patient rights for those with significant mental health disability. The PAIMI Program was initiated in 1986 in response to congressional findings of widespread abuse, neglect, and exploitation of individuals in state psychiatric institutions. Twenty-two years later, the program is still addressing those issues, along with new problems arising from delivery of mental health services in community-based settings.

This document outlines recommendations from the Johnson Foundation's Wingspread Conference to ensure that individuals with I/DD are fully integrated into society and the recognition of their families' role in their lives. Review the action steps and accomplishments.