Reports

In 2010, a national Internet survey aimed to capture the perspectives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/DD) and their family caregivers. The Family and Individual Needs for Disability Supports (FINDS) survey focused on issues including educational, housing, employment and support needs of people with ID/DD and their families. Data analysis was conducted by the Institute's Research and Training Center on Community Living; review the technical report on the survey.

The estimated economic value of family caregivers’ unpaid contributions contribution was approximately $450 billion in 2009. If family caregivers were no longer available, the economic cost to the U.S. health care and long-term services and supports systems would increase astronomically. This report updates national and individual state estimates of the economic value of family care using the most current available data, and provides recommendations for taking care of the caregivers.

While state revenues have increased from FY 2011, this National Governor’s Association and the National Association of State Budget Officers report finds that states still face a combined gap of over $75 billion for their FY 2012 budgets. The report examines state Medicaid spending and projects future costs associated with an aging population.

By 2015, more than 15.5 million Americans 65 and older will live in communities where public transportation service is poor or non-existent. That number is expected to continue to grow rapidly as the baby boom generation “ages in place” in suburbs and exurbs with few mobility options for those who do not drive. This report ranks metro areas by the percentage of seniors with poor access to public transportation, now and in the coming years, and presents other data on aging and transportation.

Health care reform offers opportunities for cash-strapped Medicaid programs to save money and get extra federal dollars. Amid the budget shortfalls that most states are experiencing, state policymakers should carefully consider the new opportunities presented by health care reform and direct their resources to those that will both improve health outcomes and services and realize cost savings or efficiencies.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Healthy Aging Program has released an updated version of its annual Aging At A Glance report. It addresses not only implications of an aging society, and opportunities for improving older adult health, but also how CDC and its partners are addressing these issues. Review the statics and success stories.

Review this ground-breaking study of the revolutionary changes in public policy toward persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities over the past fifty years.

How does the state of Virginia measure how financial incentives affect disabled workers' decision to work? To learn more, read this report which features a model used to predict behavior of individuals, budget costs, and related savings of the Virginia Medicaid Works program, along with the well-being of affected individuals. This frame-work will also be used to predict how proposed changes in the Medicaid Works program would affect behavior.

A study of the severe housing affordability problems of people with disabilities. The study compares the federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments of people with significant and long-term disabilities to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Fair Market Rents for modestly priced rental units. Review the report, statistics and fact sheet.

How is the state of Virginia working to better understand its Medicaid program's efficacy? This report aims to develop a framework to understand the incentive effects of the Virginia Medicaid Works program that provides disabled Medicaid recipients the option to earn higher income while ensuring continued Medicaid coverage. By decoupling labor market decisions from Medicaid receipt, the primary objective of the Works program is to increase the employment and earnings of disabled recipients.