Reports

In honor of the upcoming one-year anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, Family Caregiver Alliance releases this guide which highlights some of the most important developments in 2010 affecting family caregivers, including legislative and policy changes; research focused on caregivers; and media coverage of family caregiving. A great resource for families, researchers, policymakers, and others.

This testimony discusses possible strategies for improving the rate of federal employment of individuals with disabilities. The testimony is based on our October 2010 report discussing barriers to the employment of people with disabilities in the federal workforce and leading practices that could be used to overcome these barriers.

Are MIGs assisting individuals with disabilities to become employed? This report shows the continued impact of MIG funding in 2009. One of the most visible activities has been the development of state Medicaid Buy-In programs, under which workers with significant disabilities can “buy in” to Medicaid coverage when their earnings would otherwise make them ineligible. This report updates trends in the enrollment, employment, and earnings of participants.

The state of Arizona hosted online discussion groups in order to get feedback from community rehabilitation and employment services providers on their Employment Development Project. The overriding purpose of the online discussions was to garner insights into how service providers view the EN program, the perceived organizational value of adopting or integrating the EN business model into existing business practices, and barriers to EN program implementation. For the results explore this report.

The use of PAS as a workplace support is a relatively new innovation. Because of its newness, many persons with disabilities and employers tend to get confused about how workplace PAS is different from more standard personal assistance services or personal attendant care. The most important distinctions between PAS and Workplace PAS are related to where the services are provided and for what purpose. To learn more, explore the attached project report, brochure, and websites.

This Trends paper includes: an overview of the challenges involved in providing transportation services to American Indian elders living on reservations and Indian lands; a discussion of the Tribal aging and transportation services infrastructure; a brief description of transportation funding options; and examples of creative solutions from the field. Information may be replicable by transportation programs for elders living in other rural and frontier areas.

Reverse mortgages offer older homeowners a way to tap home equity to meet financial needs in retirement. However, the collapse of the mortgage market in 2008–2009 has led to major changes that impact consumer choices. While consumers have more product choices, reverse mortgages are generally more expensive and more complicated. Learn more about how this has affected aging consumers and what Congress and regulatory agencies are doing to protect consumers here.

Review a summary of this Innovative Communities Summit held in Washington D.C. The report features case studies of how three communities in the United States are working together to improve care transitions and reduce avoidable hospitalizations. The report outlines steps the LTQA should take to encourage and promote the creation of comparable multi-sector innovative communities that would involve local providers as well as consumers and caregivers.

This needs assessment is one example of how the state of Wisconsin is working to achieve the goals of the Medicaid Infrastructure Grant and to strengthen its employment infrastructure for residents with disabilities. Within this report find input from consumers, employment service providers, advocacy groups, and other stakeholders as well as recommendations for for emerging training needs in order to best serve those involved in the community rehabilitation process.

To date, the ACA has provided or offered $2.8 billion in funding to states. This includes funding for long-term care and health workforce needs. This report, released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, highlights the flexibility and resources provided by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to improve health care benefits and protect consumers.