2001 Nursing Facility Transitions Grants

MARYLAND

Grant Information

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Name of Grantee

Making Choices for Independent Living, Inc.

Title of Grant

Independent Living Partnership

Type of Grant

Nursing Facility Transitions, Independent Living Partnership

Amount of Grant

$450,000

Year Original Funding Received

2001

Contact Information

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Frank Pinter, Executive Director
3011 Montebello Terrace
Baltimore, MD 21214
410–444–1400
frankp@mcil-md.org

www.mcil-md.org

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Subcontractor(s)

Resources for Independence
Lori Magruder
301–784–1774

Center for L.I.F.E.
Gene Potts
301–884–4498

Eastern Shore CIL
Price Baum
410–221–7701

Independence Now, Inc.
Cathy Raggio
301–277–2839

The Freedom Center
Jamey George
301–846–7811

Target Population(s)

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Persons with disabilities who live in nursing homes throughout the state who wish to explore the option to live independently in the community.

Goals

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• Conduct outreach to nursing home residents who want to better understand their service options and who may want to relocate to the community.
• Educate and assist these individuals and their support systems to understand, identify, and procure local community resources.
• Compile and distribute resource materials from the local community using a first-person perspective.
• Empower individuals with disabilities to advocate for themselves.

Activities

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• Provide outreach to nursing home residents, family members, support systems, significant others, and staff.
• Provide face-to-face peer counseling sessions with individuals who are interested in learning about community options.
• Provide accurate and useful information about community resources, including education about independent living centers and their philosophy of self-determination.
• Develop a peer counseling relationship for those who wish to discuss concerns and fears about transitioning.
• Work with existing state programs to ensure that the transitioning process is successful and consumer controlled.
• Develop a curriculum to empower individuals with disabilities to advocate for themselves.

Abstract

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Making Choices for Independent Living, Inc. (MCIL), Maryland's oldest and largest center for independent living, proposes to work in partnership with Maryland's network of Centers for Independent Living (CILs) to conduct outreach and assistance to over 2,800 Medicaid beneficiaries currently residing in 231 nursing facilities across the state. Originally established in 1978, MCIL has an extensive and impressive history of assisting interested people to come out of nursing homes and return to the community. In 2000, MCIL was nationally recognized for its efforts.

This project, entitled the Independent Living Partnership (ILP), will be a unique and collaborative effort. It will partner with the other statewide CILs and State Medicaid Home and Community Based Services programs to supplement and improve existing services for the duration of the project and beyond. The results of the project could be replicated nationwide and will serve as a model for CILs in other states to use. In Maryland, the project will enable the rest of the CILs to gain valuable experience and expertise which can be used to expand on the grants' successes.