Community-Integrated Personal Assistance Services and Supports

GUAM

Grant Information

Name of Grantee

Department of Integrated Services for Individuals with Disabilities

Title of Grant

Inadanńá para Tinilaika—Partners for Change

Type of Grant

Community-Integrated Personal Assistance
Services and Supports

Amount of Grant

$300,000

Year Original Funding Received

2001

Contact Information

Rosanne Ada, Project Director
Division of Support Services
1313 Central Avenue
Tiyan, Guam 96913
671–642–0014
disid@ite.net

Monica Flores Limtiaco
Project Coordinator/Facilitator
PO Box FN
Hagatna, Guam 96932
671–477–1760/1505
monical@ite.net

Subcontractor(s)

Catholic Social Services
Cerila Rapadas
671–635–1410

Guam Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research and Services
Heidi San Nicolas
671–735–2480/81

Service Coordinator to be decided.
Resource Developer to develop a Creative Funding Task Force to be decided.

Target Population(s)

Ten individuals with disabilities in need of personal assistance services who will participate in a 6–month pilot project. These individuals may include individuals who currently reside in group home settings, individuals who are inappropriately placed in institutions, and individuals who have minimal support systems.

Goals

  • Develop and implement an individualized budgeting program that incorporates the development of an infrastructure representative of the needs and choices of persons with disabilities and their families.
  • Develop a database infrastructure to create a system to track individual budgets and expenses under consumer-directed systems and to conduct ongoing needs assessment to "centrally catch," record, and document data of the number of persons with disabilities in need of personal assistance services.
  • Promote and facilitate strong cross-program/natural support partnerships to optimize funding sources, and identify other creative funding mechanisms for the individualized budgeting program.

Activities

  • Pilot and implement the individualized budgeting program.
  • Develop an emergency response system for the individualized budgeting program.
  • Develop consumer-directed quality assurance/personal outcomes measures that promote consumer and family involvement.
  • Develop a Creative Funding Task Force to identify and research various funding alternatives and a mechanism for developing a comprehensive consumer-directed service delivery system.

Abstract

Guam's citizens with significant disabilities are in compelling need of personal assistance services. Although personal assistance is the most frequently used long-term care service throughout the United States, there are no personal assistance services available on Guam to enable persons with disabilities to live integrated and meaningful lives in the community. Due to the lack of personal assistance services, persons with disabilities are inappropriately placed in treatment facilities, continue to remain in congregate settings, and experience prolonged waiting periods for housing and supportive services. This problem is also aggravated because Guam is ineligible for funding under SSI and there is a cap on federal expenditures for Guam's Medicaid program.

Established in 1997, the Department of Integrated Services for Individuals with Disabilities (DISID) has experienced a rapid influx of persons with disabilities in need of supportive services. With a shortage of funding levels coupled with program overloads, there has been little or no hope for assistance or funding to develop an infrastructure to expand much-needed services.

DISID in partnership with two housing support providers, Guma' Mami and Catholic Social Services, proposes to create a model demonstration individualized budgeting program entitled Inadanńá para Tinilaika—Partners for Change for individuals with disabilities who require supports to live in the most integrated community setting to meet their needs and preferences. This pilot project will develop Guam's individualized budgeting infrastructure for persons with significant disabilities; implement an individualized budgeting pilot program; enhance interagency and natural support partnerships by sustaining a network of valuable supports, and develop consumer-directed quality assurance/personal outcomes measures that promote consumer/family involvement, to name a few activities.