Independence Plus Initiative

COLORADO

Grant Information

Name of Grantee

Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing

Title of Grant

Colorado Independence Plus Initiative

Type of Grant

Independence Plus Initiative

Amount of Grant

$391,137

Year Original Funding Received

2003

Contact Information

Diane M King, Grant Administrator
303–866–5432
diane.king@state.co.us

William West, Project Director
Systems Change Section
Colorado State Department of Health Care Policy and Financing
1570 Grant Street
Denver, CO 80203
303–866–2735
william.west@state.co.us

Subcontractor(s)

Subcontracts will be developed for a focus group facilitator, a technology consultant, and consumer trainers.

Target Population(s)

Individuals of all ages with disabilities who are in current or future State consumer-directed waiver programs.

Goals

  • Establish a statewide emergency backup system and a critical incident management system for all current and future consumer-directed programs.
  • Develop training mechanisms for critical incident management and emergency backup systems.

Activities

  • Identify the State's current capacity for statewide emergency backup and critical incident management within community-based, long-term care programs.
  • Develop and implement improved critical incident and emergency backup systems for the State's consumer-directed programs.
  • Develop and implement a training program for consumers and other stakeholders on the use of critical incident management and emergency backup systems.

Abstract

The Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) and the Colorado Department of Human Services (DHS) are in various stages of designing, implementing, and supporting four consumer-directed programs within the State's long-term care system. The current systems for protecting consumers of the State's long-term care programs revolve around traditional agencies taking responsibility for critical incident reporting and tracking and for emergency backup measures. They do not allow consumers to take a significant role in defining and overseeing the protections that will support them in the community. The overall goals of the Independence Plus Grant are to

  • strengthen and build on existing capacity for a statewide emergency backup system and a critical incident management system for all current and future consumer-directed programs and
  • develop training mechanisms that would further address and enhance critical incident management and emergency backup objectives.

The project will achieve these goals by identifying existing capacity, developing a consumer-derived definition of critical incidents and emergencies, implementing consumer-defined emergency backup and critical incident management systems, and modifying existing training curricula to include training around the new participant protection mechanisms and infrastructure.