ADvancing States Publications & Webinars

Title Summary
Charting the Ombudsman Program’s Role in a Modernized Long-Term Care System This report is the product of a dialogue concerning the role of the Ombudsman program as representation for residents of long-term care facilities in a system that is moving towards home and community-based long-term care. The report follows three key areas in which Ombudsmen can play a role—HCBS, diversion from nursing homes, and transition from institutional care—and considered the program’s resources, federal limitations, and conflicts of interest.
Senior Center Practices There has been effort to create standards for senior centers at a state level. Many State Units on Aging (SUAs) coordinate with Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) to fund, develop, and foster these standards. This report summarizes findings from a survey of 38 states concerning various areas related to senior centers, including funding sources, operational guidelines, and required services. Most states reported some common practices and 16 states provide guidance for their senior centers.
What Works...Alabama's AmeriCorps Project: Leveraging Resources to Support Increased Community Outreach and Enrollment Alabama’s Department of Senior Services (ADSS) launched a project to promote civil service by integrating AmeriCorps Members into its State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) and Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) Program. This innovative means to increase benefits assistance and enrollment has proven successful, especially for programs such as Medicare Savings Programs (MSP). This report describes AmeriCorps programs generally as well as the positive results of ADSS’s AmeriCorps project.
Strengthening the Aging Network Issue Brief: Medicaid Health Information Technology There are many opportunities for states’ Medicaid information systems and administrative functions to be federally subsidized with funding. This brief describes the variety of administrative systems that qualify for federal financial participation (FFP), including the Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS) and health information technology (HIT). The systems are used to support people with disabilities and older adults.
Select State-by-State FY 2012 Discretionary State Formula Grant Tables The Administration on Aging makes funds available to grantees through state Discretionary and Formula grants. This table lists the grant estimates for FY11 and FY12 and compares them to the actual discretionary state formula grant allotment for FY10. The different programs included in the table are Home and Community-Based Services, Nutrition Services, Preventive Health Services, Family Caregiver Support Services, Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, and Prevention of Elder Abuse and Neglect.
The Budget Lifecycle Determining the federal budget for the coming fiscal year (FY) is nearly a year-long process. This flow chart explains the federal budget’s lifecycle—from federal agencies’ justification for funds to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees to the President’s authorization. It is a concise visualization of the process leading up to a federal fiscal year commencement.
Q&A on The Debt Ceiling There are many questions surrounding the debt ceiling. This Q & A answers many of the questions State Units on Aging Directors and their staffs have had regarding the debt ceiling, the federal government’s obligations, and implications for obligations such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. It is a guide to understanding the basics of the debt ceiling and the implications for not increasing it.
The Senior Community Service Employment Program: A Primer for State Aging and Disability Directors The Senior Community Service Employment Program is the only federally mandated job training program that explicitly serves low-income adults, age 55 and older, to promote economic self-sufficiency and community service. This paper provides an overview of the program’s goals, its structure in different states, its funding, and the relationship between stakeholders. The mission of the SCSEP serves to empower older individuals by making them more employable in both the public and private sectors.
The Use of Volunteers in State Agencies on Aging and Disabilities The ADvancing States assessment of the AoA funded project to develop a national volunteer resource center to enhance engagement of volunteers in the Aging Network, especially Baby Boomers, consisted of an online scan and three follow-up conference calls with program directors. The results are synthesized in an overall brief and separated by program: Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP), State Health Insurance Programs (SHIP), and Long-Term Care (LTC) Ombudsman programs.
Training Requirements for Personal Care Attendants This is a summary of the results of a mini-survey conducted in January 2012. The purpose of this survey was to gain insight on different states’ requirements for Medicaid-funded personal care attendants (PCAs). The results from 24 respondent states showed variation in requirements, from required background checks to CPR training and other educational and health requirements.

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