Newsletter, periodic publication

The University of Maryland conducted telephone surveys and focus groups to determine consumers’ preferences for a cash option or traditional agency delivered services in New Jersey. This article reports the findings including, demographics, interest in a cash option, and attractive program features.

This article presents results of a survey of the attitudes and practices of managed care organizations concerning consumer direction. The study focused on understanding several alternative measures of consumer direction and the factors that are associated with the MCOs concerning those measures.

An overview of Cash & Counseling including a historical context, the theoretical framework for evaluation, and information on design.

This article describes existing personal assistance service programs as well as information on the Cash & Counseling demonstration and evaluation. The program evaluation, including program design, technical assistance, and selection criteria, is discussed.

This issue of "In Focus" explores health technology especially how it relates to Transformation Grants. States that received grants from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to advance the use of electronic health records and e-prescribing programs confronted challenges other states are likely to face as they implement health information technology initiatives using funds from the Stimulus Bill.

Are we on the brink of a revival of interest in managed long-term care for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities? Four states’ experiences in experimenting with managed care are examined here, along with stakeholders’ views on these efforts. The report looks at goals, methodologies, and similarities and differences between programs. It concludes by looking at implications for other states.

The Council on Quality and Leadership offers short guides on quality elements such as accountability, service relationships, leadership, record and data keeping, human resources, and many more. Each guide provides a bulleted list of things to keep in mind or actions to complete to ensure that each element is managed well.

Being part of campus life, taking classes, and learning to navigate a world of high expectations develops the skills needed for successful adult life. This brief presents: definitions of "postsecondary education" and "intellectual disability"; an overview of education options; research findings on education options and outcomes; recommendations for improving access; and a bibliography with a list of websites.

Three key issues affecting the understanding of low rates of successful employment outcomes for people with mental illness are explored. These are: lack of a common definition of successful employment; lack of clear, objective, standardized data; and differences among states and programs in measuring client characteristics. Peer critiques to the data and analysis are provided along with tables comparing employment outcomes by state.

Money Follows the Person (MFP) programs only target 0.9% of the people that could be eligible for transitioning out of institutions each year. However, there is a potential to increase rates to 15-40% annually depending on quality of program implementation, who is targeted, and how successful states are in overcoming barriers to transitioning high-needs people. The report looks at grantee states’ potential for accomplishing this rate increase.