Independence Plus Initiative

MICHIGAN

Grant Information


Name of Grantee

Michigan Department of Community Health

Title of Grant

Michigan's Independence Plus Initiative

Type of Grant

Independence Plus Initiative

Amount of Grant

$478,600

Year Original Funding Received

2003

Expected Completion Date

September 2007

Contact Information


Rob Curtner, Project Coordinator
517-335-8710
curtnerr@michigan.gov

Michael Head, Project Director
Michigan Department of Community Health
Office of Long-Term Care Supports and Services
109 Michigan Avenue, Seventh Floor
PO Box 30195
Lansing, MI 48909
517-335-0276
head@michigan.gov

Subcontractor(s)

Mr. Scott Dzurka
Michigan Association of Community
Mental Health Boards
517-374-6848
sdzurka@macmhb.org

Dr. James Conroy
Center for Outcome Analysis
610-668-9001
jconroycoa@aol.com

ARC of Michigan
517-487-5426

Target Population(s)


Current or potential participants in state Community Mental Health Services Programs (CMHSPs), including adults with mental illness and persons with developmental disabilities (DD), and participants in the MI Choice waiver for elders and persons with physical disabilities.

Goals


  • Implement a Project Work Group composed of a variety of stakeholders, with primary guidance from consumers and advocates experienced in Independence Plus design features to oversee all of the goals, activities, and products developed in the grant.
  • Develop within the Michigan systems of mental health and DD services a comprehensive capacity for supporting arrangements that provide consumers/beneficiaries with a high level of choice and control over defining, selecting, directing, and purchasing needed services and supports, in accordance with Michigan's Self-Determination Policy and Practice Guideline.
  • Strengthen knowledge, networking, and advocacy for consumers/beneficiaries, families, and allies concerning the tools and techniques inherent in the Independence Plus design features.
  • Introduce into the MI Choice 1915(c) waiver the concepts, principles, and practices for supporting arrangements that provide consumers/beneficiaries with choice and control over defining, selecting, directing, and purchasing needed services and supports.
  • Evaluate a best approach for requesting additional waiver or state plan amendments to expand self-determination via Independence Plus principles, utilizing a work group made up of consumers and their allies, advocates, and selected state resources.

Activities


  • Determine best practices for self-determination activities used by CMHSPs.
  • Develop written material that is specifically designed for consumers, families, and allies on the proper principles, practices, and methodological tools available to implement Independence Plus design features.
  • Develop and deliver statewide training, and produce a variety of products to support Independence Plus principles, including (1) train-the-trainer programs, (2) collaborative identification of best practices and support for the person-centered planning (PCP) discovery process, (3) self-determination leadership implementation seminars, and (4) technical assistance and methodological guidance materials.
  • Develop a specialty waiver or state plan amendment to provide flexibility in PCP and self-determination for a designated number of consumers from the MI DD and MI Choice programs.

Abstract


Michigan has adopted the principles and practices of PCP as the basis for planning and arranging consumer services. However, the adoption of these principles and practices throughout the State has occurred slowly.

This project will expand implementation of arrangements that support self-determination. It will identify and establish systemwide, self-determination options, creating effective and flexible consumer-controlled service arrangements in the Michigan mental health system. It will also incorporate the philosophy, information, methods, and practices of self-determination into the MI Choice Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waiver system and build in methods to make flexible, consumer-directed options available to beneficiaries who are elderly or disabled. The project will also develop the framework for the approval of a new waiver arrangement or state plan amendment to demonstrate, with a limited number of beneficiaries from the mental health and/or the long-term care systems, the option of receiving a cash allotment in lieu of formal Medicaid support services.

The project will involve consumers, advocates, and other stakeholders through a work group, which will guide the project. Specific accomplishments will include (1) the development of a standardized model for individual budget development and fiscal intermediary services, (2) the development and testing of models for using independent facilitators and support brokers in PCP and consumer-directed care, (3) the development of options for emergency backup systems, and (4) the establishment of incident management systems.