Real
Choice Systems Change
FLORIDA
Grant
Information
Name of Grantee
Florida
Department of Management Services, Americans with Disabilities Act Working
Group
Title of Grant
Real
Choice Partnership Project
Type of Grant
Real
Choice Systems Change
Amount of Grant
$2,000,000
Year Original Funding
Received
2001
Completed
Contact
Information
Lloyd J. Tribley, Program
Director
4050 Esplanade Way, Suite 160
Tallahassee, FL
32399-0950
850-922-4103
lloyd.tribley@myflorida.com
Subcontractor(s)
Health Management Associates (Medicaid Waiver Analysis)
United Way of Palm Beach
County—Model Community (Healthy Community) pilot site serving Palm Beach County
(urban/rural mix)
Gulf Coast Jewish Family Services, Inc.—Model Community
(Healthy Community) pilot sites (2) serving Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties
(urban) and Pasco
County (rural)
University of Florida, Shimberg
Center for Affordable
Housing—Affordable and Accessible Housing Demographic Research (a component of
a comprehensive coalition-driven research agenda)
Target
Population(s)
Children and adults of any age who have a
disability or long-term illness, who currently rely on long-term support
systems, and who may be at risk due to insufficient community supports and/or
who may be inappropriately placed in a restrictive setting.
Individuals of any age residing in three
regional pilot project sites who have a disability or long-term illness, and
who are eligible for services or at risk of institutionalization.
Goals
- Create operational
linkages among key stakeholders that result in improved communication, and
better coordination of services for people with disabilities and long-term
illnesses.
- Improve the delivery of
services to consumers by increasing access to providers and streamlining
Medicaid services provided through four major waiver programs: the Aged
and Disabled Adult Waiver, the Project AIDS Care Waiver, the Traumatic
Brain Injury and Spinal Cord Waiver, and the Assisted Living for the
Elderly Waiver.
- Create a comprehensive
single point of contact/inquiry to obtain information and links to state
and local resources (Clearinghouse on Disability Information).
- Implement three pilot
projects to develop community capacity to assist people with disabilities
and long-term illnesses to live in integrated community settings of their
choice when appropriate.
Activities
- Identify unnecessary
barriers in state or federal policies and regulations that hinder or limit
the effectiveness of waiver programs, and develop recommendations and
implement strategies to address these barriers.
- Expand the
implementation of Florida's
statewide Clearinghouse on Disability Information to function as the
single point of data collection and information access on all aspects of
the project.
- Establish a statewide
educational campaign on the Clearinghouse program, and develop a consumer
feedback mechanism to track consumer satisfaction with the Clearinghouse
services.
- Analyze the benefits and
costs of a statewide automated and accessible benefits screening program
for professionals and consumers.
- Create local grassroots
long-term care resource networks in three demonstration areas, which will
provide technical assistance and local community resources to address
barriers and share best practices.
- Create a housing
initiative involving the disability and aging communities, housing
administrators, and providers to increase housing choices for people with
disabilities and long-term illnesses. This initiative will
- establish partnerships
and cross-train on the housing needs of people with disabilities and
long-term illnesses and how to access housing resources;
- develop an effective
tool to assess the need for home modifications and assistive technology;
- work with public
housing agencies to submit mainstream voucher applications to HUD to
increase the number of Section 8 vouchers available for people with
disabilities and long-term illnesses; and
- coordinate
existing housing education initiatives to ensure that people with
disabilities and long-term illnesses are included.
Abstract
Florida's Real Choice Partnership Project is designed to implement
improvements in community long-term support systems that will enable people of
all ages with disabilities or long-term illnesses to live and participate in
their communities. The project is organized around four primary
goals or objectives: create operational linkages among the key state agency
stakeholders and service providers; streamline the delivery of services to
consumers by increasing access to providers and coordinating services covered
under Medicaid Waiver Programs; create a comprehensive single point of
contact/inquiry for people with disabilities and/or long-term illnesses,
caregivers, and service providers to obtain information and links to state and
local resources (Clearinghouse on Disability Information); and develop
community support networks and resources to assist people with disabilities and
long-term illnesses to live in an integrated community setting.
Note: This Compendium form was not reviewed by the Grantee
prior to publication.