Real Choice Systems Change

MASSACHUSETTS

Grant Information


Name of Grantee

Center for Health Policy and Research, University of Massachusetts Medical School

Title of Grant

Massachusetts Real Choice Systems Change: Enhancing Community Based Services

Type of Grant

Real Choice Systems Change

Amount of Grant

$1,025,000

Year Original Funding Received

2001

Amount of Supplemental Grant

$360,000

Supplemental Award Received

2002

Expected Completion Date

September 2006

Contact Information


Dee O'Connor, Director
Long-Term Care Unit
508-856-8148
darlene.oconnor@umassmed.edu

Erin Barrett
Real Choice Project Director
Center for Health Policy and Research
222 Maple Avenue, Higgins Building
Shrewsbury, MA 01545
508-856-8496
erin.barrett@umassmed.edu

http://www.massrealchoices.org

Subcontractor(s)

Southeast Center for Independent Living (Support Brokerage Support in Pilot Project)
Elder Services of Worcester Area (Support Brokerage Support in Pilot Project)
Stavros Center for Independent Living (Fiscal Intermediary Support in Pilot Project)
Consumer Quality Initiatives, Inc. (Consumer-Driven Evaluation)

Target Population(s)


Adults with diverse disabilities and long-term illnesses not served by the current PCA program.

Goals


  • Improve coordination and collaboration among agencies in the development of long-term support systems' policy studies, program redesign options, and related pilot-testing activities.
  • Plan for an integrated information infrastructure that will involve developing state-of-the-art tools for client functional assessments, streamlining the eligibility determination process for long-term care services, and enhancing service coordination options.
  • Develop, implement, and evaluate new community-based service coordination and delivery system models.
  • Develop meaningful and sustainable mechanisms for involving consumers in the planning and program development process.

Activities


  • Implement interagency policy coordination and program development.
  • Establish an interagency steering committee of secretariats and commissioners to provide leadership in program and policy development and coordination across agencies.
  • Assess existing functional assessment tools used by Massachusetts and by other states and design a universal core intake and functional assessment tool with modules for specific populations to be used in the pilot.
  • Conduct a review of literature related to the quality of long-term care, including a review of best practices.
  • Use a pilot program to test a new form of community-based long-term services and supports.

Abstract


Coordinated by the UMASS Medical School Center for Health Policy and Research (UMMS/CHPR), the Real Choice Grant is designed to enhance the quality and accessibility of the present array of home and community based long-term supports available to individuals of all ages with disabilities and long-term illnesses.

The grant is in the second and third phases of a three-phased approach. The first phase was to examine five project areas: assessment, information infrastructure, service coordination, education on disability issues, and consumer-defined quality. The second phase is to implement a pilot project designed by a collaborative group of state and consumer representatives. The third phase is to evaluate the process and the results of the pilot, and to provide recommendations for next steps.

The primary goal of the pilot project, created by the Real Choice Collaborative Team in collaboration with the Real Choice Consumer Planning and Implementation Group and State partners, is to increase the quality of life and independence of participants (adults diverse in disability and age) through flexible funding. UMMS/CHPR is currently administering the pilot on behalf of state and consumer partners through two support brokerage subcontracts and one fiscal intermediary subcontract.

A review committee of state and consumer partners rated and recommended subcontractors to UMMS/CHPR through an open Request for Proposals process. The pilot began in the spring of 2005 and will be evaluated by UMASS/CHPR in collaboration with Consumer-Quality Initiatives, Inc., a consumer-driven mental health participatory action research organization.