Real Choice Systems Change

MICHIGAN

Grant Information


Name of Grantee

Department of Community Health, Office of Consumer-Directed Home and Community-Based Services

Title of Grant

Michigan's Real Choice Systems Change Grant

Type of Grant

Real Choice Systems Change

Amount of Grant

$2,000,000

Year Original Funding Received

2001

Expected Completion Date

March 2006

Contact Information


Michael Daeschlein, Project Coordinator
Michigan Department of Community Health
Baker Olin West, Room 217
3423 N. Martin Luther King Boulevard
PO Box 30195
Lansing, MI 48909
517-335-5106
daeschleinm@michigan.gov

Subcontractor(s)

Michigan Disability Rights Coalition (for work within the Quality Initiative)
University of Michigan Institute on Gerontology (Quality Initiative)
DYNS Services (Quality Initiative)
Center for Outcome Analysis (Quality Initiative)
Michigan Quality Community Care Council
Lifeways Community Mental Health Service Provider (Michigan Cooperative)

Target Population(s)


The first two initiatives target the general long-term care (LTC) population: working-age adults with disabilities and elderly adults. The Consumer Cooperative Initiative targets individuals with developmental disabilities or mental illness within a pilot community.

Goals


The grant has three distinct components: the LTC Outcomes and Evaluation Systems (OES) Initiative, the Virtual Organization Initiative, and the Consumer Cooperative Initiative.

  • The LTC OES will strengthen consumer/family input into the OES, develop a model for quality management that involves both state and local agencies, improve outcomes through the use of quality indicators across LTC settings, and develop a model for consumer administration of the Participant Experience Survey.
  • The Quality Community Care Council (QCCC) will develop an Internet-based registry for direct care workers to improve consumer access to workers, support for workers, and worker skill development.
  • The Consumer Cooperative Initiative will develop organizational governance to ensure consumer control of the cooperative and responsiveness to consumer choices, and will establish processes to ensure consumer control over access to and management of services and supports.

Activities


  • Establish and support a Quality Management Committee with consumer and provider membership.
  • Include consumers on HCBS site monitoring teams.
  • Select/develop quality indicators for use across LTC settings.
  • Develop a method for assessing consumer satisfaction and quality of life outcomes.
  • Develop QCCC database.
  • Develop QCCC worker support services and training.
  • Contract with a community mental health board to pilot the consumer cooperative model.
  • Develop the organizational structure and operations for the cooperative.
  • Conduct a participatory evaluation of the cooperative.

Abstract


The grant proposal builds upon Michigan's plan for developing an integrated LTC system. The LTC Outcomes and Evaluation System Initiative seeks to strengthen our quality assurance and improvement systems by expanding the roles of consumers and family members in system design, implementation, and evaluation; developing outcomes and quality indicators for the continuum of services; developing effective methods for assessing consumer satisfaction; and supporting quality improvement initiatives in local agencies.

The Quality Community Care Council is an Internet-based registry for direct care workers. Its purpose is to improve consumer access to qualified direct care workers within Michigan's program for personal care services. The registry will provide support services and training for direct care workers.

The Consumer Cooperative Initiative will develop a model in which consumers and family members will collectively assume responsibility for their outcomes and take control of the resources needed to achieve them. The Co-op will allow members to design and obtain the services they prefer with more creativity, responsiveness, and cost effectiveness. This model offers an exciting advancement in systems changes in support of consumer-directed services.