April 22, 2016
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From NASUAD
President Barack Obama Signs Older Americans Reauthorization Act 
On Tuesday, April 19, President Obama signed into law S.192, the Older Americans Act reauthorization. The Senate originally passed S.192 in July of 2015, and the House passed an amended version of the bill last month. On April 7, 2016, the Senate passed the amended version and sent it to the President for his signature. NASUAD and our membership are very grateful to the President, Members of Congress, and their staff who have worked tirelessly to pass this important piece of legislation.We particularly want to thank the President for his support of older persons and individuals with disabilities. While the funding changes won't occur until FY2017 through the normal appropriations process, but programmatic changes are now law and to be implemented by the appropriate agencies. 

The legislation includes many important provisions which seek to modernize the OAA to reflect the current and future realities of the Aging Network. NASUAD is very supportive of the language that amends the Act to promote state flexibility, person-centeredness, and cultural and linguistic competence in the administration and delivery of OAA services. Additionally, NASUAD supports the provisions in the bill to increase elder justice efforts across the country. We are also supportive of the increased funding authorizations for crucial OAA services. 

Click here to view the letter. 
NASUAD Publishes Updated State Medicaid Integration Tracker 
NASUAD has published the April 2016 Edition of the State Medicaid Integration Tracker. The State Medicaid Integration Tracker is a monthly report summarizing state actions in Managed Long Term Services and Supports (MLTSS), as well as State Demonstrations to Integrate Care for Dual Eligible Individuals and other Medicare-Medicaid Coordination Initiatives.

The Tracker also includes updates on state participation in other LTSS activities, including: the Balancing Incentive Program; Medicaid State Plan Amendments under 1915(i); Community First Choice Option under 1915(k); and Medicaid Health Homes. This tracker includes new updates for each state that occurred during the most recent month.
 
Click hereto view this month's Tracker.
Click here for comprehensive information on each state, as well as archived versions of the Tracker.
Click here to sign up for Tracker alerts. 
Register Today for the Iowa Conference on Aging & Disabilities! 
NASUAD is proud to be sponsoring a National Aging and Disabilities Conference in Des Moines, Iowa, May 23-May 26This conference will draw speakers from over 30 states. Participants will join us from federal, state government and local organizations. Still not sure if this conference is for you? Read some of these reasons to attend:
  • This is an opportunity to meet service providers, advocacy groups, state staff, managed care organizations, CMS officials, national association staff to share questions, opportunities, and ideas in thoughtful discussions;

Click here to learn more and register. Use code APRIL for a savings of $35!

Register for the 2016 AIRS I&R Conference 

Registration is open for the 38th annual AIRS I&R Training and Education Conference to be held May 22-25, 2016, in St. Louis, Missouri.  The National I&R Support Center welcomes aging and disability I&R/A professionals to join us in St. Louis for the National Aging and Disability Information and Referral Symposium held during the AIRS Conference.

The Symposium offers a pre-conference National I&R/A Summit for aging and disability professionals, an Aging and Disability Luncheon, and a full complement of workshops throughout the conference. This year's pre-conference summit will have a special focus on person centered thinking and practices featuring an interactive presentation from Michael Smull, a national expert on person centered systems and a partner in Support Development Associates (SDA). Symposium workshop sessions will feature national, state, and local professionals presenting on key topics impacting aging and disability I&R/A programs such as quality assurance and customer satisfaction, aging caregivers, innovations in transportation services, transition for youth with disabilities, and resources for serving diverse consumers. For a full list of conference workshops, visit AIRS

Click here to view details and register.  
HCBS Clearinghouse E-Clips
Evaluation of the Comprehensive Primary Care Initiative
Mathematica Policy Research released a report that evaluated the implementation and impacts of Comprehensive Primary Care (CPC)  initiative over its first two years. In October of 2012, the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) launched the CPC initiative to test a new model of care delivery for about 500 primary care practices. This report evaluates how different factors, like participation, have changed during the initiative's first two years. CPC created requirements that primary care practices must meet and annual milestones to help improve five functions: access and continuity; planned chronic care and preventive care; risk-stratified care management; patient and caregiver engagement; and coordination of care across the medical neighborhood.

Click here to access the publication. 
This section of  Friday Update highlights reports that have been added to the HCBS Clearinghouse within the past week. Visit www.nasuad.org/hcbs for more information.
From the Administration
Administration for Community Living
Webinar: Create Compelling Communications for WEEAD 
The Administration for Community Living is hosting a webinar to help participants create compelling communications for World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. Attendees will get tips on how to effectively get the word out about WEAAD events, from using a hashtag to answering questions from reporters. Presenters include Ann Mosher, Public Affairs Office, Office of External Affairs, Administration for Community Living; Andrew Volmert, PhD., Director of Research, FrameWorks Institute; and Ana Poblet-Kouttjie, MPH, Project Coordinator, National Center on Elder Abuse, University of Southern California. Webinar registration will be open within the next week and and a registration link will be sent out via ACL's Facebook pageTwitter account, and listserv.

Click here to view details. 
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 
CMS' CCSQ Open Door Forum on Informed Decision Making 
The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) Center for Clinical Standards and Quality (CCSQ) is hosting a Special Open Door Forum (SODF) to allow patients, families, caregivers, patient advocacy groups, disabled groups, low-income health patients, other consumers and interested parties to ask questions on The Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation Act(commonly called the IMPACT Act) and standardizing the assessment of patients across post-acute care settings of Skilled nursing facilities, Home Health Agencies, Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities, and Long Term Care Hospitals to improve quality of care and quality of life.
The purpose of this SODF call is to allow patients, families, caregivers, patient advocacy groups, disabled groups, low-income health patients, other consumers and interested parties to provide information and to solicit feedback on the introduction of  the IMPACT Act and standardizing the assessment of patients across post-acute care settings to improve quality of care and quality of life. This Special Open Door Forum will provide background on the IMPACT Act, The IMPACT Act website, and other important consumer information in assessing patients in the post-acute care setting. CMS invites questions from patients, families, consumers and consumer advocates in advance, or during the forum. The SODF will take place on Friday, May 12, 2016, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET via conference call only. 

Click here to view details for the call.
Click here to submit questions.  
Medicare Advantage Data for Racial and Ethnic Minorities 
On Tuesday, April 19, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Office of Minority Health released new data regarding the quality of care for people with Medicare Advantage categorized by racial and ethnic group. 

"This is the first time that CMS has released Medicare Advantage data stratified by race and ethnicity. Increasing understanding and awareness of disparities and their causes is the first step of our path to equity," said Dr. Cara James, director of the CMS Office of Minority Health. "While these data do not tell us why differences exist, they show where we have problems and can help spur efforts to understand what can be done to reduce or eliminate these differences."

Click here to view the data. 
From the Supreme Court
Chief Justice Uses Sign Language to Swear in Deaf Lawyers
In an historic first, U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts used sign language from the Supreme Court bench on Tuesday as he welcomed a dozen deaf and hard-of-hearing lawyers who took part in a ceremony authorizing them to argue cases before the court.

The 12 members of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Bar Association were sworn in as members of the Supreme Court bar. After they were presented to the court for admission, Roberts signed in American Sign Language: "Your motion is granted." 
From Other Organizations
Alliance of Information and Referral Systems
Eighth Edition of the Standards and Quality Indicators for I&R 
The Alliance of Information and Referral Systems published the 8th edition of their Standards and Quality Indicators for Professional Information and Referral. The purpose of the AIRS Standards is to establish reference points that define expected practices within the field of Information and Referral (I&R) that can be used to measure the extent to which individual organizations are in compliance with those requirements. AIRS Standards provide essential guidelines that can be used to develop an I&R program to meet the needs of communities. 

The process to revise and update the Standards took more than a year and involved input from many I&R professionals including work groups on a range of issues including resource database quality issues, I&R outcomes and service delivery performance metrics. The new edition of the AIRS Standards is a comprehensive upgrade, representing perhaps the most substantial reorganization of the material in recent times, with minor and major changes throughout the document to reflect emerging trends and changes in I&R. 

Click here to view the publication. 
Long Term Quality Alliance
LTQA Releases Two New Products
LTQA released two products from their ongoing work to develop the business case for LTSS integration:

The Working Paper is a descriptive study that defines the intervention of LTSS integration-what integration is and how it works. The case studies describe program approaches to and experiences with managing cost and quality outcomes through integration.

The Taxonomy specifies the key components of integration and describes varying degrees of integration for each component. It is intended to serve as a standard reference point for the characterization of integrated programs and comparisons between different programs.

The Working Paper and Taxonomy are part of a larger project to measure the impact of LTSS integration on cost and quality outcomes. By clearly defining LTSS integration, this study lays the foundation for later work that will quantify the impact of integration.
National Alzheimer's and Dementia Resource Center
Webinar: VA Mobile Adult Day Health Care Program 
The National Alzheimer's and Dementia Resource Center is hosting a Technical Assistance (TA) webinar on the Veteran's Administration Mobilw Adult Day Health Care Program. Presenters Karen Massey, RN, BSN, Geriatrics and Extended Care (GEC) Chief, Strategis and Transformational Initiatices, Veterans Health Administration Central Office (VACO); and Karen Elechko, Registered Nurse, Golden Memory Dementia Clinic will teach participants about how the VA Mobile Adult Day Program meets the specific needs of people with dementia through its programming, staff training, and support to caregivers. The webinar will take place on Thursday, May 5, 2016, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET

Click here to view details and register. 
Oral Health America 
Webinar: Oral Health America's Wisdom Tooth Project
Oral Health America's Wisdom Tooth Project (WTP) Webinar series consist of monthly webinars to provide a forum for organizations to share information about initiatives and activities related to older adults. The May webinar will focus on the work being done within their older adult program, the Wisdom Tooth Project. Explore the program's strategies of: Health Education and Communications, Toothwisdom.org, Professional Symposia, Demonstration Projects, and Advocacy. Discover opportunities in which you can join in, or collaborate with, OHA's efforts and activities.  At the conclusion of the webinar, participants will be able to: Understand the work being done at Oral Health America; identify the five strategies of the Wisdom Tooth Project; and recognize OHA's older adult advocacy efforts. Oral Health America experts, Andie Kyros, Wisdom Tooth Project Program Coordinator and Bianca Rogers, Advocacy Coordinator will be presenting this webinar. This webinar will take place on Thursday, May 5, 2016, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET. 

Click here to view details and register. 
Events  
Accelerating the Use of Evidence in Health Care Practice, Policy, and Decision Making 
The Mathematica Center on Health Care Effectiveness is sponsoring a policy forum and live webinar on accelerating the use of evidence in health care practice, policy, and decision making. The event will describe the PCORI Dissemination and Implementation Framework and Toolkit and reflect on challenges in accelerating the use of evidence in practice, policy, and decision making. A panel of speakers representing practitioners, policymakers, and patients will respond to the presentation and offer their own perspectives on challenges to accelerating the use of evidence in health care decision making. Speakers for the webinar are: Dominick Esposito, Mathematica; Jessica Heeringa, Mathematica; David Knutson, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; Amy Kratchman, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; Robert Phillips, American Board of Family Medicine; and Jennifer Reck, National Academy for State Health Policy. Pre-registration is required for this event. The event will take place via live webcast and in person at the Mathematica Office in Washington, DC, on Thursday, May 12, 2016, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. ET

Click here to view details and register. 
Jobs & Internships 
AARP Seeks Director of Long Term Care Ombudsman Program
AARP is seeking applicants for the position of  Director, Long Term Care Ombudsman Program, Legal Council for the Elderly. The director will be responsible for directing the activities of the office; representing and  and advocating for residents of nursing homes and CRFs in court and administrative proceedings; establishing  and maintaining a district-wide computer system for receiving and tracking complaints, collecting, compiling, and analyzing data, compiling monthly, quarterly, and annual reports; recommending and proposing changes in federal and local laws, regulations, rules, and policies affecting residents of nursing homes, assisted living residences, CRFs and home based care and providing technical assistance to legislators in formulating new laws. Qualified applicants must have a minimum of an advanced degree in Public Administration, Gerontology, Law or a related discipline, with a minimum of 6 years of experience required in advocating for the rights of individuals, including 1 year of experience in training and supervising volunteers; or an equivalent combination of training and experience related to the duties of the position. All applications must be submitted by Monday, May 2, 2016. 

Click here to view the posting.
Funding Opportunities 
Senior Community Service Employment Program National Grants
The Employment and Training Administration (ETA), U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced the availability of approximately $338,520,000 in grant funds authorized by Title V of the Older Americans Act (OAA) as amended in 2006, Pub. L. No. 109-365 for the Community Service Employment for Older Americans program commonly referred to as the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP), for National Grants for Program Year (PY) 2016. SCSEP is the only Federally-sponsored employment and training program targeted specifically to low-income older individuals who are able to enter or reenter the workforce. Program participants receive paid work experience at local public or non-profit agencies and are paid the higher of the Federal, State, or local minimum wage, or the prevailing wage for similar employment, for approximately 20 hours per week while in community service and other job training (OAA Amendments � 502(b)(1)(J); 20 CFR 641.565(a)). The dual goals of the program are to promote useful opportunities in community service job training and to move SCSEP participants into unsubsidized employment. This is a four-year grant, renewable annually for each of those four years based on annual Departmental application requirements and subject to the availability of funds. The grant may be extended for a fifth year at the Department's discretion, contingent upon the grantee meeting or exceeding the minimum negotiated performance measures as required by section 514(a) of the OAA Amendments and 20 CFR 641.700. All applications are due by 4:00 p.m. ET on Friday, April 29, 2016. 

Click here to view the full posting.
Disability & Rehabilitation Research Projects Program: Employment of People with Disabilities-Development
The Administration for Community Living released the development grant opportunity for the Disability and Rehabilitation Research Project Program (DRRP): Employment of Individuals with Disabilities. The purpose of NIDILRR's Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects (DRRP) which are funded through the Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects and Centers Program, is to plan and conduct research, demonstration projects, training, and related activities, including international activities, to develop methods, procedures, and rehabilitation technology that maximize the full inclusion and integration into society, employment, independent living, family support, and economic and social self-sufficiency of individuals with disabilities, especially individuals with the most severe disabilities, and to improve the effectiveness of services authorized under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (Rehabilitation Act). Under this particular DRRP priority, applicants must propose a development project that is aimed at improving the employment outcomes of individuals with disabilities. In carrying out a development project under this program, a grantee must use knowledge and understanding gained from research to create materials, devices, systems, or methods beneficial to the target population, including design and development of protypes and processes. Please note that this will be the Funding Opportunity for field-initiated DRRP development projects in the employment domain. NIDILRR plans to make two field-initated DRRP awards in the employment domain. NIDILRR's field-initiated DRRP awards in the employment domain may include research projects, development projects, or both, depending on the ranking of applications provided by the peer review panel. All applications are due by 11:59 p.m. ET on Tuesday, May 24, 2016. 

Click here to view the full posting.
Rides to Wellness Demonstration & Innovative Coordinated Access Grants 
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced the availability of approximately $5.3 million of funding from two programs to support the Rides to Wellness Demonstration and Innovative Coordinated Access and Mobility Grants (R2W Demonstration Grants). The goal of the competitive R2W Demonstration Grants is to find and test promising, replicable public transportation healthcare access solutions that support the following goals: increased access to care, improved health outcomes and reduced healthcare costs. Eligible applicants include: States, Tribes, and designated or direct recipients for funds under 49 U.S.C. 5307, 5310 or 5311. Proposers must serve as the lead agency of a local consortium that includes stakeholders from the transportation, healthcare, human service or other sectors. Members of this consortium are eligible as subrecipients. Further, proposers must demonstrate that the proposed project was planned through an inclusive process with the involvement of the transportation, healthcare and human service industries. Eligible projects must have implementation ready capital and operating projects that enhance access, such as: mobility management; health and transportation provider partnerships; technology; and other actions that drive change. These R2W Demonstration Grants will develop best practice solutions that other communities can replicate. All applications must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, May 31, 2016
 
Click here to view the full posting.  
State Grants to Enhance Adult Protective Services 
The Administration for Community Living (ACL) released a grant opportunity for states to enhance Adult Protective Services. This demonstration is designed to provide states funding to strengthen their APS systems statewide, to include improvement in practice, services, and data collection and reporting, as well as their technical ability to interface with ACL's National Adult Maltreatment Reporting System (NAMRS). Eligible applicants are the state government offices that administer the state's adult protective services and/or elder protective services program. Recipients of an award under this program in FY 2015 are NOT eligible to apply for funding under this opportunity. Foreign entities are not eligible to compete for, or receive, awards made under this announcement. All applications must be received by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 31, 2016
 
Click here to view the full posting. 

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