Disability and Aging Projects

Community Living: We work with states to design, implement, and evaulate residential, vocational, and health care programs for adults with long term services and support (LTSS) needs residing in community-settings.  We develop payment systems for Medicaid LTSS programs that ensure fair and efficient allocation of resources and use our extensive data analytic capacity to produce in-depth profiles of states' long term service support systems and evaluate performance across programs.  Our work surveying program participants, direct service workers, and administrators helps policymakers identify service gaps as well as opportunities for enhancing person-directed services.

Projects in this focus area include:

• Evaluation of the Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs) Project
• Evaluation of the Options Counseling Standards Project
• Happy, Healthy, and Well
• OES/Adult Protective Services
• Money Follows the Person

Integrated Care and Delivery Models are designed to provide high quality, seamless care to patients requiring services from multiple delivery systems.  We offer creative strategies for improving health outcomes of complex populations and assess the effectiveness of specific interventions for specific patient groups.  Additionally, we work with states to build and support infrastructure that allows for analysis and reporting of key quality measures, such as cost and health outcomes, across behavioral health and chronic disease services.  We help states leverage this data to develop value-based purchasing initiatives, such as selective contracting, health homes, and accountable communities.

Projects in this focus area include:

• Value-based Purchasing
• State Profile Tool
• AHRQ Mental Health and Diabetes
• Engaging Stakeholders
• Rural Integration
• Measurement, Monitoring, and Evaluation of State Demonstration to Integrate Care for Dual Eligible Individuals

Workforce Development and Training:  We work with state leaders and program managers to develop training initiatives and workforce reforms designed to build, strengthen, and educate the pool of workers who provide services and supports to adults with disabilities and seniors in the community.  Through collaborative activities with academic institutions and content experts, we identify knowledge competencies for specific job titles, develop core qualifications and performance standards, and develop plain-language, web-based curricula for direct care workers, case managers, and others.  Working with states, we design quality improvement processes for overseeing the qualifications of workers, identify opportunities for streamlining certification systems, and build systems to facilitate worker retention and career progression.

Projects in this focus area include:

• Maine Personal Assistance Training Program
• Mental Health Certification