Advocacy Monitor

NCIL’s Aging & Disability Resource Center (ADRC) Subcommittee is still headway and waves when it comes to making sure Independent Living philosophy and disability rights laws stay true to the values of our community. When our members are not teaching other ADRC members about the Independent Living Movement, we are teaching about disability rights laws through trainings and making sure that this information is accessible to everyone – even if that means slowing down time frames of when trainings need to be done for the Administration for Community Living (ACL).

Subcommittee members have also been supporting each other at our CILs at our monthly meetings, letting each one of our members know that we are not alone when it comes to changes and how we can best support each other. It has been said that the most dangerous statement said is “it’s always been done this way”. Change doesn’t have to be bad but it can be hard. The ADRC Subcommittee has been putting out workshop proposals to every conference we come across in order to make sure that we have a voice at the table.

For further information on the ADRC Subcommittee, contact Ericka Reil at [email protected].

Danvers, Massachusetts: Executive Director Teresa Arnold revealed the new name of the ADRC of the Greater North Shore on November 18, 2015. Ms. Arnold states, “The new name, Greater North Shore Link, is succinct and more clearly describes the Mission of the organization, which is to promote a single, coordinated system of information and access for all persons seeking long term services and supports, regardless of age, disability or income.” Announcement of the new name was made at the November Partners Meeting, the group which meets every other month, attended by over 60 Partner organizations. [Read more…]

Source: Administration for Community Living

For many older adults and people with disabilities, the key to remaining independent can be something as simple as a home-delivered meal, a ramp for their homes, or a few hours of respite for a family caregiver. Unfortunately, an often disjointed maze of eligibility criteria, forms, programs, and agencies can prevent even the most determined individuals from obtaining these critical supports. The Administration for Community Living (ACL) has been helping states streamline their processes and implement systems that make it easier for people to learn about—and access—the services they need.

In these “No Wrong Door” systems, multiple state and community agencies coordinate to ensure that regardless of which agency people contact for help, they can access information and one-on-one counseling about the options available across all the agencies and in their communities. The goal is to enable people to make informed decisions based on the full range of available services. The No Wrong Door systems also provide assistance in accessing services, including help in completing applications for various public and private programs.

Last week, ACL awarded nearly $5 million in grants to 13 states to further develop these “No Wrong Door” systems. [Read more…]

On Thursday, October 8, 2015 from 3:00-4:30 p.m. Eastern, the National I&R Support Center will host a webinar with NCIL on findings from the 2015 Aging and Disability Information & Referral/Assistance National Survey.

In 2015, NCIL partnered with the National Association of States United for Aging and Disabilities (NASUAD) to conduct a national survey of I&R/A agencies in the disability and aging networks. This survey gathered data on key topics impacting I&R/A agencies, including referrals and service needs, use of social media, partnerships and system building, standards and quality assurance, training and certification, private pay, and Medicaid services.

Presenters are Nanette Relave, National I&R Support Center Director at NASUAD, and Lindsay Baran, Policy Analyst at NCIL.

No pre-registration is required to participate in the webinar. Information to log into the audio and webinar portions is provided below.

Join the webinar:

• https://join.me/nasuadwebinar
• On a computer, use any browser with Flash. Nothing to download.
• On a phone or tablet, launch the join.me app and enter meeting code: nasuadwebinar

Join the audio conference:

• Dial 888-346-3659
• Access Code 33688#

Real Time Captioning:

• This event will be captioned in real time at http://www.ccproductions.com/ccp_streaming.asp?event=NCIL

The 2015 Alliance of Information and Referral Systems (AIRS) Conference took place in Dallas, Texas. The AIRS Conference is a great experience that features information specialists from 211s, Area Agencies on Aging, Veterans Affairs, and now Centers for Independent Living coming together and talking about common issues, problem solving, and networking.

Mary Margret Moore, Ericka Reil, and Lindsay Baran where there as presenters this year, and attended various workshops and planned events that AIRS hosted. But all came back with the same conclusion: access for people with disabilities was not well planned. There were times that the accessible doors to the conference area were broken or locked; and the workshop room did not allow room for wheelchairs other mobility aides. The luncheon area had poor acoustics and did not allow room for people with wheelchairs or other mobility aides.

However, when NCIL presented, people stopped and listened because the information was new to them. They were very interested in what NCIL was and wanted more information on how to include NCIL in their organizations. People seemed very hungry for disability information.

This seemed to really ring true when Mary Margret Moore and Ericka Reil presented on disability. Even though many of the people in the audience knew a lot of the information, they still wanted it. People approached them after the workshop, in the hallways and outside, asking questions and thanking them for being there and inviting them to their state to present. Each and every time, they were encouraged to talk to their local CIL and include them if they already had not.

The next AIRS Conference happens in St. Louis, Missouri and Lindsey, Mary Margret, and Ericka hope to be back again.

At the end of May, the Administration for Community Living (ACL), Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) announced a funding opportunity for states to enhance consumer access to long-term services and supports through No Wrong Door (NWD) systems, entitled Transforming State LTSS Access Functions into a No Wrong Door System for All Populations and All Payers: Statewide Implementation. This grant builds on previous Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) efforts and is part of a years-long effort to streamline access to LTSS for seniors and individuals with disabilities of all ages and all incomes.

Applications are due July 27, 2015, and up to six awards with an award ceiling of $850,000 will be granted. Applicants must be from one of the 25 states that received a planning grant in 2014.

• Read more information about that grant and the 25 states that received the award

Applicants must be a state entity designated by the Governor, and the application must involve the state unit on aging, state entities serving people with disabilities, and the state authorities administering mental health services.

• Full announcement and additional information

NCIL has been working in partnership with NASUAD’s Information & Referral Support Center on the 2015 Aging and Disability I&R/A National Survey. We are requesting your assistance with the dissemination of the survey, which is designed to assess the state of Information and Referral/ Assistance (I&R/A) systems serving older adults and persons with disabilities. Findings from the survey will highlight important trends and developments in the provision of I&R/A services. The results of the survey will be compiled into a final report and shared with NCIL and NASUAD members, as well as the I&R/A network as a whole.

We are requesting that you share the survey with I&R/A lead staff at your agency so that they may complete the survey. Given the comprehensive nature of the survey, NASUAD has extended the deadline for responses to March 31.

Please complete the survey online if you are able. The survey is also available in plain text.

[Read more…]