Human Services Research Institute (HSRI) is seeking an experienced developer for a 3 month full time contract position to assist in the development of various web-based applications. This position will work with our development team and project stakeholders to implement Section 508 compliant front end components which will interact with the back end database. Applications will be built on the Microsoft platform with IIS/ASP.NET and SQL Server. Experience with the Microsoft MVC framework is not necessary but would be considered a plus. Ideal candidates should have 5+ years experience using these technologies and be able to rapidly create solutions in order to meet the aggressive turnaround times required for various upcoming deliverables.

Please send cover letter and resume to hsrijobs@gmail.com

The Preferred Integration Network (PIN) program is currently being implemented in Dakota County, Minnesota by a managed care organization (MCO)/county partnership involving Medica Health Plan, Dakota County, and Medica Behavioral Health. Enrollees in the program are Dakota county adults with SMI and children with SED who are enrolled in Medicaid. A key component of the PIN program model involves a Patient Navigator model that provides case management and coordination of physical and mental health care and social services for enrollees. HSRI, in collaboration with Desert Vista Consulting, is conducting an evaluation of the PIN program which will assess the effectiveness of the program in addressing access, quality, accountability, and cost issues associated with integrated physical and behavioral health for the target population of adults with SMI and children with SED. In addition, the evaluation will identify the components of the Navigation Model that are most successful and the ways in which they may be refined and replicated.

On Friday, March 29, HSRI conducted a webinar on current NCI medications data and state efforts to quell high rates of medication use by the adults they serve. NCI staff began the webinar by discussing the NCI program, what the NCI data show about medication use, and specific outcomes for those who take medications. Employees from three state agencies (Massachusetts, Georgia and Missouri) then presented on steps they have taken to address high rates of medication use. Questions from the audience followed. Presentation is attached.

On April 25, 2013, NCI staff will be presenting a poster at Health Disparities Research at the Intersection of Race, Ethnicity and Disability: A National Conference in Washington, DC. The poster will look at what NCI data show about racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare utilization faced by individuals with ID/DD.

Please join us for the 2013 Revolutionary Leaders Live Video Webinar Series!

The highly esteemed panel of speakers will share their knowledge and insight about specific topics, stories, and best practices they have discovered through their work in the disability field.

This year's Revolutionary Leaders include: Rachel Simon, Bill Baldini, Judith Snow, Peter Leidy, Al Condeluci, Marca Bristo, Michael Kendrick, Val Bradley, Jack Pearpoint, Linda Kahn, Erick Rosenthal and Dohn Hoyle. Each speaker will present live onscreen using the latest video conferencing technology.

This Year's Presentations will be held during the Wednesday lunch hour from 1-2:30 p.m. Eastern Time

Dates: 5/1, 5/8, 5/15, 5/22, 5/29, 6/5, 6/12, 6/19, 6/26, 7/10, 7/17
Time: 1-2:30 p.m., Eastern

Register at 2013revolutionaryleaders.eventbrite.com: $18/session or $175 for the 11 speakers series.

HSRI is seeking a full-time Research Director to lead the Child & Family Services team in our Tualatin, Oregon office. This position offers an exciting opportunity to oversee several current large-scale child welfare projects. These efforts are primarily research or evaluation-based study, and involve partnerships with state human services agencies, local organizations and others to complete and disseminate findings. The position requires the ability to manage and oversee multiple projects, supervise project staff, develop new funding opportunities, and contribute to overall management of the office.

More information about the position and contact information for applying can be found on our Careers page.

As part of the NCI’s efforts to offer state DD managers and stakeholders useful data for systems change, NCI data on adults with I/DD taking  medications for mood, anxiety, psychosis and behavior will be presented on a national webinar.  NCI staff will describe differences in use of these medications by diagnosis, by residential type, and other demographic differences.  Featured will be four states’ (Ohio, Massachusetts, Missouri, Georgia) quality improvement initiatives to reduce overuse of these types of medications. This webinar is free and open to the public.

Date: Friday, March 29, 2013
Time: 1:30 pm, Eastern Daylight Time (New York, GMT-04:00)
Meeting Number: 598 173 487
Meeting Password: medicine

1. Go to https://hsri.webex.com/hsri/j.php?ED=225538662&UID=1595622362&PW=NZDIxMDMwNjU4&RT=MiMxMQ%3D%3D
2. If requested, enter your name and email address.
3. If a password is required, enter the meeting password: medicine
4. Click "Join".

To view in other time zones or languages, please click the link:
https://hsri.webex.com/hsri/j.php?ED=225538662&UID=1595622362&PW=NZDIxMDMwNjU4&ORT=MiMxMQ%3D%3D

To join the teleconference

Call-in toll-free number: 1-866-503-4560  (US)
Show global numbers: https://www.tcconline.com/offSite/OffSiteController.jpf?cc=7385424346
Conference Code: 738 542 4346

Join Punxsutawney Pete as he travels to Pittsburgh, PA to attend the 137th American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities' Annual Meeting June 3-6th, 2013. The 137th AAIDD Annual Meeting, Race to Catch the Future, will provide researchers, clinicians, practitioners, educators, policymakers, local, state and federal agencies, and advocates with cutting edge research, effective practices, and valuable information on important policy initiatives.

 Registration Opens Monday March 4, 2013. More information on AAID's website.

Photos from the January 25th, 2012 celebration of career and contributions of our colleague and Senior Vice President H. Stephen Leff. Several of Stephen's current and former colleagues were present to mark Stephen's achievements.

National Core Indicators has been profiled in Governing Magazine in an article called "Measuring Developmental Disabilities Services' Success."

The article discusses the origins of NCI and its use as an outcomes measure. "It started around the time states began flirting with managed care," says Charles Moseley, associate executive director of NASDDDS. "And we were also starting to hear from other directors that they were getting a different kind of question from legislators during budget hearings. They didn't want to hear about outputs -- how many clients we were serving -- they wanted to know what difference we were making in these folks' lives."

In addition, Steven Hall, Kentucky's commissioner of the Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities, talks about how NCI data has helped design programs and policies that will improve the quality of life of many individuals involved with the system. Some changes impemented in KY include: "A 180-degree shift away from sheltered workshops to supported employment based on clear evidence that clients who have actual jobs report far better life outcomes than those who are simply being shuttled to and from workshops. Those with jobs reported key improvements in measures like healthier relationships, less loneliness and even less obesity, not to mention such other incidentals as higher incomes."

GOVERNING is the nation's leading media platform covering politics, policy and management for state and local government leaders. Recognized as the most credible and authoritative voice in its field, GOVERNING provides nonpartisan news, insight and analysis on such issues as public finance, transportation, economic development, health, energy, the environment and technology.

You can read the article here: http://www.governing.com/topics/health-human-services/col-measuring-developmental-disabilities-services-success.html

HSRI was invited to make a two-hour presentation on leveraging data to sustain funded programs, as part of a two-day sustainability webinar organized for SAMHSA’s Minority AIDS Initiative grantees funded through the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT). The webinar was organized by the Behavioral Health and HIV/AIDS Coordinated Technical Assistance Center (CTAC). The sustainability of programs beyond the period of grant funding is a topic of increasing interest to foundations and government funding agencies, and the use of data for this purpose is an example of HSRI’s activities in conducting behavioral health program evaluations and needs assessments at  national, state and local levels. The HSRI presentation was prepared by senior researchers Nilufer Isvan and Dow Wieman and delivered by Nilufer Isvan on 12/6/2012.

For further information about this presentation, please contact Nilufer Isvan (NIsvan@hsri.org). For information about HSRI’s expertise in monitoring program sustainability, please contact Dow Wieman (DWieman@hsri.org).

The latest Data Brief from the National Core Indicators Project has been published on NCI’s website. The Data Brief is entitled "What does NCI tell us about adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who are taking prescribed medications for anxiety, behavior challenges, mood disorders or psychotic disorders?". The subject of the Brief is a descriptive analysis of adults with ID/DD who take medications for the four conditions described in the title. Data on utilization of these medications and co-occurring diagnoses are presented. In addition, data on outcomes are compared between people who take one of these medications and people who do not. Some of the notable findings include a high percentage of people who take medications without a recorded diagnosis, as well as the link between taking medications and being overweight or obese. The NCI team plans to continue these analyses and publish the results in a peer-reviewed journal.

The data brief can be downloaded from NCI's website for reading (PDF, 367kb).

The intervention Six Core Strategies to Prevent Conflict and Violence: Reducing the Use of Seclusion and Restraint (Six Core Strategies) was added to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP) in November 2012. The Six Core Strategies is a model designed for use for by institutions providing mental health treatment to children and adults admitted to inpatient or residential settings. The Six Core Strategies was developed by the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD), National Technical Assistance Center. In 2004, SAMHSA funded the first round of grantees of Alternatives to Restraint and Seclusion (ARS) State Incentive Grants (SIG) to identify effective practices to reduce and ultimately eliminate the use of seclusion and restraint. HSRI conducted the evaluation of the first round of ARS SIG grantees which included the development of a fidelity measure to assess implementation of alternatives to seclusion and restraint. Findings from the evaluation were used to support outcomes of the Six Core Strategies. The NREPP review for the Six Core Strategies can be found at the following link: http://www.nrepp.samhsa.gov/ViewIntervention.aspx?id=278.

More information about the evaluation can be obtained from Terry Camacho-Gonsalves at tcamacho@hsri.org

HSRI Senior Vice President Stephen Leff led a workshop and made a plenary presentation at the World Health Organization's Symposium on Quality Improvement in Suwon, South Korea.

The subject of both the workshop and the plenary presentation was the role of planning in providing targets for the quality improvement process.

A copy of his presentation can be downloaded for viewing here (PPT, 3 MB).

HSRI is pleased to announce the publishing of the November issue of its newsletter. Topics covered included Vice President David Hughes speaking in a webinar series on health insurance outreach, eligibility and enrollment, the release of the National Core Indicators 2010-11 Annual Summary Report, and  the Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities releasing HSRI's report on System Redesign.

A copy of the newsletter may be read here. If you would like to sign up to recieve these newsletter updates via email, please enter your information in this form.

HSRI and NASDDDS are pleased to announce the release of the National Core Indicators 2010-11 Annual Summary Report. The Annual Summary Report highlights selected aggregate results from several of the NCI data sources. For 2010-11, particular attention was paid to the Family Surveys data.

The report is avaiable on the NCI website: http://www.nationalcoreindicators.org/resources/reports/

NCI is excited to introduce a new User-Friendly version of the Consumer Outcomes Report. The Report uses plain language and pictures to describe select items from the Consumer Outcomes Report. We owe a great thanks to California’s Consumer Advisory Committee (CAC) who were instrumental in helping develop this new way of presenting NCI data.

The inaugural “What We Have Learned from the NCI Adult Consumer Survey” shows 2010-11 National NCI data. In future years, along with the national report, each state will receive its own report showing the state’s specific data. The User-Friendly Reports will be released with the national data and located on the NCI website under the User-Friendly Reports section of the Reports Page.

Thanks again to the CAC! We look forward to getting your feedback.

The People with Disabilities Participating Fully and Safely in the Community Conference, held in Dublin, Ireland by the National Disability Authority invited HSRI President Valerie Bradley to speak on using National Core Indicators data to Manage  Public Systems. Below is a video recording of her presentation:

Recording of other presentations may be found here.

We're proud to announce that National Core Indicators presence on Facebook and Twitter! Follow them to receive news and updates about the program, as well as links to relevant developmental disabilities issues.

National Core Indicators on Facebook

National Core Indicators on Twitter (@coreindicators)

PowerPoint presentions used during the 2012 Reinventing Quality Conference are available for download in PDF format on Reinventing Quality's website:
http://www.reinventingquality.org/upcoming/schedule12.asp

Welcome to our Voting Rocks! Issue. Self-advocates are all about speaking up for themselves and others. One way to have your voice heard is to vote. This issue is about helping you get ready to vote. Inside you will find information about new voting technology, personal stories about voting, and tools to help you decide who you want to vote for.

Download Issue 32

You can visit The Riot! website here: www.theriotrocks.org

AAIDD recently convened its annual meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina. At this conference John Agosta and Jon Fortune gave a presentation entitled “Working Toward A Sustainable Future for Developmental Disability Service Systems.” The PowerPoint presentation that was given may be viewed and downloaded here (PDF, 6.2mb). In addition a description of the presentation is as follows:

Demand is steadily increasing for developmental disability services. Meanwhile, states are having trouble finding the funding for additional services, and stuck with outdated service arrays that people increasingly don’t want. In response, states are looking for ways to make their service systems more efficient and equitable while promoting outcomes tied to community integration and self-direction. What can be done? This presentation offers discussion on these circumstances, and describes means for using the Supports Intensity Scale for allocating individualized budget allocations as well as a promising approach to address support needs. This approach blends together three resources, including services offered by public agencies, supports that people with disabilities, their families and others may offer to one another, and supports offered by businesses and community serving organizations. By considering these and other responses, service systems can become fairer, more efficient and increasingly sustainable–all while promoting valued outcomes for people with developmental disabilities.

The American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabililties held its 136th Annual Meeting this week in Charlotte, North Carolina. NASDDDS and HSRI staff were there presenting on NCI data, specifically on the following topics: employment, psychtropic medications, and obesity. You can download the PowerPoints by visiting the Presentations page on NCI's website, or directly download a copy from the two links below:

Psychotropic Medication Use and Obesity Among IDD Service Recipients in 15 States (PPT, 340kb)

What Working in the Community Means: Employment and Outcomes for Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities from Across the United States (PPT, 1.5mb)

Almost everyone here could stand up and talk about the extraordinary career and contributions of our dear friend and colleague – the irrepressible, passionate, and gifted Hank Bersani. It falls to me to represent all of you and pay homage to our absent friend and to try and capture his spirit in some personal recollections.

Hank – or the Hankster as I liked to call him – had deep roots in our field and was mentored by some of the previous generation’s giants including Burton Blatt, Wolf Wofensberger, and Gunnar Dybwad – all of whom, like Hank had a connection to Syracuse University where Hank got his Ph.D. He took something from each one of them and combined their wisdom into his own critical vision of the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities.

That vision – and the energy with which he pursued it – made him an extremely popular presenter around the country – particularly as a regular at Partners in Policymaking events. He was a wonderful speaker and quickly engage his audience. What most audiences didn’t know was that he got serious stage fright before such events but once launched on his message, the fright quickly subsided. I often thought that Hank was an introvert trapped in an extravert's body.

Illinois is at a tipping point. Policy makers are committed to moving the service system for people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities (I/DD) forward to achieve financial sustainability and deliver high quality person-centered supports, while also serving additional citizens waiting for services. 

In 2007, the Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities awarded a grant to the HSRI to review the state’s system for delivering services to people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities (I/DD). Two primary reports resulted: (a) a gap analysis assessing 2007 performance, and (b) a Blueprint for System Redesign providing action steps for closing any noted gaps.

In 2011, the Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities asked HSRI to refresh the findings originally described in the Gap Analysis project conducted in 2007, review the progress made in Illinois since 2008 to implement the Action Steps recommended by the  original Blueprint, and offer additional recommendations as warranted. This report presents a strategic assessment of the Illinois service system for people with I/DD, from 2008 to the present.

The report can be downloaded here.

HSRI is seeking a motivated Senior Research Analyst for its Oregon office. For more information and to submit your resume, please visit our Careers page.

This handbook was created to enhance the use and application of information generated through the collection of data a part of National Core Indicators (NCI). The audience for this guide includes managers of public intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/DD) systems, providers of services, board members, people with disabilities and their family members, and other interested advocates.

The guide may be viewed either on the web or downloaded as a PDF file here:
http://www.nationalcoreindicators.org/resources/guides/

Global Accessibility Awareness Day is a community-driven effort whose goal is to dedicate one day to raising the profile of and introducing the topic of digital (web, software, mobile app/device etc.) accessibility and people with different disabilities to the broadest audience possible. The event also promotes trying to operate a computer for an hour without a mouse using only assistive tools such as a Screen Reader, in order to get a better understanding of how users with disabilities interact with technology on a regular basis.

http://www.mysqltalk.com/gaad.html

An experimental research design is often touted as the gold standard for establishing cause and effect; nonetheless, implementing this type of methodology in a socially complex environment can pose difficulties that might otherwise be underestimated. This article chronicles the successes, challenges, and methods used to overcome challenges experienced by researchers in a randomized control trial evaluating the impact of Differential Response in Ohio; Differential Response is a child welfare intervention approach used with families reported for child abuse and neglect.

HSRI is seeking a motivated Senior Research Analyst for its Oregon office. For more information and to submit your resume, please visit our Careers page.

HSRI is currently conducting an online national survey about the costs of programs focused on the community inclusion of individuals with psychiatric diagnoses for the Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion for Individuals with Psychiatric Disabilities. We hope to learn more about the costs associated with these programs to inform technical assistance efforts for organizations implementing or planning to implement these types of programs.

If you or your organization may be interested in participating in this survey, or if you would like additional information, please contact Ben Cichocki at 617-844-2500 x2502 or bcichocki@hsri.org.

HSRI staff will be presenting several papers at the upcoming AAIDD Annual Meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina in June and the IASSID World Congress in Halifax, Nova Scotia in July. Presentation topics at the AAIDD meeting will focus on NCI results, including community employment, family outcomes, and data related to the use of psychotropic medications, but also on HSRI’s work pertaining to building individualized budgets based on a measure of individual support needs. Likewise in Halifax, the NCI program will be the focus of a plenary session entitled “National Core Indicators: Outcomes and Services for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities,” presented jointly by Roger Stancliffe from the University of Sydney and Sarah Taub from HSRI. HSRI and our partners at NASDDDS are excited about the opportunity to share NCI findings with an international network of colleagues. In addition, HSRI staff will also be presenting on work related to self-advocacy, systems change and establishing individualized budgets.

More information about the conferences is available here:
http://www.aaidd.org/content_6546.cfm
https://iassid.org/conference/index.php/HPC/2012IWC

Plenary information is available here:
https://iassid.org/conference/index.php/HPC/index/pages/view/Plenary

Welcome to our We Are Family issue. Siblings can be our best friends and our biggest rivals. They make life both wonderful and challenging. In this issue, we celebrate siblings with stories, ideas and information about what it is like to be in a family of children with and without disabilities.

Download Issue 32

You can visit The Riot! website here:  www.theriotrocks.org

HSRI, along with our colleagues at the University of Minnesota, National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities and the University of Delaware have, for many years, sponsored the Reinventing Quality Conference. This year’s conference will be held in Baltimore, MD from August 8-10, 2012. It will feature a range of exciting presentations, and will provide information, new ideas and active discussions about person-centered planning, employment innovations, self-advocacy and more for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. 

Both the 2008 and 2010 Reinventing Quality conferences attracted over 700 disability professionals, people with disabilities, family members, advocates, and state and federal officials. The goal of the Reinventing Quality Conference is to provide information, new ideas and active discussion about the point of view of people with disabilities and their families -- and the systems and supports needed to improve the quality of life and citizenship for people with disabilities.

Please go to www.reinventingquality.org for more information about the program and to register for the conference.

On March 31st, 2012, Hank Bersani, a dear friend and colleague to us at HSRI, passed away following a bicycle accident in Monmouth, Oregon. He was 61.

Hank was a respected leader in the field of developmental disabilities, especially in matters pertaining to special education, research and policy.  More particularly, he provided direction many of us with sage advice on how to provide to provide supports that ensure that people with developmental disabilities live real lives of their choosing in the community.  He was relentless in a relentless advocate and no one fought harder for the rights of people with disabilities.

Hank held positions at Syracuse University, Oregon Health & Sciences University, and Western Oregon University.  He also served as a Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Public Policy Fellow, a Mary Switzer Distinguished Research Fellow with the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, and was assigned to U.S. Senator John H. Chaffee’s office.  He was the recipient of many distinguished awards, including the Mario and Alma Pastega Scholarship Award, the Multnomah County Arc Educator of the Year Award, the Rosemary F. Dybwad International Travel Fellowship Award, and the Franklin Smith National Service Award of the Arc of the US.

Hank’s work afforded many opportunities for collaboration with HSRI.  Several of us fondly remember working with Hank on initiatives across the United States and internationally.  In fact, for a time, Hank shared space with HSRI staff in our Oregon offices.  In addition, his wife, Lynda, was employed previously at HSRI.

Aside from the wide span of his achievements and awards, we remember Hank as a caring teammate, an excellent story teller, a terrific father and husband, and above all as the whirlwind bright light that lit up any room he entered.  He touched all our lives.

Dr. Bersani is survived by his wife, Lynda, of Monmouth, his son and daughter, Lisa and Alex, of Portland, his sister, Mary Beth, and his parents, Henry and Mathilda Bersani.

Hank, dear friend, we miss you already.

HSRI is collaborating with Inclusion, Inc. in Portland, Oregon to host a local Sprout Film Festival on May 12.  The festival is being held to raise funds for The Riot and Inclusion, Inc. and will feature entertaining and memorable films related to people with developmental disabilities. The festival includes film showings, an auction and reception.  If you are in the Portland area we hope you will attend!  For more information go to: http://www.theriotrocks.org/products/sprout-2012

HSRI is seeking a motivated Senior Research Analyst for its Oregon office. For more information and to submit your resume, please visit our Careers page.

The Administration on Developmental Disabilities (ADD) has awarded NASDDDS $1.5 million dollars over five years in order to expand and improve NCI. Below is a press release from ADD:

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Administration on Developmental Disabilities (ADD) has awarded a five year contract totaling $1.5 million to the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services (NASDDDS), of Alexandria, VA to increase their efforts with the National Core Indicators (NCI) Project.

"We are very excited about supporting the qualitative approach to understanding the DD service system that the National Core Indicators offers, and helping NASDDDS expand this effort to more States. The NCI data is a useful tool for service systems, researchers, policymakers, families and individuals with developmental disabilities, and will be a great addition to the longitudinal data projects that ADD funds."

In all, 11 states applied to receive funding to join in NCI in the first year of this contract. We are pleased to announce the five states who were accepted to receive this funding to support their ability to measure and track service outcomes and performance during this first year: Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina, Michigan, and Connecticut. Another five states will be selected over the next few months for year two. For more information, please contact Josh Engler at jengler@hsri.org.

In 2008, the North Carolina Council on Developmental Disabilities (NCCDD) convened a summit of developmental disabilities stakeholders to discuss areas of system change. To assist state officials with implementation of Summit recommendations, the NCCDD engaged Human Services Research Institute (HSRI) and other topic experts to provide technical assistance.

The following two reports are part of this effort.

A Strategic Analysis for Change: Action Steps - For Responding to the Needs of People with Developmental Disabilities in North Carolina

A Strategic Analysis for Change: Planning Context - Responding to the Needs of People with Intellectual and Other Developmental Disabilities in North Carolina

HSRI, along with our colleagues at the University of Minnesota, National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities and the University of Delaware have, for many years, sponsored the Reinventing Quality Conference. This year’s conference will be held in Baltimore, MD from August 8-10, 2012. It will feature a range of exciting presentations, and will provide information, new ideas and active discussions about person-centered planning, employment innovations, self-advocacy and more for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. 

Both the 2008 and 2010 Reinventing Quality conferences attracted over 700 disability professionals, people with disabilities, family members, advocates, and state and federal officials. The goal of the Reinventing Quality Conference is to provide information, new ideas and active discussion about the point of view of people with disabilities and their families -- and the systems and supports needed to improve the quality of life and citizenship for people with disabilities.

Please go to www.reinventingquality.org for more information about the program and to register for the conference.

HSRI is pleased to announce that Jon Fortune, Ed.D. is being recognized as a Fellow of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (FAAIDD).  This distinction is presented to him in recognition of his considerable contributions to the field of disability and for his service to the Association.

HSRI and NASDDDS are pleased to announce that the new and improved National Core Indicators (NCI) website is now live!  Along with a fresh look and expanded information about NCI and participating states, the new site includes an enhanced chart generator.  This feature allows users to create customized charts of NCI data using filters such as state, type of residence, year, and many others. Users can also easily access documents such as the NCI member states' most recent state reports.

The Human Services Research Institute (HSRI) seeks a full-time Program Director to lead the Child & Family Services team in our Tualatin, Oregon office.

This position offers an exciting opportunity to oversee several current large-scale child welfare projects. These efforts primarily involve research or evaluation-based study. In addition, such work involves partnership with state human services agencies, local organizations and others to complete and disseminate findings.

For additional information please click the 'Read More' link below.

The 2009-2010 Annual Summary Report highlights the most interesting information collected from all the NCI survey tools over the 2009-10 data collection period. The cover was designed by Daniel May- a self-advocate from Canada.

For more information on NCI, please visit www.nationalcoreindicators.org.

2009-2010 Annual Summary Report

HSRI is proud to be a part of the Supporting Individuals and Families Information Systems Project

"As more families continue to be the primary support structure for many people with developmental disabilities across the lifespan, we need to better understand the needs of these families, and what services and supports are available to them. This project will provide important data to inform service systems, researchers, policymakers, and families." said Commissioner Sharon Lewis of ADD.

For more information and to read the full news release, click on the 'read more' link below.

Val Bradley recently presented an overview of the National Core Indicators program to approximately 250 attendees in Dublin, Ireland.  The theme of the conference was "People with disabilities participating fully and safely in the community", and the title of the presentation was "National Core Indicators:  Using Data to Manage Public Systsems"

You can download the powerpoint slides below:

Irish National Disability Authority Presentation

This issue is Part 2 of 2 about jobs. In our last issue we talked about things that get in the way of self-advocates getting real jobs for real pay - like being stuck in workshops and day programs. We are still feeding the dinosaur.

But there’s good news! Policy makers, advocates, and state leaders all over the country are working on “Employment First” policies to create Real Community Jobs.

Download File

You can visit The Riot! website here:  www.theriotrocks.org

Please help us! We want to hear from self-advocates from around the country about their self-advocacy groups. Self-advocates are people with disabilities who speak up for themselves. If you are a self-advocate AND a member of a self-advocacy group, please fill out this survey.

Take the Survey!

On November 17-19, 2011, we invite you to be a part of an historic national conference that seeks to find solutions to the challenges facing increasing integrated employment for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. 

HSRI is proud to help sponsor this highly interactive convening of the leaders of the intellectual and developmental disabilities community to address the challenges and barriers facing increasing integrated employment for people with IDD.

Register Now!

Experienced Leader Brings Wealth of Knowledge

HSRI is pleased to announce Rick Sampson as Project Director for the Data Analysis Coordination and Consolidation Center (DACCC) of SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP). Mr. Sampson will oversee the DACCC, a CSAP initiative providing comprehensive data and analytic resources to support program planning, policy decisions, and the advancement of knowledge in the substance abuse prevention field.

Mr. Sampson is an accomplished health and human services professional, bringing 36 years of clinical, research, and management experience to HSRI and DACCC. Through leadership roles held in the public and private sectors, Mr. Sampson was responsible for the implementation and development of behavioral health services and programs, as well as the successful management of federal, state and local government contracts and grants.

This month the Human Services Research Institute will celebrate the 35^th anniversary of its founding.  We want to thank all of our loyal colleagues and friends who, over the years, have been our collaborators, supporters, mentors, and friends.  We also want to recognize all of the people who have worked for HSRI over the years – each of whom has made a lasting contribution to HSRI.

We are all privileged to work in the field of disability and family and child services and hope for the continuing opportunity to assist public managers, providers and advocates around the country.

The Human Services Research Institute is proud to announce that our valued colleague, Dr. Virginia Mulkern, has been elevated to the position of Executive Vice President of HSRI. Dr. Mulkern has been with the Institute since 1982. In her new capacity, Dr. Mulkern will take on additional administrative duties and will provide valuable support to the President as well as to the leadership team as a whole.

Dr. Mulkern, who is a sociologist, has worked in the field of behavioral health services and evaluation for more than thirty years. She has taught courses in evaluation methods and medical sociology at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.   Dr,. Mulkern has managed over 40 federal and state grants and contracts, most related to behavioral health services research. 

All of us at HSRI look forward to working with her in the new capacity.

The Riot is excited to announce that Space Race is now available for purchase at www.theriotrocks.org/products/space-race.  The Space Race game is a new resource for developmental disability service providers, transition specialists, self-advocates, and others involved in person-centered planning processes or in teaching people how to use self-directed supports. 

Celebrating the 6^th Annual El Día del Niño/Day of the Child and its’ 6 year anniversary, children and families join Juntos Podemos/Together We Can Family to honor the special place that all children have within families, and community.  This year we celebrated with a host of community partners, organizations, volunteers and community members and doubled our previous attendance to more than 400 children and families.  This cultural celebration opened with a splendid and colorful representation of Aztec dancing by Danza Azteca in their third invitation to kick-off the day. Featuring our annual Kids Corner Crafts with our themed art project of mini Piñatas and “One of a Kind Drumline” Youth Corp Led by Director Eddie Esparza, this years’ festivities grew to include new partners and more diverse events. Watch and enjoy the day!!

Self-advocates from the National Youth Leadership Network (NYLN), Self-Advocates Becoming Empowered (SABE), and the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network (ASAN) have released their report on the meaning of community living to advise policy.

HSRI Policy Analyst Drew Smith put together this Trends and Milestones article that reviews trends in living arrangements for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities since the landmark Olmstead decision of 1999. The article sheds light on changes states have made under the increasing effort of the Department of Justice to enforce Olmstead. Shown in the article is a decreased utilization of public or private institutional living arrangements and an increase in home and community-based home settings.

The article was published in the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities journal.

Citation: Drew Smith, K. Charlie Lakin, Sheryl Larson and Patricia Salmi (2011) Changes in Residential Arrangements of Persons With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities in the Decade Following the Olmstead Decision of 1999. Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: February 2011, Vol. 49, No. 1, pp. 53-56.

The Evaluation of Ohio's Title IV-E Waiver project has released five documents for download.

They include:

• Change in Stratum Size by Waiver County, FFY 2006/2007 to FFY 2008/2009
• Length of Placement by Stratum by Waiver County, 1990 -- 2009
• Practice Manual for ProtectOHIO Family Team Meetings
• ProtectOHIO Phase III Waiver Meeting Agenda and Presentations
• Exits Type by Waiver County, 1990 – 2009

You can download these documents by clicking on the links above, or by visiting the The Evaluation of Ohio's Title IV-E Waiver project page here: http://www.hsri.org/project/evaluation-of-ohio-title-iv-e-waiver

SOURCE Elsevier

ATLANTA, Georgia, April 26, 2011 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --

- Prominent Newsletter Written by and for Individuals With Disabilities Provides Resource for Direct Support Professionals

The College of Direct Support (CDS) ( http://info.collegeofdirectsupport.com/), an internet-based curriculum for Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) and managed in partnership by Elsevier | MC Strategies (http://www.mcstrategies.com/) and the University of Minnesota's Research and Training Center, has announced the addition of a new genre of courses based on "The Riot!" - a quarterly newsletter written by and for self-advocates.

HSRI is seeking motivated individuals for the following positions:

• Project Assistant
• Research Analyst

For more information and to submit your resume, please visit our Careers page.

Brings key experiences and knowledge to HSRI’s Developmental Disabilities Policy Team

We are pleased to announce that Lilia Teninty, M.PA., has joined the Human Services Research Institute as a Senior Policy Specialist. Ms. Teninty will focus on a variety of HSRI priorities, including system re-design, resource allocation, self-directed services, family support, and quality improvement. As always, in this work she will team with others at HSRI to generate policy solutions to promote community integration and self-direction.

Please join us in welcoming Ms. Teninty to HSRI. Her strong management experiences as a state policy maker, coupled with her knowledge of the field and her commitment to community centered policy solutions assure that she will make significant contributions to our work and the field overall.

Beginning April 18, 2011 Ms Teninty may be reached by email at: LTeninty@hsri.org

HSRI is implementing the North Carolina Relationships Initiative to identify reasons why self-advocates experience loneliness and barriers to relationships in their daily lives.  Project staff will host focus groups and conduct interviews with self-advocates, family members, and provider agency staff who live in urban and rural communities around the state.  Resulting information will reveal what gets in the way of self-advocates experiencing relationships and also what supports self-advocates need to have relationships.  We will use this information to challenge local self-advocates working together to address identified barriers and to develop policy recommendations that increase opportunities for self-advocates to experience safe and healthy relationships in their daily lives.

The project page is available here:
http://www.hsri.org/project/north-carolina-relationships-initiative

National Core Indicators has released 3 new Data Briefs and the Consumer Outcomes Final Report for 2009-10.

The Date Briefs are:

• NCI Data Brief: What does NCI tell us about people with autism? – An update
• NCI Data Brief: What does NCI tell us about people who self-direct?
• NCI Data Brief: What does NCI tell us about people with dual diagnosis?

The Consumer Outcomes Final Report for 2009-10 serves as the final report for the consumer outcomes portion of Phase XII (2009-2010) National Core Indicators (NCI) data collection. All consumer survey data submitted between July 2009 and June 2010 are included in this report.

You can download these reports by clicking on the links above, or by visiting www.nationalcoreindicators.org and navigating to the Reports page.

This past weekend Parade Magazine’s feature story on “Autism’s Last Generation” cited the National Core Indicators program, a long-standing data collection effort across half the states and coordinated by HSRI and NASDDDS.  The article references an NCI Data Brief on Autism from 2008.

You can read the article here:  http://www.parade.com/health/autism/featured/autisms-lost-generation.html

We are also pleased to announce that three new NCI Data Briefs have just been posted to www.nationalcoreindicators.org, including an update of the Autism issue.  You can find them on the reports page.

Spread the word and join us in observing National Autism Awareness month!

The Missouri Department of Mental Health, Division of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities engaged HSRI to conduct a survey of the 50 states to determine current state quality management practices pertaining to provider national accreditation.

Download File

Apostrophe, a magazine for people with disabilities, recently reported on The Riot!'s new website in an article titled: Self-advocacy newsletter launches new website.   The new website features improved acessibility controls, toolkits, products, games, and showcases work from Spotlight Studios, a gallery dedicated to displaying work from artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

"Together, we take a tough and honest look at sensitive issues like closing institutions, silly rules that keep people down, disability pride and intimate relationships.  We tell it like it is - Riot style, with a purpose and a sense of humor."

- HSRI Policy Associate Jaime Daignault

Apostrophe is a quarterly magazine involved in the lives of people affected by intellectual disabilities, providing jobs, opportunities, resources and support. The article may be accessed on page 52 in the article viewer in the following link (requires Flash):
http://apostrophe.journalgraphicsdigital.com/current/

Welcome to the Art Issue!

With this issue, our goal was to raise awareness, celebrate artists with disabilities, and challenge misperceptions about people with disabilities and their ability to create something of value. We also introduced the Riot’s new online art gallery, Spotlight Studios.

How well did we do at reaching our goals? See for yourself. Check out the Art Issue and have yourselves a regular Riot!

Download File

You can visit The Riot! website here:  www.theriotrocks.org

Rowdy Riot gets a redo!

The Riot! has changed a lot over the past six years! It has grown from an eight-page newsletter with a few hundred subscribers to a popular publication with a huge following and a national and international reputation!

Today, the Riot! is much more than a newsletter – it’s an enterprise. It grew from an unruly tendril to a rowdy vine with no place to go. We had to give it more room and we had to do something fast! So we gave The Riot! a new look and a new website where you can talk it up on the blog with other readers and see products and services that promote self-advocacy and self-determination. You can also visit Spotlight Studios, an online art gallery that celebrates artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Who knew that if you put it in the sun, it would grow?!

Check out the new riot website: www.theriotrocks.org and have yourselves a regular Riot!

HSRI is seeking motivated individuals for the following positions:

• Project Director
• Editor/Quality Control Manager
• Logistics Coordinator
• Research Analyst

For more information and to submit your resume, please visit our Careers page.

Maddy's article, Challenges in Measuring the Fidelity of a Child Welfare Service Intervention, discusses the challenges practitioners faced in implementing family team meetings, and evaluation challenges encountered in specifying, measuring, and reporting on model fidelity.

The article's Abstract maybe accessed here:
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/963944592-20220080/content~db=all~content=a931192853~frm=abslink

An account at informaworld is required to subscribe to or purchase and view this article.

HSRI is pleased to announce the publication of the ProtectOHIO Evaluation Overview Brief. This evaluation brief provides an introduction to the ProtectOHIO IV-E Waiver evaluation effort and an overview of interesting quantitative and qualitative findings. A summary of implementation findings, the strategy substudies (family team meetings, kinship supports, enhanced mental health/ substance abuse, and supervised visitation), child outcomes regarding placement duration, permanency, and safety, as well as fiscal outcomes are all included in this brief.

HSRI and NASDDDS are pleased to announce the release of the National Core Indicators 2008-09 Annual Summary Report. The Annual Summary Report highlights selected aggregate results from several of the NCI data sources. For 2008-09, particular attention was paid to:

1. Whether people living in different residential arrangements experienced different outcomes, and


2. Whether people with a dual diagnosis of intellectual disabilities (ID) and mental illness had outcomes that differed from people with ID only.

You can download the entire report here: http://www.hsri.org/publications/download/nci-annual-summary-report-2008-2009

For more information on NCI, please visit www.nationalcoreindicators.org.

HSRI is seeking a motivated individual for the position of Research Analyst.

For more information and to submit your resume, please visit our Careers page.

The Council of Developmental Disbilities, Task Force on Transparency and Protection—HSRI President Valerie Bradley will be discussing today’s reality and trends (present and future) impacting Medicaid Services as it relates to the fiscal crisis states find themselves in. A review of cost containment strategies (especially for Medicaid DD-ID Waivers) will be offered with an emphasis on their effectiveness and consequences for State budgets, providers and people with developmental disabilities.

In the recent settlement agreement between the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the State of Georgia, the State agreed to expand home and community-based services to 750 individuals with developmental disabilities who are currently residing in institutional settings and to prevent institutional placement of another 400 individuals currently living in the community.  As a provision of the settlement, DOJ stipulates that the State will institute a quality management system, including a specific directive that participant feedback about the system shall be gathered through participation in the National Core Indicators (NCI) program.

HSRI is pleased to announce the publication of two evaluation briefs regarding the Family Team Meeting (FTM) and Kinship Supports strategies from the ProtectOHIO IV-E Waiver evaluation. These evaluation briefs provide an introduction to the evaluation of these substudies, presenting interesting quantitative and qualitative findings. Family Team Meetings are a method for engaging family members and other people who can support the family for shared case planning and decision-making. Kinship Supports strategy counties intended to increase their use of kinship settings for children who could not remain in their birth homes and to support those kinship placements via a variety of efforts including specialized staffing and access to purchased supports. Permanency and safety outcomes are included for each strategy sub-study, as well as implementation findings.

HSRI was awarded the Services in Supportive Housing (SSH) Program National Outcome Evaluation by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS). HSRI will partner with the University of Pennsylvania, Center for Mental Health Policy and Services Research and the Technical Assistance Collaborative, Inc. to conduct the evaluation.

SAMHSA/CMHS has funded 62 sites nationwide through the SSH program to help prevent or reduce chronic homelessness by providing services for individuals and families living in Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) programs. The SSH program targets persons and families who have experienced chronic homelessness. The two primary purposes of the SSH Program National Outcome Evaluation are to evaluate (1) grantees’ fidelity to the PSH model, and (2) the comparative effectiveness of different evidence-based practices for people who are or have been homeless. The focus of the evaluation will be on: the context in which the grantees are operating; the processes established to provide services to individuals and families experiencing chronic homelessness; the services and activities established; and the outcomes achieved such as preventing or reducing chronic homelessness, improving functioning, and promoting recovery and other positive outcomes for consumers. Dr. H. Stephen Leff, Senior Vice President at HSRI will serve as Project Director for the project.

David speaks about the 3-5 year "culture shift" caused by Milwaukee County eliminating nearly all inpatient psychiatric care, replacing it with private inpatient care and expanded outpatient treatment options.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article can be found here:

http://www.jsonline.com/watchdog/watchdogreports/104414474.html

David speaks to NPR affiliate WUWM Milwaukee about a report  recommending broad reforms in the way the county delivers mental health services, particularly regarding inpatient treatment.

Listen to the broadcast here:

http://www.wuwm.com/programs/lake_effect/le_sgmt.php?segmentid=6445

Representative Sandy Pasch, from the Wisconsin State Legislature, released the following statement: 

“Today, the Public Policy Forum released a report that details many challenges facing the delivery of mental health services in Milwaukee County and makes a number of recommendations to improve the quality of mental health care within our community. I appreciate the thoughtful analysis done by the Public Policy Forum and its partners on this report. Their inclusion of the numerous stakeholders affected by these critical problems – especially consumers of mental health services – displays a sincere respect for the experiences, viewpoints, and recommendations of all involved. I hope this information will be effectively utilized as we move ahead to address the neglect of mental health services through establishing solutions that ensure safe, effective, and dignified care.”

The statement can be found here:  http://thewheelerreport.com/releases/October10/Oct6/1006paschmentalhealth.pdf

Joseph A. Rice, Milwaukee County Supervisor, released a statement that included the following:

“The report provides needed data that should be relied upon by policy-makers prior to any decisions on spending tax dollars to construct a new hospital. Such critical analysis should drive the process rather than precipitous action in pursuit of short- term political gains,” Rice concluded.

The full release can be found here:  http://thewheelerreport.com/releases/October10/Oct6/1006milricementalreport.pdf

Disability Rights Wisconsin has announced the release of the Milwaukee County Mental Health System Redesign report.

Today, the study recommendations developed by national consultants, and grounded in extensive data collection and analysis, have been released. They provide our community with a historic opportunity to transform our adult mental health system and ensure better lives for our friends, family members, and neighbors who experience mental health concerns. Today, the study recommendations developed by national consultants, andgrounded in extensive data collection and analysis, have been released. They provide our community with ahistoric opportunity to transform our adult mental health system and ensure better lives for our friends, familymembers, and neighbors who experience mental health concerns."

You can visit the Disability Rights Wisconsin website here:  http://www.disabilityrightswi.org

And you can download the full media release by clicking on the 'download file' link below.

HSRI is seeking motivated individuals for the following two positions:

• Research Analyst
• Project Assistant

For more information and to submit your resume, please visit our Careers page.

The Public Policy Forum has announced the release of the Milwaukee County Mental Health System Redesign report.

“No single report can tell the entire story of a county’s populations in need, and the services required or the barriers that exist to meeting those needs,” said David Hughes of Human Services Research Institute (HSRI), the lead consultant on the project. “However, the information in this report and the process by which the information was developed can provide a powerful impetus to create an improved behavioral health system throughout Milwaukee County.”

You can visit the Public Policy Forum website here:  http://www.publicpolicyforum.org

And you can download the full media release by clicking on the download link below.

HSRI has released the Final Report for the The Milwaukee County Mental Health System Redesign project.  This report presents the findings from a comprehensive planning effort to redesign the mental health care system in Milwaukee County, conducted by Human Services Research Institute in partnership with the Public Policy Forum and the Technical Assistance Collaborative, Inc.

The project was initiated in October 2008 by the Milwaukee Health Care Partnership, the Medical Society of Milwaukee County, and the Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Division. Other stakeholders were added during the early stages of the project, including the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, the Medical College of Wisconsin, the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, the Faye McBeath Foundation, Disability Rights Wisconsin, Rogers Memorial Hospital, the Milwaukee Mental Health Task Force, and several other members of the provider, payer and civic communities.

Our friends at BasicNeeds US have launched a new website, and HSRI is proud to have assisted in its development.

You can visit the site at: http://www.basicneedsus.org

BasicNeeds US is a non-profit organization serving the health, social, and economic needs of people with mental illnesses and neurological disorders in the world’s poorest communities.

HSRI is seeking motivated individuals for the position of Research Analyst.

For more information and to submit your resume, please visit our Careers page.

Check out the latest issue of the Riot!  This one features an exclusive interview with the new Commissioner of the US Administration on Developmental Disabilities  --  a REAL SCOOP.

HSRI is seeking motivated individuals for the following two positions: 

• Data Analysis Systems Development and Support Analyst
• Project Assistant

For more information and to submit your resume, please visit our Careers page.

HSRI’s Child and Family Services team is excited to post the ProtectOhio Comprehensive Final Evaluation Report, exploring the impact of the Title IV-E Waiver, in 18 participating Ohio counties. Since 1997, these child welfare agencies have used flexible federal funding sources to enhance services and provide family-driven supports, in an effort to reduce their use of foster care. This evaluation report provides an overview of the evaluation of these efforts, with a focus on implementation of programmatic strategies (i.e. family team meetings, supervised visitation, kinship, and mental health and substance abuse services), as well as the impact of Ohio’s Title IV-E Wavier on agency revenue and expenditures, participant outcomes, and case trajectories.

You can Download the report here: http://www.hsri.org/publication/protect-ohio

We are excited to announced the launch of the new Arkansas Youth United website.  It includes an updated look, new and exciting information about AYU and the work they do, and new features to make the site more accessible.  Check out the calendar for upcoming events including monthly peer support meetings for young people and parents.  Sign up to receive AYU's monthly email newsletter and visit often to see what's new.

The new website can be found here:  http://www.ayuonline.org

HSRI, along with our colleagues at the University of Minnesota, National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities and the University of Delaware have, for many years, sponsored the Reinventing Quality Conference.  This year’s conference will be held in Baltimore, MD from August 8-10, 2010.  It will feature a range of exciting presentations, and will provide information, new ideas and active discussions about person-centered planning, employment innovations, self-advocacy and more for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Please go to www.reinventingquality.org for more information about the program and to register for the conference.

The Riot! is hosting a three part national conversation on employment for self-advocates. The first call focused on what self-advocates want to be doing during the day. The second call, June 7th, will be a discussion with field experts about employment opportunities for self-advocates, and alternatives to employment. The last call, July 12, will focus on how self-advocates can get the jobs and experience they want. For more information, visit www.theriotrocks.org .

HSRI is excited to unveil our redesigned website.  Along with a fresh look and improved navigation, the new site features expanded information about HSRI, our work, and our commitment to improving the lives of people with disabilities.  You can now browse our site by:

• Focus Area
• Topic
• Projects
• Publications
• News/Events

We encourage you to look around and see what has changed. If you have any questions, or would like to provide feedback about the new HSRI.org, please feel free to contact us.

HSRI is seeking motivated individuals for the following two positions:

• Data Analysis Systems Development and Support Analyst
• Project Manager

For more information and to submit your resume, please visit our Careers page.

Our friends at CMS have made two new resources available to connect the work of HCBS waiver case managers to provisions of federal assurances.

Online Training: An approximately 90-minute tutorial intended for case managers and their supervisors on HCBS waiver basics and federal assurances. The training includes a narrative curriculum, case studies with video vignettes, knowledge checks and reflective exercise to apply general knowledge to specific requirements of individual HCS waivers and states.

Resource Guide for Trainers: In addition to access by individuals to the online learning module, the Resource Guide supports states and/or case management provider agencies who wish to conduct in-person training programs. The Guide provides instructions, power point slides, tips and other resources to facilitate in-person training. Train-the-Trainer materials are available through the website listed above.

For more information, please visit: http://www.hcbsassurances.org

This project was conducted with funds made available through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services under its Money Follow the Person Technical Assistance grant. The Muskie School of Public Service, under contract with the Ascellon Corporation, directs the project. CMS project contacts: Sarah Fogler, sarah.fogler@cms.hhs.gov or Nancy Kirchner, nancy.kirchner@cms.hhs.gov. Muskie project director: Maureen Booth, maureenb@usm.maine.edu.

I want to weigh in on behalf of all of Judi's friends at the Human Services Research Institute. She has served on our Board of Directors for many years and has enriched our conversations with her wisdom and always independent voice. Judi has been a friend and colleague of many of us for more than 30 years. We remember her spirited advocacy for people with mental illness as founder of the Mental Patients Liberation Front, her establishment of the Ruby Rogers Drop In Center (a consumer run center whose first home was in our building), her increasing work internationally with like minded advocates who benefited from Judi's enthusiasm and knowledge, and most of all her energy, indomitable spirit and the love she gave so freely to her family and wide circle of friends. It is hard to imagine our work without her but she touched so many people during her life who are - because of Judi - prepared to carry on what she started.

Thank you Judi

Val Bradley
President
Human Services Research Institute

This report provides detailed state system performance data on individual outcomes, including employment, community participation, choice and decision making; health, welfare and rights covering personal safety, self advocacy and use of medications; family outcomes, addressing information and planning, choice and control and access to support; and other dimensions such as staff stability and competency, and system performance.

Intended to be used in combination with other quality measures such as critical incident reporting, risk assessment and provider monitoring, the NCI indicators are standardized and risk adjusted to permit state to state comparisons and performance benchmarking against national norms. Many states include NCI data as a core component of their CMS mandated waiver program quality management strategy. Currently over thirty state developmental disabilities agencies gather NCI data on a regular basis and the program continues to grow as new states join each year.

“The NCI Blog” is a place where we will share the successes, challenges, and other issues related to the National Core Indicators (NCI). We hope that you the State officials, surveyors/interviewers, self-advocates, family members, and other interested stakeholders will join this discussion by sharing your own NCI experiences. There are no restrictions on content, as long as it’s related to NCI, the language is appropriate (i.e., no cursing), and that absolutely no confidential information is entered. This blog is open to the public.

www.nciblog.org

24th National Annual Waiver Conference, Boston October 1, 2008

Satisfaction and Sense of Well Being Among Medicaid ICF/MR and HCBS Recipients in Six States
Roger J. Stancliffe, K. Charlie Lakin, Sarah Taub, Giuseppina Chiri, and Soo-yong Byun

Abstract: Self-reported satisfaction and sense of well-being were assessed in a sample of 1,885 adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities receiving Medicaid Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) and Intermediate Care Facility (ICF/MR) services in 6 states. Questions dealt with such topics as loneliness, feeling afraid at home and in one's neighborhood, feeling happy, feeling that staff are nice and polite, and liking one's home and work/day program. Loneliness was the most widespread problem, and there were also small percentages of people who reported negative views in other areas. Few differences were evident by HCBS and ICF/MR status. The findings document consistent benefits of residential support provided in very small settings-with choices of where and with whom to live-and to individuals living with family.

http://aaidd.allenpress.com/aamronline/?request=get-current-issue

HSRI is proud to announce that Valerie Bradley has been awarded the "Robert M. Gettings Compass Award" by the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disability Services (NASDDDS). This award is periodically given to recognize the achievements of an individual who, through creativity and a strong commitment to bettering the lives of people with disabilities, has helped to positively shape the course of disability policy in the United States.

HSRI has developed a systems change model, along with a set of tools for implementation, that Councils may use to foster systems change work and add value to their existing projects. For more about this model, and for ways that HSRI can assist your Council in using the model across Council efforts, please visit: http://www.hsri.org/project/route-to-success-systems-change/overview

Using the SIS for Waiver Fiscal Reimbursement

From the NASDDDS website, http://www.nasddds.org:

NASDDDS is now posting online litigation articles covered in Community Services Reporter (CSR) and other publications.

Litigation articles are organized by type of litigation (Access to Services, Community Placement of Institutionalized Persons, Limitations on Home and Community-Based Services, Institutional Reform/CRIPA, Death Penalty Exemption/Determination of MR/DD to be Exempt, and Miscellaneous) and then by state.

If you know of any new lawsuits concerning developmental disabilities that should be included in NASDDDS publications and this posted update, please send them to Kara LeBeau. (Copies of initial Complaints and other Court documents are especially helpful!) Thank you.

Issue 15 on Friendship and Loneliness
We are proud to present the winter issue of The Riot! In this issue, the theme is Friendship and Loneliness. Take a look! Go to The Riot's home page at www.theriotrocks.org

Check the ICPDD website: http://www.state.il.us/agency/icd

HSRI has compiled a comprehensive seven-year "Blueprint" for the Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities to redesign the state's developmental disabilities service system. HSRI's Gap Analysis reveals that the state is ill positioned to address the needs of its citizens with developmental disabilities. The Blueprint describes 16 Action Steps for needed system re-design. Three primary products are available:

Gap Analysis: Services and Supports for People with Developmental Disabilities in Illinois. LINK TO PDF FILE The Gap Analysis compares the performance of Illinois services against seven "performance benchmarks." It also compares Illinois' performance with other states.
Blueprint for System Redesign in Illinois. LINK TO PDF FILE The Blueprint describes 16 Action Steps that will help lead to change. These steps place specific focus on the importance of investing in individuals, families and communities.
Blueprint Executive Summary. LINK TO PDF FILE

A Report to the Legislature And Minnesota Department of Human Services

The Colorado Division for Developmental Disabilities

N/A

Equitably Serving People with Developmental Disabilities on the Comprehensive HCBS Waiver

The Gary Smith Memorial Page - with condolences and stories of Gary from family, friends and colleagues - has been updated to include a Tribute Video. http://www.hsri.org/index.asp?id=gary

A report submitted to Oregon's office of the Governor, the Oregon Department of Human Services, and the Oregon Department of Corrections assessing the current status of Oregon's publicly funded alcohol and drug treatment systems.

A Survey of 50 States. The Missouri Department of Mental Health, Division of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities engaged HSRI to conduct a survey of the 50 states to determine current state quality management practices pertaining to provider national accreditation.

This short report describes the evolution of the National Core Indicators over the past 10 years, the accomplishments of the initiative, and challenges and opportunities going forward

Presented by Valerie Bradley

This periodic report provides up-to-date information about lawsuits concerning Medicaid community services for people with developmental and other disabilities. A revised report is issued every 4-6 weeks.

A Scholarship fund in the name of Gary Smith was created to support young leaders wishing to pursue similar work. Donations will go to students enrolled in a program that trains young leaders in the field.

If you wish to send a donation, make checks payable to:

Gary Smith Scholarship for Public Managers, Univ. of DE/ NLCDD

The checks should be sent to:

c/o Steven M. Eidelman
Robert Edelsohn Chair
Professor, College of Human Services, Education and Public Policy
University of Delaware
312 Alison Hall West
Newark, DE 19716

Volume 1, Issue 4
We are proud to present The Indicator, the first newsletter for the National Core Indicators (NCI) Program.

Volume 1, Issue 3
We are proud to launch The Indicator, the first newsletter for the National Core Indicators (NCI) Program.

The Riot! is produced by the Self-Advocate Leadership Network at the Human Services Research Institute. We work together with self-advocates to get ideas and write stories. Visit The Riot! webpage here: www.hsri.org/leaders/theriot

Presented by Sarah Taub at the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities Annual Conference on October 9, 2006.

Presented by John Agosta

This guide for individuals with disabilities helps people who live in their own homes to prevent emergencies from occurring and to plan in case an emergency does occur. Prepared by HSRI for the State of Oregon, Services to People with Disabilities, the guide addresses six risk areas medications, medical conditions, abuse & neglect, back-up caregiving, home safety and natural disasters and includes an emergency information sheet and other quick-reference lists.

We are pleased to announce the launch of the new Juntos Podemos website - http://hsri.org/juntospodemos/

The Oregonian
"Juntos Podemos is the first such family support group in Oregon that focuses on the developmentally delayed."
Full article can be read here

Presented by Valerie Bradley on May 26th, 2005

The Disability Relief Fund is now up and running and able to receive tax exempt donations. The Fund is a collaborative effort between the Unitarian Church of Baton Rouge and the Louisana Supported Living Network. We will be distributing $600 stipends to displaced people with developmental disabilities and dsp's to support their relocation and meet current expenses. The displaced people we know need cash NOW and governmental organizations are not making cash available. More Info can be found on our News/Presentations page.

Please contact national and local organizations as well as individuals who may wish to make donations.

Please make donations payable to the Unitarian Church of Baton Rouge and note the Disability Relief Fund on the Memo section of your check.

Send to:
The Unitarian Church of Baton Rouge
8470 Goodwood Blvd.
Baton Rouge, LA 70806

Volume 1, Issue 1
We are proud to launch The Indicator, the first newsletter for the National Core Indicators (NCI) Program.

Presented by Valerie Bradley on January 31st, 2004

American Association on Mental Retardation. Presented by Val Bradley and Sarah Taub on June 2, 2004 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The Moving Mountains award is a prestigious national award presented by the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals and the Research and Training Center on Community Living at The University of Minnesota for excellence in Direct Support Professional Empowerment. Click on the files below to learn more about the award winning PATHS Project.

Everyday Kids, Everyday Lives defines a vision for family and community life. Parents, professionals and policymakers can use Everyday Kids as framework to understand what kids and their families want, need and deserve when advocating for positive changes in the lives of children, their families and their communities.

2003, Human Services Research Institute and Pennsylvania Developmental Disabilities Council. Permission to reprint, copy and distribute this work is granted provided that it is reproduced as a whole, distributed at no more than the actual cost, and displays this copyright notice. Any other reproduction is strictly prohibited.

We are pleased to announce the launch of the new HSRI Quality Community website - www.hsri.org/quality

Edited by Valerie J. Bradley, M.A., & Madeleine Kimmich, D.S.W.

As person-centered services and supports become more prevalent, people with disabilities are enjoying more choices and opportunities - making it challenging to ensure the quality of every service offered. This timely book helps meet that challenge. Diverse contributors, including researchers, care providers, policy-makers, self-advocates, and family members, combine their expertise to help readers

• understand the changed expectations of people with disabilities and their families and the resulting challenges to quality enhancement
• clarify the roles of Medicaid and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
• address health and safety issues, including investigation of abuse, neglect, and death
• design databases that track outcomes and target areas for service improvement
• translate quality information into reliable quality enhancement approaches
• manage staffing challenges like recruitment, retention, and professional development
• consider future recommendations and policy directions

Building on Bradley & Bersanis Quality Assurance for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities, this important resource clarifies the shift toward self-determination and individually tailored supports - and shows professionals in the human services field how to enhance service quality in this rapidly changing world.

Order Here - Brookes Publishing Co., Inc., PO BOX 10624, Baltimore, Maryland 21285-0624

Presented by Marianne Taylor

Presented by Marianne Taylor

Including - Wisconsin, Wyoming, Kansas, Connecticut and a Summary

Working Toward a Sustainable Future in Support of People with Developmental Disabilities

A Framework for Best Practice, presented by Valerie J Bradley

• NCI: A Growing Commitment - Five Years of Performance Measurement, (presented by Valerie J Bradley)

• Medicaid & Supporting People with Developmental Disabilities - Trends, Challenges and Opportunities, (presented by Gary Smith)

• HCBS Waiver Program - More dialing for dollars, (presented by Gary Smith)

• An Evaluation of the Colorado Systems Change Project

• Gauging How Well Colorado Supports Its Citizens with Developmental Disabilities

We are pleased to announce the launch of the new National Core Indicators (NCI) website - http://www.hsri.org/nci

We are pleased to announce the launch of the new Child and Family Services website - http://www.hsri.org/childfamilyservices

Summary of Findings from the 5-year study, September 2003

Presented by Valerie Bradley

Presented by Valerie Bradley

We are pleased to announce the launch of the new National Core Indicators (NCI) website

Presentation given by Valerie J Bradley

Presented by Marianne Taylor at the Innovation Out of Crisis held in Boston on April 25, 2002

Presented by Valerie Bradley at AAMR

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has contracted with Human Services Research Institute (HSRI) through the MEDSTAT Group to provide technical assistance aimed at enhancing quality assurance and improvement efforts to states on behalf of people with developmental disabilities in home and community-based waiver services.

June Rowe presents on 5 State's licensing processes

Core Paper 1: Sample Survey Component

Core Paper 2: Claims and Encounter Component

This presentation was given in September 2002 by Madeleine Kimmich at the Public Children's Services Association of Ohio annual conference