SIS-A Updates and Question and Answer Session
Please join the Office of Aging and Disability Services (OADS) and Maximus, our SIS-A assessment vendor for a SIS-A Question and Answer session. The session will focus on the Supports Intensity Scale for Adults 2nd Edition (SIS-A) needs assessments and will also offer updates. The SIS-A needs assessments will be for Sections 21 and 29 members and those on the waitlists. The SIS-A needs assessment will eventually be required for participation in the Lifespan Waiver. We invite you to attend this session to learn about the SIS-A in Maine. There will also be time for attendees to ask questions. All attendees are required to register for the session using the link below. A link to join the Zoom session will be sent to your email after you have registered. February 22, 2024 from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Registration Link: https://mainestate.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEqcOmopjIuGd2I0OSn4m1tIpGvdevYLSVn If you need an accommodation, such as real time transcription and captioning (CART), American Sign Language (ASL) or other language interpretation, please contact Miranda Whalen at miranda.whalen@maine.gov. In June 2023, the Department announced that future updates about the Lifespan Waiver would be published in regularly updated Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) documents.
The latest Lifespan Waiver FAQ is now released. You can find this document in the Resources section of the Lifespan webpage: Lifespan 4th Edition FAQ As new information is developed, there will be additional Stakeholder Information sessions provided. The Lifespan Waiver is expected to start in 2025, with additional public comment periods. For more information about the public comment opportunities, please see question 7 of the FAQ. NASHP is hosting a state-only health and housing learning community that provides a platform for state health policymakers to learn from experts and one another about health and housing approaches at the state level, as well as stay abreast of emerging guidance and opportunities from federal agencies. This learning community is intended to support policymakers in strengthening their foundational understanding of health and housing approaches, as well as provide opportunities to go in depth on housing and services elements that must come together to support the health of individuals and communities.
The series of conversations will take place approximately once every other month, beginning in January 2024, with the opportunity to communicate via listserv in between meetings. While the primary audience will be state health policymakers, there will be conversations where health policymakers will be encouraged to bring their housing counterparts into the conversation. Learning community topics will include:
Introduction to Supportive HousingWednesday, January 31, 2024, 4–5 p.m. ET Robust supportive housing approaches require collaboration and alignment across federal, state, and local partners. The first session of the Health and Housing Learning Community will provide a high-level overview of supportive housing models and an introduction to the relevant partners, policy goals, services, and funding streams across the health and housing sectors. Click here to register OADS: Community Resource Coordination, Information & Listening Session for Self-Advocates- Feb 16th1/26/2024
Proposed HCBS Lifespan Waiver Service:
Community Resource Coordination Stakeholder Informational and Listening Session for Self-Advocates Please join the Office of Aging and Disability Services as we host an informational listening session. This session is focused on individuals who are self-advocates for services related to Intellectual Disabilities or Autism. During this session we will provide a brief overview of the Community Resource Coordination (CRC) Service being proposed within the Lifespan Waiver. We would like to hear about any feedback this group has about their current case management services and get input on how the proposed Lifespan Waiver service of Community Resource Coordination could improve this experience. Please use the link below to register for the Zoom session. Friday February 16th, 2024 from 1:00PM to 2:00PM Zoom Registration https://mainestate.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYvcu2opjkvG92Qr0SmQZw-wiE8fQtxh8rA Real-time transcription and captioning (CART) as well as American Sign Language (ASL) will be available for all attendees. If you need other accommodations to attend, please contact Miranda Whalen at miranda.whalen@maine.gov. Forwarded Action Alert Maine Parent Federation:
Public Hearing L.D. 2166 An Act to Establish a Grant Program to Increase Postsecondary Educational Opportunities for Students with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities or Autism Spectrum Disorder The public hearing for LD# 2166 An Act to Establish a Grant Program to Increase Postsecondary Educational Opportunities for Students with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities or Autism Spectrum Disorder will be held on Wednesday, January 31st at 1:00 PM. If passed this bill will establish a grant program available to Institutions of Higher Education (accredited colleges and universities) in Maine to create post-secondary programming and offer scholarships to students with Intellectual Developmental Disabilities (I/DD) and/or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). A public hearing is an opportunity for your legislators on the Educational and Cultural Affairs Committee to hear from you before they vote whether or not to move the bill forward to the full Maine Congress. You are welcome to provide testimony in support of, against, or neither for nor against the bill. Talking points for this specific bill can include:
You can testify in-person in Room 208 in the Cross Building located at 111 Sewall St. in Augusta. Be sure to bring 20 copies of your testimony for members of the Committee. You do not need to register for this option, just show up. Click this link to either register to testify either virtually via ZOOM or submit your written testimony for Committee members to consider. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Carrie Woodcock, cwoodcock@mpf.org. Kind Regards, Carrie Woodcock - Maine Parent Federation Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Provider Meeting For Providers of Section(s) 18, 20, 21 and 29The Office of Aging and Disability Services welcomes providers of HCBS services to the Quarterly Meeting on Wednesday January 24, 2024 at 11 a.m.
Agenda
**New** Zoom Link: https://mainestate.zoom.us/j/84948570093?pwd=QnNiYk0rOWQrSnhsdUg2VUJ2YmQ5Zz09 Meeting ID: 849 4857 0093 Passcode: 94666993 Dial by your location +1 646 876 9923 US (New York) Find your local number: https://mainestate.zoom.us/u/klgRvhM1T Maine Parent Federation and Disability Rights Maine Children's Behavioral Health Listening Session1/19/2024
Join Maine Parent Federation & Disability Rights Maine for a listening session for parents/caregivers only with attorneys from the United States Department of Justice about Children’s Behavioral Health Services in Maine
Sunday January 28th from 4-5:30 Location: Zoom Have you had difficulty accessing community based behavioral health services for your child? Have you had difficulty accessing crisis services for your child during a behavioral health event? Has your child been placed or been at risk of being placed outside of home (hospitals, residential settings, etc.) as a result of a lack of access to adequate community-based services and/or timely crisis services? If so, please consider joining for all of part of this listening session. After a brief introduction from Disability Rights Maine, you will hear from members of the DOJ team whose work in Maine led to the issuance of the June 2022 Letter of Findings (available here: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-finds-maine-violation-ada-over-institutionalization-children-disabilities) which found a number of barriers to accessing children’s behavioral health services in the community, including lengthy waitlists, an insufficient provider network, inadequate crisis services, and a lack of support for foster care parents who provide specialized care to children with behavioral health needs, resulting in the unnecessary institutionalization of Maine youth. Most importantly, the DOJ Team wants to hear from you as they continue to work with Maine to address the concerns outlined in the letter. There will be opportunities to share information within the larger group and through individual breakout rooms. Register Here If you are unable to make it but have information you want to share, please email to Carrie Woodcock with the information you want to share with DOJ and your contact information. Action Alert: Public Hearing scheduled for LD 2009, An Act to Prevent Abandonment of Children and Adults with Disabilities in Hospitals.
When: Tuesday, January 16, 2024, 1:01pm Where: Health and Human Services Committee, Cross Building, Room 209 On 1/16 at 1:01pm the Health and Human Services (HHS) Committee will hold a public hearing on LD 2009, An Act to Prevent Abandonment of Children and Adults with Disabilities in Hospitals. Summary: This bill would require a hospital to discharge a minor or an adult with a disability who is under guardianship to the care of a parent or guardian no later than 48 hours after the attending physician has determined the minor or the adult with disabilities is safe for discharge, and if a parent or guardian does not take custody of the discharged minor or the discharged adult with a disability within that period, the hospital is required to notify child protective services or adult protective services, as appropriate, which must then take custody of the minor or the adult with a disability. Potential concerns: Though the bill title sounds well-intended, it appears that there could be unintended consequences. If a child or an adult with disabilities is deemed medically able to be discharged from a hospital, there may not be immediate safe options for the individual to return to. More often than not hospital stays are prolonged due to the lack of sufficient services as well the lack of safe, adequate available housing options. Should this bill pass as written, it appears the individual would either have to return to their parents/guardians or be placed in the custody of Adult Protective Services, despite the fact that residential options such as group homes/shared living may not be immediately available, and parents/guardian may not be able to safely house their loved one. As such, this bill may be of interest to you. What to do: If you wish to provide comments and/or testify on LD 2009, you can submit testimony in person, in writing, and/or via zoom. To testify:
If you checked the ‘testify via zoom’ link then you’ll get a zoom link emailed to you. On hearing day you’ll be able to attend as a participant (who can’t talk or turn camera on) until shortly before it’s your turn to testify. When it’s your turn, they’ll “promote” you to a “participant”. Your zoom might look like you’ve lost the connection just momentarily, but then you’ll reappear as a regular participant who can unmute, turn on camera, etc. And you can tell the committee what you think about LD 2009. (Senator Baldacci, Representative Meyer, and Distinguished members of the HHS Committee). Thank you for raising you voice and for your advocacy! New Resources are now available to you from the Office of Aging and Disability Services (OADS) Youth Transition TeamThe OADS Youth Transition Team is happy to announce the roll out of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Transition Planning webpage. The webpage highlights important information regarding transition and includes a printable timeline that can be used as a guide during youth transition planning.
The OADS Youth Transition Team was created as a pilot project supported by the Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS) and Office of Aging and Disability Services (OADS) to improve the transition process for youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and other related conditions (ORC). The goal of this project is to provide training, quality oversight, and resources that offer more consistent approaches to supporting youth with IDD, ASD, and other related conditions as they transition from the OCFS children’s system to the OADS adult system. The OADS Youth Transition Team has been working to develop and provide information and resources for cross-training school personnel and community case managers to provide person-centered support to youth as they seamlessly transition to adulthood. Reporting will allow the team to identify the greatest needs for transition training and support. This work could not be done without the ongoing partnership of other transition leaders in Maine from the Department of Education (DOE), Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR), along with several youth leaders and family stakeholders. Interagency collaboration is critical for successful transition of the individuals we serve, and the OADS Youth Transition Team has been busy building internal and external connections with DHHS. If you are working with transition-aged youth who may be eligible for OADS services, and have not already connected with us, we encourage you to reach out and introduce yourself to the OADS Transition Liaisons and let them know if you need transition information or resources. The more we connect in our communities and gain stakeholder input, the better we can find new resources and supports, which can improve the overall person-centered planning process. To connect with a Transition Liaison in your area, you can email: OADSYouthTransition@maine.gov This initiative is funded by the Federal American Rescue Plan Act under Section 9817. Center for Public Health and Policy Virtual Discussion on Intellectual Disabilities & Equity12/6/2023
Center for Public Health and Policy, American Public Health Association (APHA)
Virtual Discussion on Intellectual Disabilities and Equity APHA is proud to have received an inclusive health subgrant from the Special Olympics to highlight the unique experiences of people with intellectual disabilities and identify promising strategies for advancing health equity within this community. These findings will be presented in The Nation's Health and summarized in an issue brief in Summer 2024. As an initial step, we’d like to hear from you about the specific needs and priorities of the intellectual disability community, who the key players are and how APHA can best help in this work. To initiate the conversations, we’d love for you to join us at one of three listening sessions. We will also use this time to introduce the opportunity to serve on the advisory board for this project. Please use the links below to register for the listening session you would like to attend. Registration will be limited to 10 attendees per session. We hope you’ll join us and share your experience and knowledge. If you are unable to attend but would like to learn more, or if you have any other questions, please contact Lawrence Haynes. |
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