Policy Papers
As a statewide association of Community-Centered Boards and Program-Approved Service Agencies providing legislative representation for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Colorado, Alliance has a firm understanding of policy issues that have an effect on our members and the people they serve.
Alliance Issue Briefs, Talking Points, and Policy Papers
We are thrilled to partner with The Arc of Aurora, Developmental Pathways and Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition (CCDC) to bring you this five-part THINK + change TALK.
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This Talk is an educational series featuring different perspectives that shape the dialogue between health, cannabis, and how people with disabilities are exploring cannabinoid therapies. Need more medical cannabis resources specific to your area or region? Visit this link for a list of resources: http://thinkchange.info/cannabisanddisabilityresources
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Read Alliance's Statement on the American Health Care Act.
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For decades, the Colorado General Assembly has been committed to ensuring that quality community-based supports are available for people with IDD. As a result, Colorado has been ranked among the top states in the nation for positive outcomes for people with IDD and has been a leader in moving away from institutional placements. Despite these commendable results, Colorado’s system of community-based supports has reached a tipping point. Without rates that reflect the cost of providing services, providers will fall further behind in their ability to fulfill their missions to provide the best services for the people they support. We believe the General Assembly, relevant State departments, community providers, advocates, and other stakeholders have a responsibility to ensure that these critical services are in place for many years to come.
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Alliance believes in, and is striving to help create, a community-based system of services for Coloradans with IDD that is sustainable, makes efficient use of public funds, and is prepared to capitalize on the opportunities and weather the challenges of the future.
Alliance respectfully requests the JBC renew the General Assembly’s commitment to eliminate the SLS waitlist by using at least $5 million of IDD reversion funds from the current fiscal year (FY 2016-17) plus federal matching funds to implement a 15% increase to the allocation for HCBS-Supported Living Services.
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Alliance has carefully considered the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing’s (HCPF) plan to implement conflict-free case management (CFCM) in Colorado (the plan). The plan proposes to dramatically change the way that IDD services have been provided during the last 50 years. As such, Alliance submits for your consideration the following comments and questions in response.
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Alliance respectfully requests the JBC renew the General Assembly’s commitment to eliminate the SLS waitlist by using at least $5 million of IDD reversion funds from the current fiscal year (FY 2016-17) plus federal matching funds to implement a 15% increase to the allocation for HCBS-Supported Living Services.
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This briefing paper examines the issue of waiting lists for services provided to individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. The initial draft provides an overview of how the waiting lists in Colorado are managed as well as national trends in reducing waiting lists.
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Community Supports in Crisis: No Staff, No Services
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Read this document authored by:
Institute on Community Integration (ICI), University of Minnesota
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Julie Bershadsky, PhD
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Amy Hewitt, PhD
Human Services Research Institute (HSRI)
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Valerie Bradley, PhD
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Alexandra Bonardi, PhD
National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services (NASDDDS)
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Laura Vegas, MS
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Mary Sowers, BA
IDD Issue Briefs and Policy Papers
By Amanda Alvey, Senior Consultant and Brittani Trujillo, Senior Consultant at Public Consulting Group
Each year, The Case for Inclusion ranks all 50 states and the District of Columbia on their outcomes for Americans with ID/DD based on five outcome areas: promoting independence; tracking health, safety, and quality of life; keeping families together; promoting productivity; and serving those in need. Colorado ranks 27th in the nation this year. This year's report also focuses on eliminating waiting lists (including model legislation) and best practices in transitions.
Collecting Comprehensive Data on the DSP Workforce
Around the country,state developmental disability agencies focus on improving the quality and stability of the workforce of direct support professionals (DSPs) who assist adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. These efforts come at a time of escalating demand for long-term services and supports in home and community-based settings. Importantly, states also seek to reduce the costs associated with staff turnover at provider agencies1and to reduce the impact of turnover on the quality of supports and outcomes for consumers.
Supported Decision Making Educational Resource and the Report from OMNI
English SDM: http://www.coddc.org/Documents/SDM%20Print%20Version.pdf
Spanish SDM: http://www.coddc.org/Documents/SDM%20PRINT%20Version.pdf
This is the OMNI report: http://www.coddc.org/Documents/OMNI%20CDDC%20Final%20Report_Final.pdf
Collecting Comprehensive Data on the DSP Workforce
Around the country,state developmental disability agencies focus on improving the quality and stability of the workforce of direct support professionals (DSPs) who assist adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. These efforts come at a time of escalating demand for long-term services and supports in home and community-based settings. Importantly, states also seek to reduce the costs associated with staff turnover at provider agencies1and to reduce the impact of turnover on the quality of supports and outcomes for consumers.
Respite Navigation Guide
A Snapshot of direct support workforce challenges in the United States.
Intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) services are contending with external market disruptions which severely affect workforce retention and recruitment and are causing a public health crisis. Without qualified staff, agencies are limited in how they offer client-driven services, namely assisting individuals with IDD in living where, with whom and how they choose. Click here to read the full report from ANCOR.
The National Council on Disabilities' Medicaid Block Grant Program Report. Click HERE to read the full report.
Analysis shows Medicaid block grants and per capita caps could result in state budget gaps. Read the full Story HERE.
With this report, the National Task Force on Workforce Development for People with Disabilities plays an
impactful role in providing states and their leaders with the knowledge needed to achieve greater economic
vitality and place many more Americans on a path to success in the global economy.
Each year, The Case for Inclusion ranks all 50 states and the District of Columbia on their outcomes for Americans with ID/DD based on five outcome areas: promoting independence; tracking health, safety, and quality of life; keeping families together; promoting productivity; and serving those in need. Colorado ranks 11th in the nation this year. This year's report also focuses on eliminating waiting lists (including model legislation) and best practices in transitions.
National Core Indicators (NCI) is a collaborative effort between the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services (NASDDDS) and the Human Services Research Institute (HSRI). The purpose of the program, which began in 1997, is to support NASDDDS member agencies to gather a standard set of performance and outcome measures that can be used to track their own performance over time, to compare results across states, and to establish national benchmarks. Colorado first participated in NCI in 2013-14.
Welcome to the website for the State of the States in Developmental Disabilities Project, administered by the University of Colorado. The Project is funded in part by the Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. On this website you can view nationwide longitudinal financial and programmatic trends in intellectual and developmental disabilities services.
This report is published every other year to highlight the ongoing crisis in housing affordability confronting people with disabilities across the United States. The report includes national, state and local data. The findings are an invaluable resource for disability advocates, policymakers, and affordable housing stakeholders.
It is with great pleasure that MediSked and The Arc of the United States present the 2015 Data Digest – a compilation of the latest statistics on I/DD services and supports, all displayed in an easy to read infographic format.
The Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) and the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) released this advocacy paper describing how AUCD and AAIDD think the next 25 years of the ADA should translate into access, opportunity, and support for people with disabilities. The paper is based on over 50 years of research from two primary sources: the voices of people with disabilities themselves and the research evidence on achieving the best possible outcomes for people with disabilities.
This report from the Council for Quality and Leadership outlines a set of standards useful for examining the quality of self-directed services and supports across a range of populations. It includes recommendations for the principles, structures, processes and quality of life outcomes that are key to a successful self-directed program.