News
WISCONSIN BOARD FOR PEOPLE WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES: Call for Presenters
By SD Network, 2023-03-01
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Are you interested in presenting at the 2023 Self-Determination Conference? We are seeking session proposals for Tuesday, October 17 & Wednesday, October 18, 2023. There are three ways to complete the proposal form and submit it by noon on May 12, 2023 to:
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WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SERVICES: National Assistive Technology Awareness Day
By SD Network, 2023-03-01
On March 1, the U.S. Senate will pass a resolution to raise awareness and celebrate National Assistive Technology (AT) Awareness Day. The day honors people with disabilities who use AT to access their education, workplace, community, and recreational activities. The day also recognizes the leadership of the Assistive Technology Act programs whose teams strive to help millions of individuals acquire low-cost and often no-cost AT in all 50 states and territories.
Join us to celebrate #ATAwarenessDay!
Alice Wong, founder of the Disability Visibility Project is acutely aware of the power dynamics at play between a care provider and recipient, and the devaluation and lack of investment in care work. In this commentary, she writes, “Conversations by policy experts and advocates about the caregiving crisis can be too abstract, and any meaningful structural and cultural change must acknowledge the tensions, human toll, material consequences, complexities and nuances about care from the people who provide and rely on it.”
ADMINISTRATION FOR COMMUNITY LIVING: Center for People with I/DD and Mental Health Conditions Seeks Steering Committee
By SD Network, 2023-02-23
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Through a cooperative agreement with the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services (NASDDDS), ACL has launched a new center to improve support for people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (I/DD) who have mental health conditions.
This center will focus on capacity building by supporting state agencies with policy development, service design, and service coordination resources. Guided by people with lived experience, the center also will provide information, training, and peer-to-peer learning for people with I/DD who have mental health conditions, their families, and the professionals who work with them. The center is currently recruiting for its steering committee, which will make important recommendations on how the center should move forward. The steering committee of 12 people will meet 4 times per year. Steering committee members and, if needed, their support staff will be paid to participate in this project. A recruitment explainer video by NASDDDS partner Green Mountain Self-Advocates is posted on the NASDDDS YouTube channel. The three-minute video includes open captions and American Sign Language interpretation. If you are interested in joining the committee, email snonnemacher@nasddds.org, call 570-460-3964, or fill out the interest form by March 17, 2023. |
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ADMINISTRATION FOR COMMUNITY LIVING: Call for Promising Practices: Supporting Adults with I/DD and Family Caregivers
By SD Network, 2023-02-23
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Brandeis University, in partnership with the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACDD), is gathering information to identify promising practices and policies that support adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) and aging family caregivers. The number of adults with I/DD living with aging caregivers is significantly increasing. The majority of families are unknown by the formal service system. There is a need for greater communication and collaboration between aging and disabilities systems to support these families. They are interested in successful practices at local, state, and national levels such as:
Brandeis and NACDD will share this information with aging and disability advocates across the country. This project is supporting a community at practice of state teams that are bridging aging and disability. It will help inform their work and future work in other states.
Please help with this information gathering by taking the survey linked below. Complete the survey by March 1, 2023. Contact joecaldwell@brandeis.edu for more information. |
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WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SERVICES: EVV 101: Helpful Tools to Learn More
By SD Network, 2023-02-23
Electronic visit verification (EVV) is required by federal law for personal care and applicable supportive home care services. All states must collect visit information using an EVV system or they won’t get their full federal funding for Medicaid.
How does EVV work?
When workers arrive to provide care, they should check in using their employer’s EVV system. When workers finish providing care, they should check out with the EVV system. The system does not track their location during the visit.
Our website is the best place to learn about EVV. Here are four places to start:
- Wisconsin EVV: a video that explains what EVV is
- Frequently Asked Questions: answers to common EVV questions
- Your Key to EVV: newsletters explaining the ins and outs of EVV
- EVV Hard Launch Forum for Personal Care and Applicable Supportive Home Care Services: a video from our most recent forum about EVV on December 6, 2022
Right now, EVV in Wisconsin is in the soft launch phase. This is a time for provider agencies and workers to learn and start using an EVV system without consequences. This changes to the hard launch phase on May 1, 2023. On May 1, there are consequences for not using EVV. For more information, please read the ForwardHealth Update No. 2022-48.
If you know someone who wants to know more about EVV, share this email with them. They can also sign up for our emails.
Please reach out with any questions or comments you may have. We value your thoughts.
Wisconsin EVV Customer Care
833-931-2035
vdxc.contactevv@wisconsin.gov
THE CAP TIMES: Opinion | Home care staffing crisis leaves people abandoned
By SD Network, 2023-02-23
This is an interesting opinion piece in The Cap Times about the caregiver crisis. A member of the Madison City Council and the Dane County Board is talking about the caregiver crisis that has been affecting people with disabilities and the elderly. For this board member, it's both personal and political as this person requires personal care assistance to complete all of her basic needs.
Disability inclusion means intentionally cultivating environments where all can flourish. It means taking action to make change happen. It means including disabled consumers. Whilst many corporations remain fearful of sticking their head above the parapet, undeniably, small steps lead to greater action.
By 2030, more than 1 in 5 people in the United States are expected to be ages 65 and older, and nearly 70% of all adults who reach age 65 will eventually require some type of long-term services and supports. As the need for long-term care services grows, so too will demand for the many occupations that provide these services. We recognize that many caregivers in the U.S. are unpaid friends or family members. But here’s a look at several growing caregiver occupations that are employed in the home health care services industry.
HUFFPOST: Biden Administration Proposes Big Change To Benefits For People With Disabilities
By SD Network, 2023-02-20
A new proposal from the Social Security Administration would make life easier for millions of disabled Americans whose friends or family help them out with food. The proposal would make it so the government no longer cuts monthly benefits for people who get regular help with meals or groceries.