Aging

New Editions provided logistics and management support to assist the Office on Disability (OD) in implementing the Call to Action Strategic Plan. We planned and conducted important events, including a conference with major healthcare provider organizations to identify best practices in disability awareness training for physicians and nurses, as well as a forum with employers to identify best practices in providing access to healthcare services for employees with disabilities.

Through coordination across multiple projects, New Editions worked collaboratively to provide expert technical assistance and guidance to the Administration for Community Living (ACL), their grantees and partners, and other Aging Services Network organizations at the state, sub-state and community levels. Under a subcontract with The Lewin Group, New Editions coordinated relevant ACL activities with the initiatives of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Money Follows the Person (MFP) Technical Assistance Center.

New Editions supported the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS’s) New Freedom Initiative (NFI) Working Group, which was led by the HHS Office on Disability (OD). The Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) worked through the NFI Working Group on a project to analyze and promote the Medical Home Model for children with special health care needs and all individuals with disabilities.

Funded under Medicaid’s Money Follows the Person (MFP) program, the New Editions contract, Housing Capacity Building Initiative for Community Living Project, was announced in June 2010 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sebelius. The Secretary lauded the project’s vision to assist older adults and those with chronic conditions find appropriate housing to live more independent lives.

Enacted by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, the Money Follows the Person (MFP) Rebalancing Demonstration is part of a comprehensive, coordinated strategy to assist states (in collaboration with stakeholders) to make widespread changes to their long-term care support systems. This initiative assists states in their efforts to reduce their reliance on institutional care, all while developing community-based long-term care opportunities, and thereby enabling the elderly and people with disabilities to fully participate within their communities.

New Editions provided technical and logistical support to a national expert panel; a panel formed to assist the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH’s) Rehabilitation Medicine Department develop a holistic definition of adults with chronic health care needs that can be used in national surveys and clinical settings.

New Editions provides technical assistance to state agencies on home and community-based services (HCBS) mechanisms, program design, service delivery systems and self-direction services. Under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), New Editions specifically provides assistance to states seeking to develop or improve HCBS under a variety of channels: Sections 1915(c) and 1115 waivers and Sections 1915(i), 1915(j) or 1915(k) State Plan Amendments. Technical assistance includes:

New Editions provides planning, evaluation, research, technical assistance and logistical services to support the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research's (NIDILRR’s) program planning and improvement, as well as to meet accountability requirements.

New Editions provides a wide range of program support to the Interagency Committee on Disability Research (ICDR). ICDR's mission is to promote coordination among federal agencies that conduct research or implement policy around disability issues.

The National Association of States United for Aging and Disabilities holds an annual National Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Conference. The conference is for staff of Federal, State, and local agencies, as well as partners, providers and advocates providing services to people with long term services and supports (LTSS) needs in the community.