Real Choice Project Activities
The Real Choice Systems Change project is designed to create and implement improvements in community-based care systems in order to improve health and long-term care services and supports that assist people with disabilities and long-term illnesses to live in the community.
Project activities include:
DirectConnect. With a population that is aging faster than the national average, New Hampshire is facing an increasing demand for healthcare and support services and a heavier reliance on home and community based services for long term care. It is projected that the need for community based direct care workers will increase in the near future and that the demand will rapidly outpace the supply. The New Hampshire Coalition for Direct Care Workforce, with a broad representation from stakeholders, was established in 2007 in order to address this critical workforce shortage. Based on challenges, barriers and recommendations identified by the coalition through provider and worker surveys, New Hampshire proposed to create an infrastructure to recruit, train, and retain high-quality community-based direct care workers to meet current needs and prepare for projected job growth in the field. A $2.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor, known as DirectConnect, was awarded to the Institute on Disability in response to the proposal. Click here for more information.
Person Centered Planning for Older Adults. Using the Team Performance Model (TPM) developed by Drexler & Sibbet (1993) as the framework for Person Centered Planning (PCP), the IOD is designing a process for supporting PCP that is applicable across all ages and disabilities. The TPM offers a valuable structure for supporting the progression of PCP and provides a comprehensive framework that reflects predictable phases of planning and decision-making that individuals, families and support teams progress through as they design and develop individually-tailored supports. The PCP project includes the development of principles of PCP, training for community staff who work in critical pathways to long-term supports, the development of a training manual, and the development of web-based PCP tools. Click here for more information.
Systems Transformation Grant. Individuals with disabilities and older adults have the right to live as independently as possible within their home and community. Most people want to stay in their home and community as their support needs increase. But for some individuals with disabilities and older adults the freedom to live where and with whom they choose is lost due to barriers that prevent them from being supported in their homes and communities. These barriers include lack of affordable and accessible housing, access to transportation, employment supports, an adequate workforce to provide personal care, healthcare, and funding, as well as attitudinal and public policy barriers. Click here to view the Goals and Objectives.
The Transitions in Caregiving project (formerly Nursing Home Diversion Modernization Grant) is transforming how services are being delivered to family caregivers in New Hampshire who are caring for older adults at risk of nursing home admission. The project has shifted the locus of control from a primarily state-controlled, provider driven model to a caregiver-directed, locally-managed model that allows caregivers to determine their needs with support from local resources.
Click here
for more information and details.
