News

Maintaining independence has become increasingly challenging for Keith Williams (a member of Applied Self-Direction’s Participant Council) and others who rely on at-home care because of a critical workforce shortage facing the home health care... read more

More councils are planning to end in-home help for older Australians, with concerns growing that ceasing such services could put severe strain on the state’s aged care system. Some predict 80% of councils to get out of home aged care services... read more

Personal budgets (PBs) may improve the lives of people with mental health conditions and people with intellectual disability (ID). However, a clear definition of PB, benefits, and challenges is still faded. This work aims to systematically review... read more

A local Florida columnist highlights the Consumer-Directed Care option as one pathway for family caregivers to receive compensation for their efforts. Read the full article... read more

The low pay and stressful job requirements discourage people from considering employment in In-Home Support Services IHSS - a form of self-direction in California. Read the full article... read more

According to prominent disability rights activist Charlie Carr, “As EVV continues to go live in the states, an alarming number of problems reported by self-directed PCS consumer employers are arising that undermine their control of their... read more

Pennsylvania offers a “consumer-directed” option. The caregiver is paid by the state, which contracts with a vendor to handle administrative tasks and payroll for people employed under the consumer-directed option. But now the Pennsylvania... read more

Agency with Choice has been utilized by home and community service recipients and providers for decades. The concern among advocates stems from a new Agency with Choice model being proposed by Pennsylvania's Department of Human Services. The... read more

The Core Standards for Information & Assistance Professionals in Self-Direction resource, developed with the... read more

This story features one man’s experience struggling to find the direct care workers that he needs to live independently at home. He is enrolled in the Consumer Directed Services Program in Missouri. Read the full article... read more

Initially viewed as a stopgap measure, paying family members has emerged as a potential solution to the chronic shortage of professional caregivers in Vermont. But while many parents support the idea, advocates say the state should... read more

Members of the Missouri Centers for Independent Living (MOCIL) left hundreds of notes on the door to Gov. Mike Parson’s office, asking for a pay raise. MOCIL has 22 centers throughout the state that serve people of all ages with all... read more

By 2040, the population of American adults aged 65 and older will nearly double, and that of adults aged 85 and older is expected to quadruple over the same period. As our aging population grows, the need for home care is increasing.... read more

This letter, from Applied Self-Direction, NASDDDS, ADvancing States, & the National EVV Consumer Employer... read more

According to the author Janet Cruz who self-directs in New York, “The future of CDPAP, which is a lifeline for vulnerable New Yorkers keeping us out of potentially dangerous institutional settings, is in limbo due to a potential change... read more

Partners Kendra Scalia and Brandon Johnson both have health conditions that require daily care assistance at home in New York. A lack of home care aides since the pandemic has resulted in the pair not being able to hire a single person... read more

In an unprecedented move, the New York state Senate and Assembly revealed their one-house budgets over the weekend with provisions to fully fund the Fair Pay for Home Care Act. The bill would raise the minimum wage for home care workers... read more

From personal protective equipment (PPE) to low numbers of nursing staff, the pandemic has fueled shortages across all sectors. Home health agencies and the patients that they serve have been hit especially hard. According to a report by Consumer... read more

The Virginia Senate passed two bills that will expand access to paid sick days across the Commonwealth. Under the current law, employers are only required to provide paid sick leave to home health workers who provide consumer-directed services.... read more

New Hampshire, like the rest of the nation, is facing a home care crisis. Most adults want to age at home. Demand for home health and personal care aides is expected to grow more than demand for any other occupation between 2020 and... read more

Many direct-care workers are unsure about the COVID-19 vaccines, leaving the people who depend on their labor that much more vulnerable. This article highlights Tim Jin, who according to the article, “now hires and manages his own staff—all of... read more

The California Department of Social Services said it is issuing one‑time $500 bonus payments to roughly 550,000 In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) providers throughout California. Read the full article... read more

Thanks to American Rescue Plan funds, more Tennesseans with disabilities will hopefully be getting services they need, aimed at supporting them in their homes and communities. One state program, Enabling Technology, introduces gadgets... read more

According to opinion writer Agnes McCray, “I am a human rights advocate, community activist, concerned citizen and parent with extraordinary differences who has successfully raised a family here in Syracuse. Given today’s health care crisis and... read more

Rural residents face more barriers to healthcare access, including challenges in receiving home and community-based long-term services, compared to urban residents. Self-directed services provide flexibility and choice in care options and may be... read more

Before we settle into the new year, we want to reflect on all we accomplished together in 2021. Despite the challenges and uncertainties presented by the ongoing pandemic, our collective community has made tremendous strides to grow the self-... read more

Florida’s top economists could be taking a closer look at the number of people with developmental and intellectual disabilities in Florida who require home and community-based services. Read the full article... read more

With the ongoing shortage of health care workers, families across the country are struggling to access the home care their loved ones need. For people who care for relatives with chronic conditions, the problem is particularly acute.... read more

Almost three quarters—74 percent—of New Yorkers needing home health aides were unable to retain a worker in 2021, according to a report by the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Association of New York State (Applied Self-Direction member).... read more

A new report (from ASD member, Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Association of New York State) indicates a significant percentage of vulnerable people are fighting to maintain their at-home care workers, with many losing the battle... read more

Southeast Alaska Independent Living (SAIL) is offering a program in which Veterans can choose their own caretakers. It also allows those seniors to continue living at home, instead of an assisted living facility. Read the full article... read more

When 2020 began, local residents Lynn Weidner and Brandon Kingsmore were just beginning to advocate for better conditions and wages for home care workers; an issue that is near and dear to them. Nearly two years later, their advocacy work has... read more

After several failed negotiating attempts over the past four years, the county of Lake has finalized a new contract with the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) workers’ union. IHSS workers will see their base wages rise by $0.65 an hour... read more

The demand for home health care has been growing in the past few years, and many providers have struggled to find the workers to meet it. Staffing shortages in home health, like many areas across the healthcare industry, have worsened during the... read more

The New York & Michigan Solutions Journalism Collaborative, an endeavor involving a few dozen news organizations including the Detroit Free Press and Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, has vetted some of the solutions and shortcomings in the... read more

Some 250,000 home health care workers must get the coronavirus vaccine by Friday in New York, but tens of thousands of them have yet to receive it (and consumer-directed workers are exempt). Read the full article... read more

Personal care assistant (PCA) workers in Minnesota will see higher wages and other new benefits this month. The statewide minimum wage for PCAs rises from $13.25 to $14.40 per hour effective Oct. 1, then increases again to $15.25 on July 1, 2022... read more

The senator talks about how home-based disability care helped her family and why it is important for seniors and people with disabilities to have a voice. From the article, “Self-directed care is one avenue for family caregivers to be paid for... read more

The state Agency for Persons with Disabilities submitted an ambitious legislative budget request calling for more than $25 million in additional funding to reduce the lengthy waitlist for the Medicaid IBudget program (which includes self-... read more

Because Tennessee has never increased the reimbursement rate for home care providers since the program began over 11 years ago, the state’s CHOICES program (which includes self-direction) is at great risk. Read the full article... read more

All staff at rest homes, assisted living residences and hospices, as well as workers providing in-home, direct-care services (including consumer-directed care workers), may soon be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in Massachusetts, Gov... read more

The passing of the budget bill during Virginia’s special legislative session this month will bring over $3.1 billion in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to the Commonwealth over the next year (including funding to increase pay for... read more

For seniors and people with disabilities, living independently comes with its challenges but disability rights advocates are fearful that without improvements to in-home support services (a self-direction program in California), many of San Mateo... read more

This report summarizes findings from the recent audit of the Veteran-Directed Care Program by the VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) and their recommendations for program improvements. Read the full article... read more

This article explores the stories of multiple families that include children with complex health needs who are encouraging legislators to fully fund the infrastructure bill, a federal package that includes $400 billion to bolster home and... read more

An idea that came out of the COVID-19 pandemic has helped hundreds of families with a loved one who has disabilities, but now is in danger of running out of funding. "Caregiver compensation," which provides a small amount of money for a family... read more

Research shows that fraud occurs in self-direction at about the rate of traditional services, with lower incidences of fraud in programs with mature FMS. A New Bedford man who receives care through MassHealth’s personal care attendant (PCA)... read more

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is asking the federal government for an additional $1.1 billion in federal Medicaid dollars over the next two years to bolster access to home and community-based programs (including self-direction) and... read more

The CEO of Granite State Independent Living in New Hampshire and Applied Self-Direction member, Deb Ritcey, outlines the critical assistance for the disability community included in the state’s newly approved budget. Highlights include and invest... read more

Senate Democrats will release legislation as soon as Thursday to meet President Joe Biden‘s promise to expand in-home care for the elderly and disabled while boosting caregivers’ wages and unionizing opportunities, according to a draft bill... read more

Columnist Mike Ervin, aka the ‘Smart Ass Cripple,’ argues that the pandemic has made clear that people in nursing homes are extremely vulnerable and that something needs to be done about it. According to Ervin, “I recruit, hire, train, and... read more

Research shows that fraud occurs in self-direction at about the rate of traditional services, with lower incidences of fraud in programs with mature FMS. A Florida woman has been arrested on allegations that she stole $180,000 from Medicaid over... read more

An opinion piece from a local woman who volunteers with Friendly Visitors. One woman she visits has been without a worker for two months in the In-Home Supportive Services (a self-direction program). The author argues that better pay... read more

A1 Case Management and reSOARces, a companion nonprofit organization that is built upon the basis of a self-directed model, which involves people with disabilities and special needs choosing their caregivers, have been feeling the impacts of... read more

This story takes a closer look at one mother’s struggle to recruit personal care workers to assist her daughter with physical and developmental disabilities in Tennessee. While they would like the option to self-direct via the state’s Katie... read more

Having caregivers come and go is a problem for many disabled people, including those who serve as the employer. Recognizing that, the Biden Administration has proposed a $400 billion infusion of federal Medicaid cash to stem a nationwide shortage... read more

Covid has pushed state health agencies to use Medicaid in ways that would never have been imagined before. With one in five Americans saying they are unable to afford healthcare, how are state governments using this historic moment to expand... read more

A sibling, who serves as a paid family caregiver for her brother, comments on the inadequacy of personal care worker wages in Pennsylvania and nationwide. The author points to the American Jobs Plan as a potential avenue to invest in increased... read more

This article presents the new duties needed to help participants self-direct. Whether states assign these additional tasks to care managers or create a new class of support brokers to do this work, the job of the care manager changes. Examples... read more

Florida lawmakers have agreed to spend an additional $95 million a year to provide more people with intellectual and developmental disabilities access to services they need to live in their communities and out of institutions via the iBudget... read more

We are immensely thrilled to announce the IRS has formally approved the temporary use of electronic signatures on a number of tax forms signed and postmarked on or after August 28, 2020, including Form 2678, Employer/Payer... read more