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VDA WEEKLY E-MAILING

June 13, 2017

Table of Contents

ACL News & Information Link NASUAD State Technical Assistance Link CMS Proposes Eliminating Ban on Pre-Dispute Binding Arbitration in Long-term Care Facilities AICPA Not-for-Profit Conference National Safety Month Observed in June ACL Update: Countdown to an Important Week for Elder Justice: EJCC and WEAAD ACL Update: Public Comment: Proposed Revisions for State Program Performance Report ACL Update: Funding Opportunity & Webinar: Model Approaches for Enhancing HCBS ACL Update: Webinar: The Home & Community-Based Services Quality Framework Development ACL Update: DHS Announces FY 2017 Preparedness Grants Link to DARS Weekly Independent Living Newsletter

ACL News & Information

Here is a link to news & information from the Administration for Community Living (ACL):

https://acl.gov/

NASUAD Information

Here is a link to state technical assistance from NASUAD:

http://www.nasuad.org/state-technical-assistance

CMS Proposes Eliminating Ban on Pre-Dispute Binding Arbitration in

LTC Facilities

Joani Latimer, State Long-Term Care Ombudsman

Yesterday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a proposed rule to eliminate the ban on pre-dispute binding arbitration agreements in long-term care (LTC) facilities which was finalized in late 2016.

At the time of enactment, CMS said that long-term care facilities would still be able to use arbitration on a voluntary basis when a dispute arises, but would not be allowed to require residents to sign a pre-dispute agreement as a condition of admission to a facility.

Now, in the new proposed rule, CMS has changed course, saying that "upon reconsideration, we believe that a ban on pre-dispute arbitration agreements is not the appropriate policy for all residents."

Bob Blancato, National Coordinator of the Elder Justice Coalition, said, "This reversal by CMS is a grave disappointment for facility residents and their advocates. Agreements in nursing facilities cover every single aspect of a resident's life. Any pre-dispute arbitration agreement, particularly if it is signed during the admission process which is already a stressful and confusing time for residents and their families, is unfair to residents and should not be allowed."

After the final rule banning pre-dispute arbitration agreements was released in September 2016, the American Health Care Association, a for-profit nursing home lobby, sued CMS to block enforcement of the final rule. An injunction was granted in November 2016. After that decision, CMS "reconsidered" the arbitration requirements.

The proposed new rule can be viewed here. Comments will be accepted beginning Thursday on www.regulations.gov. The Elder Justice Coalition will be commenting and encourages others to comment as well. Comments are due August 8, 2017.

AICPA Not-for-Profit Conference

Tim Catherman, Director of Aging Operations

AICPA Not-for-Profit Conference

This may be of interest to the finance directors.

The AICPA Not-for-Profit Industry Conference, June 21-23, 2017, provides the latest

information on the impact of tax, management, auditing and accounting issues

pertaining to Non-Profit Organizations. For a complete brochure click on

http://media.aicpastore.com/Publication/ConferenceDocs/2017-NOT-

Brochure.pdf.

National Safety Month Observed in June

Chip Stratton, Director of Safety and Risk Management, WWRC/DARS

National Safety Month, observed annually in June, focuses on reducing leading causes of injury and death at work, on the road and in our homes and communities. We join the National Safety Council and thousands of organizations across the country as we work to raise awareness of what it takes to Keep Each Other Safe.

Follow the links below and view the attachment for additional information:

Safety at Home

Safety at Work

Safety on the Road

This message is provided for your benefit and may be shared with others.

Thank you,

Chip Stratton, ECO Director of Safety and Risk Management, Wilson Workforce and Rehabilitation Center Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services Chip.Stratton@wwrc.virginia.gov

June 9, 2017

Countdown to an Important Week for Elder Justice: EJCC and WEAAD

Next week will be an important week for the elder justice community. On Monday, June 12, leaders from across the federal government will participate in an Elder Justice Coordinating Council (EJCC) meeting. And on Thursday, June 15th, communities around the world will commemorate World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD).

Join ACL in taking a stand against elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation:

Follow the EJCC Meeting: The EJCC meeting is 1:00 -3:30pm ET on Monday. Register to attend the meeting in person or watch the livestream online. You can also get updates during the meeting by following #EJCC on Twitter.

Find WEAAD resources including outreach and event guides, fact sheets, and graphics on the WEAAD 2017 site.

Join the "Finish this Sentence" social media campaign and tell us how we can build strong supports for older adults. Access the template and guidelines, also available in Korean, Spanish, Chinese and French on the WEAAD Tools and Tips page.

Find a WEAAD event near you or add your event to the map.

Share photos from your WEAAD commemoration on Twitter and Instagram using #WEAAD. We'll be collecting a sampling of photos from around the world on a Storify page.

June 9, 2017

Request for Public Comment on Proposed Revisions for the Older Americans Act Annual State Program Performance Report

On June 1, 2017, ACL released the proposed revisions for the Older Americans Act Title III and VII, Chapters 3 and 4 Annual State Program Performance Report (SPR) for public comment. The Notice of Comment Request is now on display in the Federal Register (Vol. 82, No. 104, page 25293 -25294) and will be open for public comment until July 31, 2017.

Review the proposed State Program Performance Report Requirements Draft 2017 (DOCX, 141KB) and proposed State Program Performance Report Attachment A Definitions Draft 2017 (DOCX, 141KB) found at ACL’s data website AGID (https://agid.acl.gov/) under the “What’s New” section.

The SPR and the software system used to submit the SPR are being redesigned for the first time since 2005. The proposed redesigned SPR will collect quantitative data from State Units on Aging (SUAs) on the Older Americans Act Title III and Title VII Chapters 3 and 4 programs. The purpose of this data collection is to fulfill requirements of the Older Americans Act and the Government Performance and Results Modernization Act (GPRA Modernization Act) of 2010 and related program performance activities.

These reporting requirements are a revision of those which are currently in effect (2016-2019). The factors that influenced the revision of the SPR, include: 1) the need to modernize the data structure to allow for more efficient reporting and the ability to use current technology for reporting and analysis; 2) the interest in aligning data elements within and across data collections; 3) the need to consider alternative data elements that reflect the current Aging Network and long-term care services and supports; and 4) the need to reduce reporting burden while

enhancing data quality. The revised SPR reduces the number of data elements reported by 70% compared to the 2016-2019 SPR.

To be considered, comments on the proposed revisions must

be received by July 31, 2017.

Please send electronic comments on the information collection proposal to SPRredesign.comment@acl.hhs.gov. Written comments on the information collection proposal should be mailed to the following address:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Community Living, Washington DC 20201, Attention: Jennifer Klocinski

For further information contact Jennifer Klocinski by telephone at (202) 795-7377 or by email at SPRredesign.comments@acl.hhs.gov.

June 8, 2017

Funding Opportunity Announcement and Webinar: Model Approaches for Enhancing Home- and Community-Based Services for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities

More than three out of four individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities live at home with a family member. Of those not living with a family member, 84% share a home with six or fewer people with developmental disabilities. These statistics highlight the trend of community living for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, which is supported by federal and state policy.

ACL is announcing a funding opportunity to increase integration and independence of individuals with developmental disabilities and to improve the quality of home- and community-based services (HCBS) by developing and testing one or more model approaches of a coordinated and comprehensive system for enhancing and ensuring the independence, integration, safety, health, and well-being of individuals living in the community. Learn more about this funding opportunity due on July 24.

The model must address two interrelated core-components:

Community Monitoring-Development and implementation of a coordinated system using multiple community and state level partners for monitoring the safety, health, and well-being of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities living in a variety of community settings and identifying and eliminating the risk factors for tracking, redressing and preventing abuse, neglect and exploitation in community settings; and

Community Capacity Building-Application of evidence based practices and innovative strategies focusing on improving services that support people with developmental disabilities living in the community or those moving to the community from a more restrictive setting; access to and quality of community services through capacity building and scaling of evidence based and other promising practices; reducing and mitigating the incidence of and risk factors for abuse and neglect; and supporting empowerment, self-determination, self-

advocacy, and an individual’s independence, autonomy and right to live alongside their non-disabled neighbors.

Please join ACL on June 14 at 1:00 PM Eastern for a one-hour informational webinar about the Funding Opportunity Announcement: “Living Well-Model Approaches for Enhancing the Quality, Effectiveness and Monitoring of Home and Community Based Services for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities.”

Learning objective:

Participants will learn about the application process and have the opportunity to ask questions.

Register for the webinar.

Webinar: The Home- and Community- Based Services (HCBS) Quality Framework Development

The HCBS Quality Framework Development webinar is the second event in ACL's HCBS quality webinar series. A goal of the series is to provide a platform among internal and external stakeholders to share developments and collaborate on efforts concerning HCBS quality. The lack of an organizing framework

used to analyze measurement gaps has caused difficulties in determining where resources should be allocated for future measurement development.

Join ACL on June 28 at 2 pm Eastern to learn about the progress made in quality framework development. Please register online for the webinar.

Webinar agenda:

Discuss findings expected impact of two projects: The 2016 National Quality Forum report, Quality in Home and Community Based Services to Support Community Living: Addressing Gaps in Performance, and The SCAN Foundation publication, What Matters Most: Essential Attributes of a High-Quality System of Care for Adults with Complex Care Needs.

Question and answer session.

Presenters:

Kim Ibarra, MSc, Senior Program Manager, National Quality Forum

Bruce Chernof, MD, FACP, President and Chief Executive Officer, The SCAN Foundation

View the archive for the previous webinar on the HCBS quality webpage.

June 6, 2017

DHS ANNOUNCES FY 2017 PREPAREDNESS GRANTS

Grant programs address national security; public safety needs

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced ten preparedness grant programs totaling $1.6 billion. The grant programs provide funding to state, local, tribal, and territorial governments, as well as transportation authorities, nonprofit organizations, and the private sector, to improve the nation’s readiness in preventing, protecting against, responding to, recovering from and mitigating terrorist attacks, major disasters and other emergencies.

Because older adults and people with disabilities will be affected by the programs and systems developed through these

grants, ACL encourages all of the aging and disability partners to learn more about their state, tribal, or local efforts to secure this funding, and to get involved to ensure the people we serve are represented in these efforts.

The Notices of Funding Opportunity for these grants can be found at https://www.fema.gov/preparedness-non-disaster-

grants (expand the last link on the page. Further information can be found on www.grants.gov.

Link to DARS Independent Living Weekly Newsletter

Rhonda Jeter, MS, CRC, Director of Independent Living

Past issues of IL Weekly News Notes are posted on the DARS IL Public Forms

Cabinet: https://www.vadars.org/formscabinet/Formscabinet.asp?pass=et1&t1=CIL&pg=