Tag: ACL

NAHC Submits Comments on National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration of Community Living (ACL) released the 2022 National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers.  The strategy is intended to serve as a national roadmap for better recognizing and supporting family and kinship caregivers of all ages, backgrounds, and caregiving situations. ALC opened the strategy for public comments,…

Call with Surgeon General: Increasing Bivalent Vax of Elderly & Disabled

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Intergovernmental and External Affairs and the Administration for Community Living invite you to join a webinar with Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and other subject matter experts on how we can work together to accelerate vaccination of people with disabilities, older adults, and others who are…

Federal Grant Will Create New Center to Support the Direct Care Workforce

The federal Administration for Community Living (ACL) plans to create a new initiative that will serve as a technical assistance and capacity-building center for direct care workers providing home and community-based services for older adults and individuals with disabilities. ACL intends to award a five-year grant to a lead entity to create and maintain the National Technical Assistance Center. Estimated total funding will be $1.2 million to $1.3 million, per year for the five-year project period.

Home-based care providers are currently experiencing one of the most difficult workforce environments in decades. Many organizations are unable to meet current demand as a result of inadequate staffing, primarily among the frontline direct care workers and aides that provide a large portion of the hands-on services for vulnerable patients and families.

  • Grant applications are due June 28, 2022
  • An overview informational teleconference will be held on May 17 at 3:00pm ET (Dial-in number: 888-942-9712; Participant passcode: 5313288).
  • Find out more about the details of the grant opportunity HERE

ACL envisions that this new initiative will serve as a central hub for state, private, and federal entities involved in the hiring, recruitment, training, and workforce development associated with the delivery of HCBS. The effort will deepen the collaboration between ACL, the Department of Labor, and other HHS agencies, including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE).

The center will focus on strategies and practices at the systems and provider levels, and will disseminate information and direct technical assistance (TA) to support stakeholders’ efforts to bolster and improve the direct care workforce. The TA Center will offer access to a curated array of model policies, best practices, training materials, technical assistance, and learning collaboratives.

Eligible applicants include public and private non-profit entities, community-based organizations, faith-based organizations as well as institutions of higher education. Given that current DCW workforce challenges are complex and informed by a number of factors, ACL expects that no single organization will be able to single-handedly meet the center’s objectives on its own. Accordingly, grant applicants will need to describe how they plan to partner with other organizations, including those representing the needs of traditionally unserved and underserved, to fully carry out the center’s mission and deliver on its priorities.

Detailed grant information is available HERE. If you have any questions about this grant opportunity, please contact Caroline Ryan at ACL at caroline.ryan@acl.hhs.gov

Federal Grant Will Create New Center to Support the Direct Care Workforce

Information on grants is here The federal Administration for Community Living (ACL) plans to create a new initiative that will serve as a technical assistance and capacity-building center for direct care workers providing home and community-based services for older adults and individuals with disabilities. ACL intends to award a five-year grant to a lead entity…

Federal Grant Will Create New Center to Support the Direct Care Workforce

The federal Administration for Community Living (ACL) plans to create a new initiative that will serve as a technical assistance and capacity-building center for direct care workers providing home and community-based services for older adults and individuals with disabilities. ACL intends to award a five-year grant to a lead entity to create and maintain the National Technical Assistance Center. Estimated total funding will be $1.2 million to $1.3 million, per year for the five-year project period.

Home-based care providers are currently experiencing one of the most difficult workforce environments in decades. Many organizations are unable to meet current demand as a result of inadequate staffing, primarily among the frontline direct care workers and aides that provide a large portion of the hands-on services for vulnerable patients and families.

  • Grant applications are due June 28, 2022
  • An overview informational teleconference will be held on May 17 at 3:00pm ET (Dial-in number: 888-942-9712; Participant passcode: 5313288).
  • Find out more about the details of the grant opportunity HERE.

ACL envisions that this new initiative will serve as a central hub for state, private, and federal entities involved in the hiring, recruitment, training, and workforce development associated with the delivery of HCBS. The effort will deepen the collaboration between ACL, the Department of Labor, and other HHS agencies, including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE).

The center will focus on strategies and practices at the systems and provider levels, and will disseminate information and direct technical assistance (TA) to support stakeholders’ efforts to bolster and improve the direct care workforce. The TA Center will offer access to a curated array of model policies, best practices, training materials, technical assistance, and learning collaboratives.

Eligible applicants include public and private non-profit entities, community-based organizations, faith-based organizations as well as institutions of higher education. Given that current DCW workforce challenges are complex and informed by a number of factors, ACL expects that no single organization will be able to single-handedly meet the center’s objectives on its own. Accordingly, grant applicants will need to describe how they plan to partner with other organizations, including those representing the needs of traditionally unserved and underserved, to fully carry out the center’s mission and deliver on its priorities.

Detailed grant information is available HERE. If you have any questions about this grant opportunity, please contact Caroline Ryan at ACL at caroline.ryan@acl.hhs.gov

Webinar: Unleashing the Capabilities of MAOs to Deliver Health Innovation for Older Adults in Underserved Settings

  • Thursday, October 7
  • 2:30PM – 4:00PM ET
  • REGISTER

As part of a broader partnership, CMMI, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH) and the Administration for Community Living (ACL) are jointly sponsoring a webinar titled, Unleashing the Capabilities of MAOs to Deliver Health Innovation for Older Adults in Underserved Settings on October 7 from 2:30-4:00 PM ET to highlight the emerging, numerous opportunities for MAOs to support beneficiaries in more fully meeting their care needs and goals through novel approaches and services enabled by technology.

The webinar will provide an overview of the data supporting these opportunities and will include a panel of three speakers from payer organizations, each of whom will provide an overview of their experience and results in innovating in the use of technology to address unmet enrollee health needs.

Panelists include:

  • Mona Siddiqui MD, MPH, Senior Vice President for Enterprise Clinical Strategy and Quality at Humana, who will discuss Humana’s approach to the use of data and predictive modeling to proactively engage and provide care for the highest risk and most vulnerable populations;
  • John Wiecha, Medical Director, Senior Products Division at Point32Health, representing the newly combined organizations of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Tufts Health Plan will provide an overview of a recent pilot project to improve dementia care through a digital caregiver support program; and
  • Caesar A. DeLeo, MD, MHSA Vice President & Executive Medical Director Strategic Initiatives, Highmark Health Enterprise Clinical Organization, Highmark BCBS who will discuss Highmark’s experience with telemedicine to approach substance use disorders during the pandemic and results from a five-year data driven program addressing appropriate opiate prescribing through profiling and academic detailing.

The webinar offers attendees the opportunity to gain a better understanding of the evidence and potential of several technology-enabled services in improving access, quality and outcomes of care, including, importantly, for underserved populations and will provide MAOs with insights more broadly on the challenges and solutions in design, implementation and evaluation of innovative and technology-enabled service.

MAOs that are considering such innovations who may wish to target the use of technology-enabled and/or other services based on chronic illness and/or Low-Income Subsidy (LIS) status through the VBID Model are encouraged to attend.

Webinar: Insights and Strategies for Reducing Suicide among Older Adults

This webinar is intended to raise awareness about suicide and highlight strategies to help professionals, consumers, families, and communities understand the role they can play in promoting emotional well-being and preventing suicide. Speakers will discuss the impact of suicide in later life, the implementation of 9-8-8 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, and highlight community-based programs and resources that can help. This webinar is hosted by ACL, the National Coalition on Mental Health and Aging (NCMHA), and the National Council on Aging (NCOA).

Panelists:

For registration questions, contact Binod Suwal.

ACL/CMS Webinar: Addressing Vaccine Hesitancy Among Direct Service Workers

Thursday, July 1, 2021, 3:00 – 4:30 PM ET Registration Vaccine uptake among direct service workers (DSWs) is particularly important for personal health and safety and to the many individuals that DSWs support, due to the high contact, personal nature of home care. However, DSWs experience many barriers to vaccination including culturally competent and accessible…

ACL/CMS Webinar: Addressing Vaccine Hesitancy Among Direct Service Workers

Vaccine uptake among direct service workers (DSWs) is particularly important for personal health and safety and to the many individuals that DSWs support, due to the high contact, personal nature of home care. However, DSWs experience many barriers to vaccination including culturally competent and accessible information, paid sick leave and/or time off, and transportation.

In this webinar, experts in the field will discuss demographics of the DSW workforce, barriers to vaccination, strategies to increase vaccine confidence and uptake, and promising practices.

Panelists:

  • Cory Nourie, Director of Community Services, Delaware Division of Developmental Disabilities Services
  • Ramu Iyer, National Alliance of Direct Support Professionals Advisory Council Member
  • Robert Espinoza, Vice President of Policy, PHI
  • Trudy Rebert, Federal Policy Counsel, National Domestic Workers Alliance

Questions? Please contact Meredith Raymond