Human Services

Disabilities Grants

Statewide Outcome(s):

Disabilities Grants supports the following statewide outcome(s).

Strong and stable families and communities.

Minnesotans are healthy.

Context:

Disability is a naturally occurring part of human life. Disability can occur at birth or be acquired later in life and can include physical disabilities, developmental disabilities, chronic medical conditions, and acquired or traumatic brain injuries. The US Census Bureau estimates that nearly 400,000 or 14 percent of Minnesotans have a disability or disabling condition. Individuals with disabilities are unique and have a variety of needs that may range from assistance with bathing and dressing to needing 24 hour care and supervision. Disability grants provide services and supports to enable Minnesotans with disabilities to remain in their communities and avoid institutionalization. These grants also provide funding to local counties, tribes, families and providers to support individuals with disabilities.

The purpose of Disabilities Grants is to provide community service options for individuals with disabilities, support to lead agencies, and to develop and maintain a system-wide infrastructure. These funds increase service availability and service choice for people with disabilities and their families; help people with HIV/AIDS with medical expenses; provide information and assistance on disability programs and services; and support county and tribal infrastructure.

Disabilities grants are funded by the state general fund, federal funds, and special revenue funds. The HIV/AIDS programs receive federal funds from the Ryan White Care Act and receive rebate funding from pharmaceutical companies for drugs and insurance.

More information about Disabilities Grants and the number of people served is available at

https://edocs.dhs.state.mn.us/lfserver/Public/DHS-6575-ENG.

Strategies:

Disabilities Grant programs include the following.

·         The Family Support Grant (FSG) provides cash to families to offset the higher-than-average cost of raising a child with a disability.

·         The Consumer Support Grant (CSG) helps individuals purchase home care, adaptive aids, home modifications, respite care, and other assistance with the tasks of daily living.

·         Semi-Independent Living Services (SILS) are used by adults with developmental disabilities to live in the community. The funding is used to purchase instruction or assistance with nutrition education, meal planning and preparation, shopping, first aid, money management, personal care and hygiene, self-administration of medications, use of emergency resources, social skill development, home maintenance and upkeep, and transportation skills.

·         HIV/AIDS programs assist enrollees with premiums to maintain private insurance, co-payments for HIV-related medications, mental health services, dental services, nutritional supplements, and case management.

·         Housing Access Services provides a grant to a non-profit organization to help individuals move out of licensed settings or family homes into their own homes.

·         The Disability Linkage Line (DLL) provides one-to-one assistance to help people learn about their options and connect with the supports and services they choose.

·         Local planning grants provide assistance to counties and tribes for the development of community alternatives to corporate foster care placements. During FY 2013, this funding will be used to support counties and tribes in gathering information to inform the statewide gaps analysis and needs determination processes.

·         The Advocating Change Together grant provides funding to the non-profit Advocating Change Together, which is a statewide self-advocacy organization for people with disabilities.

·         Technology Grants for Corporate Foster Care Alternatives provides funding for case consultation, evaluation and consumer information grants to assist in developing alternatives to shift-staff foster care residential services models.

·         People, Inc. receives a grant to support a living skills training program for people with intractable epilepsy who need assistance in the transition to independent living.

Results:

The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) monitors data, reviews counties, and administers surveys to consumers to evaluate services. Minnesota has seen continuous improvement in the number of people with disabilities served by community-based rather than institution-based services. Measures we track include the percent of people with disabilities who are receiving publicly funded long-term care services through a disability waiver or home care program instead of services in a nursing facility or intermediate care facility. The percent of people with disabilities served in the community has consistently remained steady or improved over the past five years.

A 2009 moratorium in state law on corporate foster care helps to curb the growth of residential settings. We are tracking the percent of people with disabilities who receive home and community-based services in their own home instead of in a residential setting, such as foster care. Current data shows improvement on this measure for people with developmental disabilities but has yet to show an impact for people with other disabilities.

More information is also available on the DHS dashboard: http://dashboard.dhs.state.mn.us and the Continuing Care Performance Report: http://www.dhs.state.mn.us/main/dhs16_166609.

Performance Measures Notes:

1.     Compares FY 2007 (Previous) to FY2011 data (Current). Source: DHS Data Warehouse.

2.     Compares 2007 (Previous) to 2011 data (Current). Source: DHS Data Warehouse.

3.     Compares 2007 (Previous) to 2011 data (Current). Source: DHS Data Warehouse.

4.     Compares calendar year 2010, quarter two data (Previous) to CY 2012, quarter two data (Current). Since the program began, Housing Access Services has moved 459 people with disabilities into homes of their own. Source: DHS Grant reports.

5.     Compares CY 2008 data (Previous) to CY 2011 data (Current). Source: DLL Customer Satisfaction Surveys.

More information is also available on the DHS dashboard: http://dashboard.dhs.state.mn.us and the Continuing Care Performance Report: http://www.dhs.state.mn.us/main/dhs16_166609.