The New Hampshire Aging and Disability Resource Center
Program Description
The New Hampshire Institute for Health Policy and Practice at UNH, in cooperation with the Bureau of Elderly and Adult Services (BEAS), has received another round of funding through 2012 for the Aging and Disability Resource Center program across the state of New Hampshire. New Hampshire has participated in the Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) project since 2003. The grant is jointly funded through Administration on Aging and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The federal funding is intended to assist, but not supplant, New Hampshire's current efforts toward simplifying consumer entry into the long-term support system.
The goal of the federal Aging and Disability Resource Center program is to empower individuals to make informed choices and to streamline access to long term support including a wide range of in-home, community-based and institutional services and programs that are designed to help individuals with disabilities and chronic conditions. The vision is to have Resource Centers in every community serving as highly visible and trusted place where people can turn for information on the full range of long term support options. The Resource Centers also serve as a single point of entry for both public and private-pay individuals to public long term support programs and benefits. The Resource Centers serve elderly persons, younger adults with disabilities and chronic conditions, family caregivers, as well as persons planning for future long term support needs. In addition, the Centers are a resource for health and long term support professionals who provide services to the elderly and to people with disabilities.
In New Hampshire, the ADRC program is known as ServiceLink Resource Center (SLRC) Network. There are 13 SLRC’s in New Hampshire, one in each County. Several of these county’s have satellite offices. Supported by a strong technology-based infrastructure and a team-based approach for operations management, trained professionals from multiple functional disciplines provide education, information, assessment, and customized referrals and connections to both private-pay and publicly-supported care options.
Since 2003, New Hampshire has set and met goals and objectives that supported the development of the fully-functioning ADRC program as defined by the AoA and CMS. Overall, the project’s goals were to improve access to long term support services through the Resource Center with a one-stop system, and to utilize the ADRC model to develop/enhance the self-directed service delivery system for older people and for adults with chronic conditions and disabilities.
To achieve these overarching goals several major activities took place in the course of the six years. These included:
- Established a planning team for development and implementation of ADRC model in New Hampshire;
- Established an ADRC Advisory Council, which continues to meet in order to address on-going objectives;
- Engaged with stakeholder groups including Granite State Independent Living (GSIL) and Real Choice Consumer Advisor Group;
- Developed, piloted, and modified the New Hampshire ADRC model for state-wide implementation;
- Developed outcome and evaluation components standard across all centers;
- Automated the information and referral system and updated the telecommunication system across SLRC sites;
- Implemented New Hampshire’s ADRC model, the SLRC, state-wide;
- Standardized information in the referral database and created a public searchable website;
- Established co-location of Medicaid eligibility processes across all sites and expanded the role of a Long Term Support Counselor to include processing and financial pre-screening for all Medicaid-funded LTC applications.
- Streamlined multiple eligibility processes (e.g Medicaid long-term care) through the ADRC Options Counseling Model and development of consumer guide;
- Developed standards of practice and training workshops for SLRC’s Long-Term Care Support Counselor’s;
- Coordinated with New Hampshire’s Systems Transformation Grant (STG) in the development of a self-directed service system;
- Partnered with the STG project in the development, implementation, and analysis of a New Hampshire Direct Care Workforce Survey and report and;
- Established an ongoing partnership with the DHHS Access Front Door project to centralize long-term care eligibility.
The NH report for project years 2003-2009 is available for more details NH ADRC Final Report 2009
New Hampshire was successful in securing a third round of ADRC federal funding for 2009-2012. The 2009 ADRC Enhancement Grant will create a five-year operational plan with technical assistance from the funder. This plan will be utilized as tool with policy makers and in NH DHHS budget planning. Other major objects during this grant period are to develop and implement a person-centered hospital discharge planning model, develop and implement a “no-wrong door” model, continue to streamline access and information, and improve project evaluation tools. The 2009 ADRC Enhancement Grant will allow New Hampshire to continue to strengthen and sustain the state-wide ADRC model.
Questions and recommendations are welcome and should be directed to Wendi Aultman, Program Manager, NH ServiceLink Resource Center Network, Bureau of Elderly of Adult Services at 603-271-4640 or Laura Davie, Project Director, NH Institute for Health Policy and Practice at 603-862-3682.
Please visit http://www.nh.gov/servicelink/ for program and resource information.