Technical Assistance to Support the Aging and
Disability Resource Center (ADRC) Grantees
Academy Health 2006
Lisa Alecxih
The Lewin Group
lisa.alecxih@lewin.com
(703)-269-5542
Karen Linkins, The Lewin Group
Susan Reinhard, Rutgers University
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CMS & AoA VISION
To have Aging and Disability Resource Centers
in every community serving as highly visible
and trusted places where people of all incomes
and ages can turn for information on the full
range of long term support options and a single
point of entry for access to public long term
support programs and benefits.
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Research in Support of ADRCs

People do not know who to turn to for information
about long term support services

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Most think that Medicare will cover long term support
needs and do not understand Medicaid is means-tested
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Rosalynn Carter Institute, 2006 and numerous grantee surveys, 2004-2005
AARP, 2003
Providing the right information, assistance, and access
to services at the right time can delay or prevent costly
institutionalization
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Feinberg, 2003 and AARP 1996
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AGING AND DISABILITY RESOURCE CENTER GRANTEES
AK
WA
VT
MT
ND
MN
NH
OR
SD
ID
Hawaii
NY
WI
WY
MI
IL
OH
IN
CO
CA
WV
KS
CT RI
NJ
DE
PA
IA
NE
NV
ME
MO
KY
VA
MD
NC
TN
AZ
OK
NM
SC
AR
MS
Northern
Marianas
AL
GA
TX
LA
FL
Guam
FY 2003 ADRC Awardees
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Minnesota
Montana
New Hampshire
New Jersey
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
West Virginia
FY 2004 ADRC Awardees
Alaska
Arkansas
California
Florida
Georgia
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
New Mexico
North Carolina
Northern Marianas
Wisconsin
FY 2005 ADRC Awardees
Alabama
Arizona
Colorado
DC
Guam
Hawaii
Idaho
Kansas
Kentucky
Michigan
Mississippi
Nevada
Ohio
Tennessee
Texas
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
Wyoming
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Populations Served
Number of Grantees
(45 with 2 CA & 2 IL sites serving different
populations)
ADRC Populations
25
20
20
15
10
7
5
6
4
5
3
0
All Ages &
Disabilities
All Adults with Elderly & PD Elderly, PD & Elderly & DD
Disabilities
Only
Other
only
PD = Physically Disabilities
MI = Mental Illness
Elderly & MI
only
DD = Developmental Disabilities
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Pilot Site Operating Organizations
Among 54 2003/04 Pilot Sites
25
20
19
20
15
10
5
4
2
2
2
2
2
1
0
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ADRC Technical Assistance Exchange
(ADRC-TAE)

Led by The Lewin Group

In conjunction with CMS TA that supports nearly all of CMS
System Change grants
– Rutgers University, Independent Living Research Utilization (ILRU),
National Academy of State Health Policy, National Association of
State Units on Aging, and others

Focuses on grant major components/requirements
Also addresses sustainability and scaling up

Relies on multiple sources for knowledge transfer

Uses proven techniques of reinforced learning

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Functions of an ADRC

Awareness & Information
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Assistance
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
Public Education
Information on Options
ACCESS
Options Counseling
Benefits Counseling
Employment Options Counseling
Referral
Crisis Intervention
Planning for Future Needs
CONSUMER
Access
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Eligibility Screening
Private Pay Services
Comprehensive Assessment
Programmatic Eligibility
Determination
Medicaid Financial Eligibility
Determination
One-Stop Access to all public
programs
AWARENESS
&
INFORMATION
ASSISTANCE
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The Audience

Primary Audience
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Secondary Audience
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43 state/territory grantees
62 pilot sites currently and 106 by end of 2006
Over 1,200 registered website users
Policymakers
Researchers
Others interested in access to long term support services and
information and assistance
Varying levels of understanding of:


Key grant components
Use of the web and technology
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Coordinated Knowledge Transfer Framework
Knowledge Needs/Materials Refinement Feedback
Information Sources
• TA Requests
• LTC-TAC Faculty
• LTC Experts
• State Peers
• Research Literature
• Grantee Meetings/
Teleconferences
• Listserv Discussions
• Web Site
• Needs Assessments
Knowledge
Development/
Synthesis
• Issue Briefs
• Matrices
• Tools
• Summaries of
Meetings & Work
Groups
• Grantee Progress
Reviews
Knowledge
Dissemination
& TA
• ADRC Website
• Weekly Newsletter
• Bi-annual National
Grantee Meetings
• Monthly All Grantee
Calls
• Peer Work Groups
• One-to-one TA/
mentoring
Stakeholders
• State Agencies
• Aging Network
• Disability Community
• Indep. Living Centers
• Consumers/Families
• Service Providers
• Program Staff
• Private Insurers
• Legislators/Regulators
• General Public
Knowledge
Exchange/
Feedback
On-Site TA
Recipients &
Grantees
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Reinforced Learning Process
On-site
Assistance
Work
Groups
Listservs
Individualized Standardized
Knowledge
Knowledge
Web Site
Content
Teleconferences
Needs
Assessment,
TA Plans
AoA, CMS, Experts,
TA Collaborative
National Meetings
& Regional
Teleconferences
State Expertise
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Written Materials

Issue Briefs
Consolidate research and highlight key elements
 Make relevant to ADRCs

– Provide “real life” examples – bridge research and practice
Try to keep to less than 10 pages
 Provide sources for more detail
 25 downloaded 3,762 times
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Resource Documents and Tools

Consolidated information for a particular topic
– e.g., Information & Referral Software Matrix and Web-based Resource
Databases
– 70 downloaded 1,662 times

Documents from the field
– e.g., RFPs, forms, brochures, MOUs, marketing materials
– 344 downloaded 3,487 times
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Teleconferences

Topics based on grantee needs
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Monthly all grantee calls
– Average 26 grantees of 43 since Nov; 65 participants per month
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Smaller work groups calls
Background materials and/or slides in advance
Use of web-based meeting capability
Expert or state representatives featured
Summary, including questions and answers, posted on
website

Monthly calls also recorded and available for future access on
the website
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On-Site Technical Assistance

Onsite requests from grantee or identified need by
funders
Support grantees with other stakeholders

Facilitate meetings
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Individualized TA needs

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National Meetings

Permit in-person exchange among grantees
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Opportunity for peer-to-peer TA

Tackle issues more in-depth
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Reinforce federal messages
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Two each year
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1-2 days
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Between 100 and 250 attendees
Also send TA staff to other national meetings that
grantees attend
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Other Forums

Online Peer-to-Peer Exchange
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30 topics with 101 posts
e.g., naming the project and customer satisfaction survey
2,872 total hits
FAQs to Funders
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14 questions and answers
3,220 hits
– Most for single question – 836 on Medicaid eligibility determination
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Weekly newsletter
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New resources
Upcoming events
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Feedback Mechanisms
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Online surveys for all monthly calls and national meetings
Poor response rate for calls – most=9, mode=4
 Better for national meetings – 30-50%
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– Possibly because of dinner for two incentive
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Funders ask about TA in their semi-annual calls
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“In my 20 years of state government services, I have never seen anything so
comprehensive and useful as the ADRC technical assistance website” 2005
ADRC project coordinator
Informal mechanisms
TA leads solicit in regular one-on-one calls with grantees
 Ask at end of every peer workgroup call
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– Feedback on format
– Topics for future calls
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TA and Grant Management
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Web-based TA Tracking Tool
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Online semi-annual report tool
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Record grantee requests and TA responses
Prioritize TA activities
Ensure responsiveness to grantees
Coordinate multiple TA providers
Identify common themes to maximize resources and plan
activities
Accountability to funders
Grantees submit narrative, check box and outcomes info.
Database allows easy of analysis
Produce reports for internal and external purposes
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Grantee Baseline & Progress
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Sources of information
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Baseline from initial needs assessment calls
Progress from
– Semi-annual reports,
– TA requests and activity related case notes for grantees (TA
Tracking Tool)
– AoA-CMS Grants Monitoring call notes
Provides information for evaluative efforts
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Website – www.ADRC-TAE.org
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Primary mechanism to disseminate & exchange
information
Over 1,200 registered users
Averages 70 visits and 15,000 hits per day
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Up from 40 visits and 3,200 hits per day a year ago
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Average 2,000 to 3,000 visits and 500,000 hits per month
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Built a grantee online community
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Website – www.ADRC-TAE.org
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Audience of Implementers –
NOT Researchers, sooo …
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Know your audience:
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Attract and keep their interest:
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Stage information based on readiness
Monitor what works and what does not:
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Boil relevant research down to the high points
Repeat messages frequently and in variety of ways
Provide a couple (not too many) of resources for more depth
Meet them where they are:
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Preferred method of receiving information, tech savvy, concerns and
challenges
Solicit feedback constantly, both formally and informally
ACT on the feedback!!!
Try new things:
Keep eyes and ears open for how other successfully teach/support
 Experiment with different formats (e.g, consultancies)
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