Community Living

The vast majority of the approximately 10,000 individuals returning to the community from prison each week lack the education and skills required for even entry-level employment. Research from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) indicates a link between academic failure and delinquency, violence and crime. Those reentering the community after incarceration face a system of silos between corrections, education and the workforce system. This contract sought to support reentry education models based on the best available evidence and theory and build on Department work in this area.

New Editions provided logistics and management support to assist the Office on Disability (OD) in implementing the Call to Action Strategic Plan. We planned and conducted important events, including a conference with major healthcare provider organizations to identify best practices in disability awareness training for physicians and nurses, as well as a forum with employers to identify best practices in providing access to healthcare services for employees with disabilities.

Through coordination across multiple projects, New Editions worked collaboratively to provide expert technical assistance and guidance to the Administration for Community Living (ACL), their grantees and partners, and other Aging Services Network organizations at the state, sub-state and community levels. Under a subcontract with The Lewin Group, New Editions coordinated relevant ACL activities with the initiatives of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Money Follows the Person (MFP) Technical Assistance Center.

Under a subcontract with Inverness Technologies, New Editions provided research support to assess the value of remote counseling services for veterans with service-connected disabilities to help them obtain, maintain, or retain employment, or live independently. New Editions reviewed the existing body of literature on the types of remote counseling techniques currently used in the private and public sectors, and completed a cost-benefit analysis of remote counseling in rural areas.

The purpose of the Sports to Work Research and Development Study was to conduct a thorough analysis of the role sports activities can play in vocational rehabilitation and independent living programs. New Editions, through a subcontract with Inverness Technologies, reviewed the existing body of literature as well as current state-of-the-art sports and recreational programs.

New Editions supported the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS’s) New Freedom Initiative (NFI) Working Group, which was led by the HHS Office on Disability (OD). The Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) worked through the NFI Working Group on a project to analyze and promote the Medical Home Model for children with special health care needs and all individuals with disabilities.

With our subcontractor JBS International, New Editions conducted a formative qualitative study to ascertain how primary care clinicians and patients conceptualize and discuss preventive services. We used focus groups and simulated clinical scenarios to gain insight into the shared decision-making process. This knowledge will be used to guide the development and improvement of print and electronic tools that prompt joint decision-making by clinicians and patients regarding the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendations.

Funded under Medicaid’s Money Follows the Person (MFP) program, the New Editions contract, Housing Capacity Building Initiative for Community Living Project, was announced in June 2010 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sebelius. The Secretary lauded the project’s vision to assist older adults and those with chronic conditions find appropriate housing to live more independent lives.

Enacted by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, the Money Follows the Person (MFP) Rebalancing Demonstration is part of a comprehensive, coordinated strategy to assist states (in collaboration with stakeholders) to make widespread changes to their long-term care support systems. This initiative assists states in their efforts to reduce their reliance on institutional care, all while developing community-based long-term care opportunities, and thereby enabling the elderly and people with disabilities to fully participate within their communities.

New Editions provided technical and logistical support to a national expert panel; a panel formed to assist the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH’s) Rehabilitation Medicine Department develop a holistic definition of adults with chronic health care needs that can be used in national surveys and clinical settings.