Please note two opportunities for your comment and participation described below.

(1) CMS intends to publish proposed amendments to the regulation implementing Medicaid 1915(c) HCBS    Waivers and is soliciting advance public comments on:

a.  The merits of providing States with the option to combine or eliminate the existing three permitted waiver targeting groups/categories; and

2. The most effective means of defining “home and community”.

The Federal Register Notice can be found at: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2009-06-22/html/E9-14559.htm

CMS is particularly interested in receiving comments on:

a.  How removal of the existing regulatory barriers regarding target groups may increase a State's ability to design service packages based on need, rather than diagnosis or condition;

b.  How this change may affect the State's ability to serve individuals requiring an institutional level of care and may facilitate compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA); and

c.  Recommendations to strengthen person-centered principles and practices for the successful operation of any HCBS waiver program, including those that may serve individuals based upon identified needs, rather than diagnosis.

CMS also stated in the notice that during the development of the regulation for the new State plan HCBS benefit under Section 1915 (i) of the Social Security Act, many commenters asked for a deliberative stakeholder process for developing criteria for home and community standards.  CMS took these comments into consideration as they prepared this advance notice.  CMS is contemplating publication of a proposed rule that would provide that States must define, and CMS approve, standards for home and community under HCBS waivers. This announcement provides advance notice of a stakeholder process for developing criteria for home and community standards in regard to HCBS waivers and provides an opportunity for individuals to express an interest in participating in that process.  Comments are due to CMS on August 21, 2009.  

(2) Caltrans is conducting a series of Regional Roundtables to discuss the Mobility Action Plan (MAP) Phase 1 Implementation Study. The study is designed to further goals outlined in the 2006 MAP whose purpose is to coordinate transportation services provided by transit with those provided by human services agencies. Intended to supplement, not duplicate local coordinated plans, the Phase 1study will outline gaps in services (such as inter-regional gaps), help better define a state role in coordination and expose conflicts in laws and regulations with an eye toward eliminating these conflicts. The purpose of the meetings is to gain stakeholder input into coordination issues and problems and to suggest strategies for addressing them. Caltrans' original plan included on-site, in-person discussion in eleven of the 12 Caltrans District Offices statewide.

Please see the website for more information and a schedule of the meetings and the call-in numbers associated with each.  http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/MassTrans/Interagency-Coordination.htm