This course reviews the role of state and local practices in benefits outreach and enrollment for older adults and individuals with disabilities. Participants will learn about core benefit programs and challenges to accessing benefits. This course also describes sources of information trusted by older adults and persons with disabilities and identifies effective outreach strategies using those information channels. Participants will learn about state and local practices for ensuring individuals are connected to potential benefits, as well as opportunities to adjust benefits outreach and enrollment during crises and emergencies.

This course was developed with support from the National Council on Aging (NCOA) under a grant from the U.S. Administration for Community Living (ACL).

Providing telephone reassurance and check-in calls is a key strategy that is being widely used across the country to address social isolation among older adults and others, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Recognizing that certain conversation skills can help to build trust and deepen engagement, ADvancing States partnered with Emergency Design Collective to create a new Conversation Tips Toolkit designed to support reassurance and check-in programs. This Toolkit is intended to benefit volunteers and staff who are participating in outreach calls with individuals receiving services. The Toolkit provides a collection of conversation tips in the areas of building trust, creating engaging conversation, understanding expectations and roles, and caring for yourself. The Toolkit is accompanied by a ‘Buzzfeed style’ quiz referencing The Golden Girls to serve as an entry point to the conversation tips. Guidance is provided in the Toolkit on how these materials can reinforce volunteer training.

This course will provide an overview of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Aging population for Information & Referral/Assistance (I&R/A) staff and providers. During this course, the National Asian Pacific Center on Aging (NAPCA) National Resource Center on AAPI Aging will provide a general overview of AAPI older adult populations throughout America, including demographic trends, cultural diversity and barriers to accessing services. The course will offer strategies for staff and providers to integrate cultural and linguistic competence into their work with AAPI older adults, strengthening access to the Aging Network’s long-term services and supports system for this diverse group nationwide.

Affordable housing is a basic human need that many older adults and people with disabilities struggle to find and keep. This training is designed to give an overview of the types of affordable housing that are available to older adults and people with disabilities, and was developed in association with LeadingAge, an organization that focuses on applied research, advocacy, education, and community-building to advance housing and services for people as they age. This course will assist participants to understand differences between housing and other human services programs; understand who administers affordable housing locally and how to connect to them; and understand the basics on evictions, and eviction prevention resources.

During this session, participants will use Step 1: Prepare from the HCBS Business Acumen Center Toolkit, “Disability Network Business Strategies: A Roadmap to Financial and Programmatic Sustainability for Community-Based Organizations”. This resource is a ‘how-to’ guide designed to help Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) evaluate, plan, develop, implement and monitor strategies to help build and sustain their organizations in various business climates. ​

Step 1: Prepare discusses how to review and update the organizational vision and mission, conduct an environmental scan, complete a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis and identify champions to inform their work.

During this iQ course, participants will learn about Step 3: Stabilize, from the HCBS Business Acumen Center's toolkit. Every organization strives to have stable operations. Every business has to operate. It has to function. Organizational stability means many things. It requires that you have control of your finances so that you have enough in revenue to meet current expenses and are able to create savings that can be used to sustain your organization through down periods. Ideally, the financial stability of your organization is such that you are prepared for growth when opportunities present themselves. Organizational stability requires that your business has an employee base who is responsible, reliable, and trained. It means that your business has efficient business processes and uses technology in ways that allow employees to operate as effectively as possible. Ultimately, organizational stability means that your organization operates effectively today and should for the foreseeable future.

During this session, new participants will use Step 5: Monitor, Evaluate, and Respond from the HCBS Business Acumen Center Toolkit, “Disability Network Business Strategies: A Roadmap to Financial and Programmatic Sustainability for Community-Based Organizations”. This resource is a ‘how-to’ guide designed to help Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) evaluate, plan, develop, implement and monitor strategies to help build and sustain their organizations in various business climates. Step 5: Monitor, Evaluate, and Respond discusses the activities that CBOs need to do in order to ensure that their strategic plans stay on track. This includes monitoring their finances, compliance requirements and quality measures as well as implementing ongoing continuous quality improvement efforts.

This training module provides an overview of Medicaid managed care and outlines important differences between the Medicaid fee-for-service and Medicaid managed care delivery systems.  The course also explains types of managed care plans, how states can implement managed care programs, and key requirements that must be followed. Medicaid Managed Care 101 is intended for participants that have completed the Medicaid 101 course.

As the population of older adults grows, increasing numbers of older adults in three distinct categories might require the services of mental health, substance abuse, and aging systems in the future: (1) older adults with mental health conditions; (2) individuals who develop late-life mental health conditions; and (3) persons living with dementia and co-occurring treatable mental health conditions or substance abuse disorders. Aging, disabilities, and mental health network professionals are invited to watch the recordings of this webinar training series on behavioral health crisis management for older adults to strengthen knowledge and skills to meet the current and future needs of older adults with, or at risk of developing, mental illness. This training series emphasizes digital service delivery where digital is defined as any type of technology ranging from telephone, text messaging, smartphone apps, videoconference, videogames, and social media to virtual reality.