This course provides participants with an overview of the issue of elder abuse. The course materials define, distinguish, and explain the significance and impact of elder abuse, as well as offer strategies to respond to possible scenarios. The course is designed for individuals in the fields of aging and disabilities who may encounter elder abuse or vulnerable adult abuse situations. 

This training provides an overview of key competencies needed for aging and disability I&R/A professionals, and provides preparation for the AIRS Certification exam for Community Resource Specialists in Aging/Disabilities (CRS-A/D, formerly CIRS-A/D). The training course covers the following content: the fundamentals of information and referral (I&R); details of the AIRS certification exam; the I&R/A process; key communication techniques; highlights of the AIRS Standards and Quality Indicators for Professional Information and Referral; an overview of I&R/A and the Aging/Disability Networks; information on aging and disability programs and services; and AIRS practice exam questions. For more information on AIRS Certification, including how to apply to take a certification exam, visit AIRS by clicking here.

This course provides training materials for the CRS-A/D (formerly CIRS-A/D) curriculum developed by ADvancing States' National I&R Support Center. The materials include trainer, trainee, and supplemental materials. This course is restricted to individuals who have participated in the Support Center’s train-the-trainer initiative.

This course offers participants an overview of key issues relevant to providing information and referral/assistance (I&R/A) to individuals with disabilities. The course covers disability awareness, effective communication, services and resources, and disability rights. It will help participants expand their understanding of disability to improve I&R/A services. This course was originally designed to allow Certified Information & Referral Specialists—Aging (CIRS-A) to grandfather to the Certified Information & Referral Specialist— Aging/Disabilities (CIRS-A/D) credential.

This course describes key communication techniques for aging and disability professionals. Many professionals utilize key communication techniques every day. While all aging and disability professionals can benefit from using key communication techniques, these techniques are regularly utilized by some professionals who work directly with clients, such as Information and Referral/Assistance (I&R/A) Specialists, Options Counselors, Person-Centered Counselors, and Benefits Counselors. For consistency purposes, this course will refer to all aging and disability professionals who work with clients as counselors.

This course describes ways in which Information & Referral/Assistance (I&R/A) staff and providers can improve services and resources provided to people with intellectual and developmental disability (I/DD) and their families. People with I/DD and their families may experience several challenges over the course of their lifespan, and these challenges must be navigated in a manner that respects how each person’s and family’s cultural values may impact their experiences and understanding of disability. This course will offer strategies that staff and providers may use to integrate cultural and disability competence into their work with people with I/DD and their families, strengthening access to the support 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.

The 2021 ADvancing States Virtual Spring Meeting took place on May 4-5. State aging and disabilities directors, Medicaid LTSS directors, federal officials, managed care organizations, and other key service delivery partners joined us for 10 virtual sessions exploring: updates from CMS and ACL leadership; aligning SHIPs with integrated care programs, the direct care workforce shortage, improving dual eligible integration, helping LTSS providers survive and thrive in rural settings, partnering with health plans to ensure nutritional needs of LTSS clients, NCI-AD's remote modality pilot, AARP LTSS choices, and equity in LTSS. This course includes access to archived session recordings with over 9 hours of content and the accompanying resources on each topic.

If you have an enrollment key, please enter it to access this course free of charge. Otherwise, please note that this course charges $103.30 in order to access the materials. 

The Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Conference is ADvancing States’ annual national conference that brings together state, federal, and local policymakers as well as leaders who administer, manage, and deliver waiver and other HCBS programs. The purpose of the HCBS Conference is to share practices and policies that improve state systems delivering long-term services and supports (LTSS) for all ages and abilities.

The 2020 HCBS Conference was held virtually over two weeks, with two pre-conference intensives held in November: November 10 & 17; December 2-3; and December 8-10, 2020.

Conference attendees may enter their enrollment key to access all of the conference recordings and PowerPoint slides free of charge.