The AARP Public Policy Institute released No Wrong Door: Person- and Family-Centered Practices in Long-Term Services and Supports and Checklist this week at the American Society on Aging conference.

At ACL, we believe that every person should be able to make choices and to control their own decisions, regardless of their age, disability, or illness. ACL, in consultation with stakeholders from the aging and disability communities, has drafted a set of principles to guide our work in this area, and to enhance existing programs and services related to serious or advanced illness for older adults and people with disabilities.

The annual summary of the latest statistics on the older population, A Profile of Older Americans: 2016, is now available. This profile covers 15 topical areas including population, income and poverty, living arrangements, education, health, and caregiving. A description of the highlights of this document is below and the full document is attached. The profile has proven to be a very useful statistical summary in a user friendly format.  =============================================================== Highlights*

On March 8, 2017, ACL released the proposed revisions for the Centers for Independent Living Annual Program Performance Report (CIL PPR). The Notice of the Proposed Revisions (PDF) is now on display in the Federal Register and will be open for public comment until May 5, 2017. The CIL PPR will not take effect until after all comments are reviewed and a final information collection instrument is released.

The Older Americans Act of 1965, as amended through P.L. 114-144 in 2016, included a provision requiring the Assistant Secretary for Aging to issue guidance to the Aging Services Network on serving Holocaust survivors.

The Georgetown University National Center for Cultural Competence is now accepting applications for its Community of Practice (CoP) on Cultural and Linguistic Competence in Developmental Disabilities. The CoP seeks to transform state/territorial developmental disabilities systems by:

In 2014, regulation was issued by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services which finalized the criteria for home and community-based services (HCBS) for the purposes of Medicaid funding. The criteria require settings receiving HCBS funding to facilitate beneficiary independence and decision-making in defining desired community-based living.

ACL is sharing an updated frequently asked questions (FAQ) to assist State Agencies on Aging, States' Long-Term Care Ombudsman Programs, and other entities that work with Ombudsman programs with implementation of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Programs Rule.

Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2016, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm ET Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016, 9:00 am - 3:00 pm ET The President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities (PCPID) will host a two-day meeting Wednesday and Thursday. The Committee will discuss preparation of the PCPID 2017 Report to the President, including its content and format, and related data collection and analysis required to complete the writing of the Report. They will also receive presentations from selected experts in the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities. M

In a new handbook from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services entitled "Coordination of Benefits and Third Party Liability (COB/TPL) in Medicaid," guidance is provided that services provided under the Older Americans Act are an exception to the "Medicaid is payer of last resort" rule.