Medicaid Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) waiver programs provide the majority of long-term services and supports for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Relatively new (2014) HCBS rules (CMS 2249-F/2296-F) governing these programs require "meaningful community" integration of people with disabilities…

A retrospective data analysis using 2000-2008 three state Medicaid Analytic eXtract was conducted to examine the prevalence and association of comorbidities (psychiatric and non-psychiatric) with healthcare utilization and expenditures of fee-for-service enrolled adults (22-64 years) with and without autism spectrum disorders (International…

States have increasingly transitioned Medicaid enrollees with disabilities from fee-for-service (FFS) to Medicaid Managed Care (MMC), intending to reduce state Medicaid spending and to provide better access to health services. Yet, previous studies on the impact of MMC are limited and findings are inconsistent. We analyzed the impact of MMC on…

While COVID-19 is capable of infecting anyone, the level of risk is far from equal. Data show that Black and Latino communities, already suffering from deep-rooted economic and health inequalities, have borne the brunt of the pandemic. Latinas, in particular, have suffered some of the most egregious economic and health disparities over the past…

In its 2019 report, "Beyond the Border: Family Separation in the Trump Era," UnidosUS demonstrates how the current trajectory of the nation's immigration policies is threatening the future of an entire generation of American children. This issue brief on Illinois is part of a series that builds on this analysis by exploring the stakes at…

Men who have sex with men (MSM) appear to experience barriers to health care compared with general population men. This report examines individual differences in health care access within a diverse sample of urban MSM ("N" = 871). The authors examined demographic differences in health care access and the relation between access and…

Council for American Private Education (CAPE) is a coalition of national associations serving private schools K-12. "Outlook" is published monthly by CAPE. This issue contains the following articles: (1) High Levels of Satisfaction Among Private School Parents; (2) Private School Students Take Tough Courses; (3) Small Private Schools Can…

Throughout 2009, ZERO TO THREE worked to keep individuals informed of important and innovative policy developments happening throughout the country. This past year included many historic ups and downs--new and energetic faces arrived in the White House, Congress, and state governments ready to move this nation forward, and this nation entered an…

Context: Confidentiality of personal health information is an ethical principle and a legislated mandate; however, the impact of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) on ethics committees ethics committees is limited. Purpose: This study investigates the prevalence, activity, and composition of ethics committees located…

Objective: This longitudinal study followed 5,978 children in out-of-home care to examine whether placement and permanency outcomes differ between children with and without a history of inpatient mental health treatment. Method: Data were drawn from child welfare and Medicaid records from the state of Illinois. Logistic regression and survival…

Children who lack health insurance do not have access to preventive care, placing them at greater risk of serious illness. This special report of the Voices for Illinois Children describes federal and state efforts to address the problem of uninsured children and issues that will need to be monitored as Illinois begins to help children access…

Once as familiar in the back-to-school ritual as falling leaves, teacher strikes seem headed for a winter freeze. According to the nation's largest teacher's union, about 15 of the National Education Association's (NEA) 14,000 local affiliates have gone on strike since the start of this school year. In Pennsylvania--a traditional union…

This report focuses on the group benefits available to Illinois public higher education employees. The study provides a perspective on the range of benefits and the differences in the administration of institutional benefits. Findings reveal the availability of retirement annuities that increase with each 10 years of service; optional retirement…

These two newsletter issues recount activities of Voices for Illinois Children to ensure that basic needs of children, families, and communities are met. The summer issue notes various bills in progress in the Illinois House, and looks at the lack of health insurance affecting more than 300,000 Illinois children. Child advocacy efforts are also…

The Illinois public community college Faculty and Administrative Salary Survey presents information on full-time faculty mean salaries from fall 1973 through fall 1977, teaching and non-teaching personnel actual 1977-78 contractual salaries by school district, and mean salaries per yearly course semester hour, weekly class contact hour, academic…