Real Choice Project Activities

The Real Choice Systems Change project is designed to create and implement improvements in community-based care systems in order to improve health and long-term care services and supports that assist people with disabilities and long-term illnesses to live in the community.

Project activities include:

• Systems Transformation Grant. Individuals with disabilities and older adults have the right to live as independently as possible within their home and community. Most people want to stay in their home and community as their support needs increase. But for some individuals with disabilities and older adults the freedom to live where and with whom they choose is lost due to barriers that prevent them from being supported in their homes and communities. These barriers include lack of affordable and accessible housing, access to transportation, employment supports, an adequate workforce to provide personal care, healthcare, and funding, as well as attitudinal and public policy barriers. Click here to view the Goals and Objectives.

• Person Centered Planning for Older Adults. Using the Team Performance Model (TPM) developed by Drexler & Sibbet (1993) as the framework for Person Centered Planning (PCP), the IOD is designing a process for supporting PCP that is applicable across all ages and disabilities. The TPM offers a valuable structure for supporting the progression of PCP and provides a comprehensive framework that reflects predictable phases of planning and decision-making that individuals, families and support teams progress through as they design and develop individually-tailored supports. The PCP project includes the development of principles of PCP, training for community staff who work in critical pathways to long-term supports, the development of a training manual, and the development of web-based PCP tools. Click here for more information.

• The Transitions in Caregiving project (formerly Nursing Home Diversion Modernization Grant) is transforming how services are being delivered to family caregivers in New Hampshire who are caring for older adults at risk of nursing home admission. The project has shifted the locus of control from a primarily state-controlled, provider driven model to a caregiver-directed, locally-managed model that allows caregivers to determine their needs with support from local resources.
  Click here for more information and details.

• New Hampshire Coalition for the Direct Care Workforce. In 2007, the Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute’s LEADS Institute convened key partners to weigh-in on the direct care workforce predicament.  Robyn Stone, Dr.P.H, a noted researcher on healthcare and aging policy, was brought in to help launch a direct care workforce group to address the shortage.  At that time, additional stakeholders were identified and asked to join the group. In February 2009, the group became the New Hampshire Coalition for the Direct Care Workforce (NHCDCW). This group meets monthly and is focused on understanding the demographics of the direct care workforce, educating legislators and policy makers about the needs of this workforce, and providing training and education on best practices in recruiting, training, and retaining direct care workers. Click here for more information.