The 2008 A Case For Inclusion
An Analysis of Medicaid for Americans with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

The Case for Inclusion 2008 ranks all 50 States and the District of Columbia on how well they are providing community-based supports to Americans with intellectual and developmental disabilities being served by Medicaid.

Listen to the press teleconference on the report here

Unfortunately, the findings compared to last year (2007) are mixed:

• There are almost 1,400 fewer Americans living in at large state institutions (more than 16 beds). However, there are still 173 large institutions housing 37,711 Americans.
• Although fewer people are being served in large state institutions, in a concerning trend 6,000 more individuals are being served in public or private large institutions - to over 72,000 from less than 66,000. For comparison, the number of Americans with ID/DD served in their own home increased by about 3,200 (from over 101,100 to almost 104,400) and the number served in community settings, with one to six beds, remained almost the same (about 157,000).
• Now 17 states, up from 16, direct more than 80% of related funding to those living in the community;
• 39 states, up from 33, report having a Medicaid Buy-In program supporting individuals as they go to work and increase their earnings;
• Moving the wrong direction, fewer individuals report participating in competitive employment.
• In terms of rankings, Pennsylvania (to #15 from #29 in 2007) and Missouri (to #28 from #41) improved the most with West Virginia (to #24 from #16) and Nevada (to #25 from #17) dropping the most in the rankings.

The Plan For Inclusion Report

Simply documenting the problem is not enough. The purpose of The Plan for Inclusion is to arm UCP affiliates, self-advocates, families, service providers, policymakers and concerned citizens with suggested tactics and policy proposals targeted to improve the lives of Americans with intellectual and developmental disabilities in your state.

The Plan leads you through an advocacy development effort to:

1. Understand the unique challenges within your state;
2. Communicate that information to policymakers, state administrators, the media and key stakeholders;
3. Prioritize those areas needing attention; and
4. Match priority areas with action steps that have been proven effective in other states.

This process is intended to help you develop or sharpen an advocacy plan in your state.

The challenge is real. The time to begin is now.