June 2023

Click here to see the original email campaign with photos.

From the Council's Chief Public Information Officer

Dear readers,

Ten years ago this week, Tennessee became an Employment First state. Governor Bill Haslam signed the executive order on June 13, 2013. Governor Bill Lee has continued the commitment.

What does being an Employment First state mean?

  • It means that our state’s disability service programs work together to support meaningful employment for people with disabilities. 
  • It means that today, thousands more people with disabilities are earning full wages at jobs they love in the community.
  • It means greater independence, inclusion, and self-determination for people with disabilities – including those who need the most supports.

In the decades before Employment First, most people with disabilities could at best expect to work menial jobs in closed settings. They were often paid well below minimum wage. Today, our state’s services work to help people pursue their personal career goals with full-wage jobs, working alongside people without disabilities. (Those services include programs like Employment and Community First CHOICES, Vocational Rehabilitation, Individual Placement and Support for people with mental health diagnoses, Enabling Technology, and more.)

The theme for Tennessee’s year-long Employment First celebration is “Purpose, Progress, Partnership.”   

  • So many more people with disabilities have found a sense of purpose through meaningful work. Our state agencies and advocacy groups have a deep sense of purpose in supporting the career dreams of those we serve.
  • The resulting progress is clear, both for people with disabilities and for our entire state.
  • And none of this would have happened without the partnership of more than a dozen state agencies and disability organizations working together toward a common goal.  (This short video shows how our Employment Roundtable has been one important place for those partnerships to grow!)

We hope you’ll stay tuned to celebrate with us over the next year. And we hope you’ll be a part of the ongoing work. There is much more to do! The future of employment for people with disabilities depends on continued purpose, progress, and partnership.
 
Happy summer, everyone!

Jolene Sharp
Chief Public Information Officer

Promising Program Spotlight: LINCS (Leaders in Inclusive Services)

At our most recent Council retreat, we heard about several new programs in Tennessee that are serving people with disabilities in innovative ways. Thanks to Christian Ceccotti, Manager for Provider Workforce Development in Long-Term Services and Supports -Provider Relations for BlueCare for sharing information about one of the programs we learned about. LINCs is a new way to find more people who want to work as "direct support professionals." Read below to learn more.

Acronyms to know for this article

  • HCBS = home- and community-based services and supports. These are services paid for by Medicaid to help people with disabilities live good lives in their communities. One major program that provides HCBS in Tennessee is the Employment and Community First CHOICES program.
  • LTSS = long-term services and supports. These are medical and/or personal care and supportive services to help people with activities of daily living, like bathing, dressing, eating, transfers from wheelchairs, and toileting. They can also include help with activities like housework, preparing meals, taking medications, shopping, employment, transportation, and managing money. These services are paid for by Medicaid. LTSS includes help for people living in nursing homes or other institutions AND services people get in their homes and communities (HCBS).
  • DSPs = direct support professionals.  DSPs are workers that support people with disabilities getting these sorts of Medicaid services like HCBS.

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The Workforce Development Team at BlueCare is dedicated to helping our providers with the unique challenges they are facing in hiring and keeping workers. “Providers” are companies that offer HCBS to people that have physical, intellectual, and developmental disabilities. The processes of hiring, training, and keeping staff these days are very complicated.

What we face today is a rare combination of factors that have led to unique workforce challenges across healthcare, especially in LTSS. The Direct Support Professional, or DSP, is the most common role for the LTSS side of healthcare. DSPs provide front-line in-home and community services and supports to these individuals. At BlueCare, we work to bring new programs, connections, solutions, and tools to our providers to overcome these workforce challenges.

DSPs are responsible for a very wide variety of services such as:

  • Personal Assistance
  • Job Exploration/Coaching/Development
  • Respite
  • Behavioral supports
  • Working in Community Living/Group Homes
  • Helping with Assistive and Enabling Technology
  • And many more (nearly 50 in fact!)

There are obviously many staffing needs across these many services.  Because of these types of services, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) can live, work, and be a part of their communities, at their own pace.  Every person deserves to live a full, happy, and healthy life.

In response to these challenges and service needs, we have created Leaders in Inclusive Services, or LINCS.  Relationships and partnerships have been key in the creation of LINCS.  This new program was created by BlueCare and several partners:

  • Four Universities (Vanderbilt, ETSU, MTSU, and Memphis)
  • TN Department of Education
  • Vocational Rehabilitation (TN Dept. of Human Services)
  • TennCare
  • The TN and National Centers for the Deaf
  • …And others.

The goal is to create a connection with high school and college students interested in several career areas. These career areas include:

  • Healthcare
  • Social Work
  • Education and Special Education
  • Rehabilitative Therapy
  • Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement
  • Psychology/Psychiatry/Family Counseling
  • Public Policy Design/Planning/Administration
  • and many others

These areas are all related to the responsibilities found in LTSS for physical, intellectual, and developmental disabilities. LINCS trains these students to work as DSPs. That helps students:

  • Get hands-on experience
  • Learn from mentors
  • Get into colleges
  • Build their resume
  • Get scholarships to our partnered universities

LINCS is a road to healthcare and these other career paths, which will help Tennessee going into the future.

You can find the LINCS job openings in a couple ways:

  • Find them on Jobs4TN.gov listed as “LINCS Assistant DSPs” for high school roles and “LINCS DSPs” for college roles
  • Contact BlueCare Workforce Team members--To get involved, just contact BlueCare WFD directly—we have direct contacts at all four participating universities.
  • Connect to a provider agency directly.

LINCS has many positives for Tennessee. Teaching students about the disability community may be the most important long-term benefit of the program. Working together, we can make sure we are providing the important services that Tennesseans need.

Welcome, New Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Leaders

This month, our long-time partner Elise McMillan, director of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (our TN Developmental Disabilities Network partner) will be retiring after 28 years in the disability field. In addition to her work leading the Kennedy Center, she is also the parent of a young adult with Down Syndrome (Will McMillan) and a 1996 graduate of our Partners in Policymaking Leadership Institute.

As our DD Network partner, Elise has served on our Council for many years. She has been instrumental in creating and expanding several major priorities of the Council, including (but not limited to!):

Learn more about the history of some of this work in an article Elise wrote for our magazine celebrating the legacy of our former Executive Director, Wanda Willis ("Big Solutions for Real Needs", Breaking Ground 108, winter 2021.)

Read more about the amazing impact Elise has had on the landscape of disability supports, policy and research in our state here from the May issue of "Notables" from Vanderbilt Kennedy Center.

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The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center recently announced new leadership for its University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (VKC UCEDD). Julie Lounds Taylor, Ph.D., and Pablo Juárez, M.Ed., BCBA, LBA. Pablo and Julie are taking over as co-directors of the UCEDD as Elise retires.

Both of these leaders each have longstanding histories with the VKC and bring unique expertise to the UCEDD with an emphasis on research, program development and expansion, and advocacy.

Our Council Executive Director Lauren Pearcy, shared about this transition, "Tennessee has a long history of partnership between VKC and the Council. I’m convinced that the reason we have accomplished so much together is because of the strong relationships between our leaders. We know these new leaders will continue that legacy."

Read more about Pablo and Julie's careers in the same May issue of "Notables" here.

Research Study: Down syndrome and autism overlap

Our Council member for Memphis Delta development district, Shontie Brown (also a graduate of our Partners in Policymaking program), asked us to share information about this research opportunity. The research is about screening tools for autism in children and teens with Down syndrome.

Shontie shared, "I was recently asked to serve on a community advisory panel to help reach people in the minority community and rural community with information about this study. Sharing information about research like this Down Syndrome/Autism Spectrum Disorder study matters to me because my daughter matters to me. It is important for families to know that a child with Down syndrome could also possibly be diagnosed with ASD, and they will need additional kinds of services and support. Parents and caregivers need to know more about early and accurate detection of autism spectrum disorder."

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Caregivers of children ages 6-18 with Down syndrome are invited to participate. Participation involves completing initial questionnaires about your child’s development and a few follow-up questionnaires two weeks later. The initial survey will take about 2.5–3 hours total, and the second survey will take about 30-45 minutes. You will receive a $30 Amazon e-gift card for completing the initial survey and a $10 Amazon e-gift card for completing the second survey. For more information, contact Dr. Channell’s research team at idclResearch@illinois.edu or 217-265-6058.

Disability Policy Corner (June 2023)

We're on a break from our weekly policy newsletter until the legislature begins again in January. In the meantime, we'll keep you updated here on the most important state and national policy news affecting people with disabilities. 

Renewing Your TennCare

If you are currently enrolled in TennCare, you will likely receive a letter soon with options for how to redetermine your status. Do not ignore this letter or your TennCare benefits may be ended. To learn more, view this video by TennCare. If you receive this letter and do not understand it, you can contact:

  1. Disability Rights Tennessee | 1-800-342-1660 
  2. TennCare | 1 (855) 259-0701
  3. TN Healthcare Campaign | Linked Here
  4. TN Justice Center | 1-877-608-1009

Here are five ways to update your personal information for redetermination:

  1. Online through TennCare Connect at TennCareConnect.tn.gov
  2. Call TennCare Connect at 855.259.0701
  3. In-person by visiting the Department of Human Services (DHS) office in your county. 
  4. Mail completed and signed Renewal Packet to: TennCare Connect P.O. Box 305240; Nashville, TN, 37230-5240
  5. Fax completed and signed Renewal Packet to: 855.315.0669

Learn more about the TennCare renewal process here.

TN Department of Health Focus Groups - 7/13-/8/1

The Tennessee Department of Health – Division of Health Planning is seeking input on the next Tennessee State Health Plan. The State Health Plan reviews the health of Tennessee and provides recommendations to state leadership on how to improve health.

Through a series of focus groups, the Department of Health is looking to gather feedback across the state on recommendations to be included in the next plan. Click here for more information and to register. There are events in Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville, and online. 

Learn more about the State Health Plan here. 

View a presentation about this feedback process for the new plan.