Event Board Green Dog Open will be September 17, 2008 The inaugural Green Dog Open will be held September 17th at the Coffin Golf Club in Indianapolis. The Open will benefit The Generations Project and Hoosiers First for the support services provided by those organizations for the Indiana Home Care Task Force. Persons interested in sponsoring or participating in are urged to contact John Cardwell at jcardwell@generationsproject.org Click here: Green Dog Open 2007 photo gallery. TPG field meetings and studies in August and September 2007 The Generations Project is presently conducting field meetings and studies regarding home and community based services (HCBS) in Indiana. These discussions and studies are examining attitudes toward publicly financed HCBS plus consumer concerns and priorities. Data is also being collected on HCBS services and their availability. The information gathered from these field meetings and studies will enable the Project to better represent the needs of long term care consumers, their families, and organizations that are members of the Indiana Home Care Task Force and the Project. The information will also be used in education and training materials for consumers, organizations, employers, and policy makers in the fall of 2007. The Service Employees International Union is assisting the Project in this process. Home care to be reviewed by the Select Joint Commission on Medicaid Oversight On September 10th the Select Joint Commission on Medicaid Oversight of the Indiana General Assembly will meet at 10:00 a.m. in the Senate chamber on the 3rd floor of the State House. The commission will be examining home and community based services funded by Medicaid waivers and the CHOICE program in addition to other long term care services funded by Medicaid. HCBS consumers and their families, as well as advocates, are encouraged to attend this hearing. The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration will be making a presentation and recommendations to the commission. The Indiana Home Care Task Force has asked for permission to do a presentation at the hearing. Because of the new security measures at the State House persons using wheelchairs and other mobility aids must enter the building from the west ground floor entrance. Access is no longer available from the underground tunnel via the State House basement. (The Indiana Home Care Task Force has asked for a review of this security arrangement because it will place persons with disabilities of all ages at risk during poor weather.) Persons wanting to know about future meetings of the Select Joint Commission on Medicaid Oversight and the related Health Finance Commission, and to get reports from the commission meetings, can do so online by going to Access Indiana. From that website go to IN.gov.Home to General Assembly to Interim Information and, finally, to Medicaid Oversight, Select Joint Commission or to Health Finance Commission. The Round Table Process Presently, The Generations Project is talking to consumers, their families, advocates and LTC professionals throughout the state about the upcoming Round Table process. According to Elmer Blankenship, president of the Project’s governing board, “The Round Table process is part of the Project’s core mission to educate and empower citizens who need and use publicly funded long term care. The Round Tables will enable citizens to dialogue as equals with professionals, public and private sector leaders. The Project believes this process will help move Indiana another step closer to a truly re-balanced and humane system of long term care services.” Three Round Table sessions will be held by the Project to do the following: provide empowerment training for consumers, to work with consumers to identify home and community based services program and policy priorities, and to bring consumers, advocates, professionals, business leaders and policy makers together to develop consensus goals and solutions. Dates for the sessions are: November 7th 10:30a.m. to 3p.m., November 14th 10:30a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and December 12th 11a.m. to 2:00p.m. Session I will dwelve on training in the issues in depth. Session II will focus on prioritizing the issues. Session III will be concentrated on ways to get the business community to pursue the round table derived package of long term goals.