Michigan Conference on Medicaid Waivers

Home and Community Based Waivers are available to provide a wide array of services to people living at home or in other community settings including group homes. Your developmentally disabled family member may already have a waiver - if that is the case, you were asked to give consent to use waiver services instead of placement in an Intermediate Care Facility for the Mentally Retarded (ICF/MR).

Families usually don't receive much information about the waivers, the services they pay for, and how your local Community Mental Health agency is spending the money from the waiver. But access to HCBS waivers is often vitally important to getting all the services your family member needs to live safely and comfortably in whatever setting is appropriate.

This conference may help you to fill in the gaps in your knowledge about Medicaid waivers and how it might help your family. I'm hoping that's the case. As always, these mental health people are in love with acronyms and funny language ("wrap-around facilitators"???) Here is the the text of the flyer sent out by the MACMHB and the Michigan Department of Community Health:

MI Association of Community Mental Health Boards, in partnership with the MI Department of Community Health presents:

Annual Home & Community Based Waiver Conference
September 9 & 10, 2009

Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center
MSU, East Lansing, Michigan

3 Featured Waivers:

• Children's Waiver Program (CWP)
• Habilitation Supports Waiver (HSW)
• Serious Emotional Disturbance Waiver (SEDW)

Workshop Goals and Objectives: Learning objectives for each educational activity are identified within the body of the brochure.

Who Should Attend: Case managers, supports coordinators, wrap-around facilitators, clinicians, administrative staff, providers, consumers, and family members.

Consumers & Family Members: A special rate is available for consumers and family members. [The special rate is $50 for the whole 2-day conference.]

Continuing Education Credits: The Michigan Association of Community Mental Health Boards (MACMHB), provider #1140, is approved as a provider for social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) through the Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. MACMHB maintains responsibility for the program. Social workers participating in this conference (9/9/09-9/10/09) may receive a maximum of 10.5 continuing education clock hours.

Evaluation: There will be an opportunity for each participant to complete an evaluation of the conference and the instructor. If you have any issues with the way in which this conference was conducted or other problems, you may note that on your evaluation of the conference or you may contact MACMHB at 517-374-6848 or through our webpage at www.macmhb.org for resolution.

Includes Plenary Sessions such as:

• “Asperger’s and the Five Senses”and Concurrent Workshops such as:
• "Medication and the Child and Teenage Brain: What do Psychiatrists do? What do Medications do? Can we all Work as a Team?"
• "Getting Started in Self-Determination"
• "Benefits and Community Supports for Persons with Developmental Disabilities and Mental "Illnesses
• "Increasing Independence for Children with Autism through Visual Supports"
• "Project ImPACT: Teaching Parents of Children with ASD Strategies to Enhance Their Child’s Social Communication"
• and much more

Other MACMHB Trainings here.