NFI – “Delivering on the Promise"
www.hhs.gov/newfreedom/final/
In conjunction with NFI, President Bush issued Executive Order
13217, directing HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson to develop
a compilation of Individual Federal Agency Reports of Actions
to Eliminate Barriers and Promote Community Integration. The
full report was released on March
25, 2002 and is titled, “Delivering On The Promise.”
Nine federal agencies outlined more than 400 specific solutions
that the agencies can implement to support community living
for the nearly 54 million Americans living with disabilities.
The reports from these agencies are the first comprehensive
federal review of barriers preventing people with disabilities
from living in their communities instead of in institutions.
The reports look at barriers to community living in the following
areas:
- health care structuring and financing;
- the shortage of accessible, affordable housing;
- problems attracting and retaining dedicated personal assistance
workers;
- the shortage of support, including respite services, for caregivers
and family members;
- the need for available, accessible transportation options;
- multiple barriers to employment;
- barriers to transitioning from school to post-secondary education;
- limited access to technology such as assistive devices.
MCHB'S Responsibility For Implementing A Plan
SOLUTION III.C: Action plan for children and youth with special
health care needs and their families--Includes Transition
activities
Page III-39 of the HHS section of
the Delivering On The Promise report discusses the MCHB planning
for CSHCN as follows: "HRSA's Maternal
and Child Health Bureau will take the lead in developing and
implementing a plan to achieve appropriate community-based services
systems for children and youth with special health care needs and
their families.
Barrier Addressed By Solution
For children with special health care needs, specific barriers
include access to:
- comprehensive, family-centered care
- affordable insurance
- early and continuous screening for special health care
needs
- transition services to adulthood.
With respect to families of such children, issues relate
to family satisfaction and the complexity and organization
of services resulting from fragmentation and multiple funding
streams. Developing a plan to address these barriers is a
"necessary first step to improving access to community-based
services for children with special health care needs."
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