Assessment Tool Meeting

There was an meeting to pick a new assessment tool this past Wednesday, November 2, 2016. It was at the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. The Human Services Research Institute, or HSRI, led the meeting. HSRI is the independent expert that the Department is working with under the settlement agreement.

At the meeting, HSRI talked about three assessment tools. The Supports Intensity Scale (SIS), the Inventory for Client Agency and Planning (ICAP), and the interRAI. The people at the meeting rated each of them in several areas.

Then HSRI used the ratings to rank the three tools: The SIS came in first. Then the interRAI. And the ICAP, which is based on the SIB-R, came in last.

Next, HSRI will write up a memo about the meeting. Then the Department will decide what it will do.

Do you have an opinion about the tool? Please let us know!

Here is more information about the meeting and the tools:

Picking a new assessment tool

In the adult DD program, you get assessed each year. The assessor meets with somebody who knows you well. The assessor uses a standard assessment tool. Right now, that tool is called the SIB-R.

This week, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare is meeting to pick a new assessment tool. It will probably not be the SIB-R. Three choices it will consider are:

1. The Supports Intensity Scale (SIS).

2. The Inventory for Client and Agency Planning (ICAP). The ICAP is based on the SIB-R.

3. The interRAI.

Others have compared these tools. You can find some reviews and comparisons using web search engines like Google.

What do you think the new assessment tool should be? Please let us know. The ACLU will be attending a meeting with IDHW about it this week. Please let us know what you think before Wednesday, November 2, 2016, if you can.

Court gives preliminary approval to Idaho adult DD program changes

The court gave “preliminary approval” to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare agreement that will bring big changes to the Idaho adult DD program. Preliminary approval means that the Department now has to notify everyone in the program about the changes. If you are in the program, you will get a notice in the mail this fall. Read the notice carefully. On January 12, 2017, the court will hold a hearing to decide whether to finally approve the changes.

Learn more about the changes on the Q&A page.

Read the court’s preliminary approval and the settlement agreement document.