BAAS NEWS
Recent General Memos and Policy Release and Forms:
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Provider Check-in on the 4th Tuesday of each month
View the BAAS Adult & Aging Care page for upcoming meeting details.
Please send email to BAAS@dhhs.nh.gov if you have any questions or want more information.
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New Hampshire’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Bureau of Adult and Aging Services (BAAS) engaged Human Services Research Institute (HSRI) and its partners to conduct a system assessment and gaps analysis of the state’s long-term supports and services system, with a specific focus on the Choices for Independence (CFI) Waiver. The CFI Waiver is a Medicaid home and community-based services (HCBS) 1915(c) waiver that provides services to clinically and financially eligible adults with chronic illness and/or physical disabilities, with the goal of supporting them to live in their communities. A central focus of this system assessment is capacity, particularly for self-directed services and equitable supports across all populations. The project was designed to provide recommendations that promote equity and a robust system of supports and services and minimize isolation for older adults and people with disabilities. The final phase of this project is “strategic groundwork,” whereby HSRI will support implementation strategies for any recommendations BAAS decides to implement.
This project is funded through the state’s Money Follows the Person (MFP) grant. The aims guiding the study were:
- Aim 1: Understand long-term supports and services needs and assets in New Hampshire.
- Aim 2: Examine and inventory available long-term supports and services, including home and community-based services and capacity for self-direction.
- Aim 3: Identify gaps within long-term supports and services, including whether gaps are experienced disproportionately by historically underserved communities.
- Aim 4: Provide recommendations for closing gaps and maximizing self-direction and community-based services.
Recommendations are provided in the following areas:
• CFI Waiver Service Availability & Access
• Self-Direction
• Nursing Facility Services and Community Transition
• Provider and Workforce Capacity
• Quality and Choice
• Coordination
• Equity and Disparities
• Community Education and Awareness
Access the full report including recommendations.
 Innovation in the Direct Care Workforce: Unlocking Success Through Peer Learning
Wednesday, January 29, 2025 | 2:00-3:00 p.m. ET
Join us for a webinar where national and state leaders and leading subject matter experts will share successes, lessons learned, and strategies for initiating, scaling, and sustaining change amid shifting policies and budgets. Discover how 14 states are transforming their direct care workforces to support the provision of home and community-based services (HCBS) through the Direct Care Workforce (DCW) Strategies Center’s Peer Learning Collaboratives (PLCs).
During this webinar, participants will hear about how state teams, made up of representatives from across agencies, have come together through the PLCs to share best practices, brainstorm strategies for tackling common barriers and challenges, and achieve meaningful milestones toward building a more robust HCBS direct care workforce. States will share how the benefits of peer-to-peer learning with a small group of states, focused on similar priorities and accessing national subject matter experts, have helped them achieve measurable progress toward strengthening this essential workforce.
Whether you’re a policymaker, HCBS program implementer, or workforce leader, this session will inspire and equip you to drive meaningful change in your state. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn more about strategies for shaping the future of HCBS direct care.
Registrants can note accommodation needs — such as captioning or sign language — on the registration page. The webinar will be live captioned. Webinars are recorded and posted with supporting materials on the DCW Strategies Center website.
Contact DirectCareWorkforce@ncoa.org with questions.
Input Needed on the Impact of Ageism
in Health Care
Comments due Saturday, March 15, 2025
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality is seeking information regarding the impact of ageism in health care. This request is open to the public and is part of an effort to better understand and quantify the impacts of ageism on health care quality, including aspects related to safety, timeliness, patient-centeredness, equitable distribution, and care outcomes. They are also seeking to understand how the effect of ageism differs across population groups and are interested in identifying efforts and innovative strategies and programs that address and mitigate ageism to optimize older adults' health.
Details on how to submit comments are available in the Federal Register notice.
For additional information, email Jose.Plascenciajimenez@ahrq.hhs.gov or call 301-427-1364.
 
 
 The NHAHA Participant Survey Is Now Open!
We are excited to invite you to take part in our Annual Participant Survey. As a key NHAHA stakeholder, your feedback will play a vital role in helping set NHAHA’s future course in support of older adults in NH.
As in years past, all your survey information will be kept confidential. Importantly, the survey asks if you are interested in learning more or even joining one of our NHAHA workgroups or committees. To maintain your confidentiality, you will be redirected to a different survey to provide your contact information.
The survey takes about 8-10 minutes to complete and will remain open until Friday, January 24, 2025.
Thank you for your feedback and for all you do to help our state be a wonderful place for older adults and their families.
Take the survey
New Futures Lunch and Learn
New Futures is excited to announce a weekly Lunch and Learn series to inform you about critical legislative developments across key health and well-being policy areas. Each week, New Futures’ expert policy team will provide a legislative update, answer questions, and connect you to opportunities to get involved.
Learn more and register.
Inspiration in Aging
97-year-old Lucienne Boisvert has let nothing stop her in finding happiness in helping others. Though she lost her sight at the age of 82, Lucienne learned to crochet and has donated over 2,000 scarves over the past 15 years. And through her partnership with Meredith Village Savings Bank, $4,000 has been donated to date to homeless shelters and low-income families in NH.
Read Lucienne’s inspiring story.
Rescheduled - Coffee And Causes: Food Security in Greater Nashua
Friday, March 7, 2025 (previously scheduled for Friday, January 10, 2025)
10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Nashua Senior Activity Center
70 Temple Street
Nashua, NH
Join United Way for a free, informational event for older adults in the Greater Nashua area. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about the impactful work of the Greater Nashua Food Council in addressing food insecurity. Information will be provided on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and how to sign up, ensuring access to essential food resources for those in need.
Learn more and register.
WHAT WE HEARD: Initial Feedback on the Strategic Framework for a National Plan on Aging
ACL has published WHAT WE HEARD: Initial Feedback on the Strategic Framework for a National Plan on Aging, which summarizes input received to date that will inform the development of a national plan on aging. The reports incorporate feedback on Aging in the United States: A Strategic Framework for a National Plan on Aging, which lays the groundwork for a coordinated effort to create a national set of recommendations for advancing healthy aging and age-friendly communities that value and truly include older adults.
Learn more about providing feedback and read the report.
Accelerating Housing and Services Partnerships to Advance Housing Stability: National Webinar
Thursday, January 16, 2025
3:00 p.m. EST
Virtual only
This webinar will highlight insights, innovations, and cross-sector collaborations built throughout the 12-month Housing and Services Partnership Accelerator (HSPA). It will discuss how cross-sector collaboration can improve the coordination of housing assistance and wrap-around services and supports as a cost-effective approach to assisting people with disabilities and older adults to transition from homelessness, exit or avoid institutional settings, and live stably in the community. Webinar participants will learn about resources that will assist in the planning, development, and implementation of housing-related services and supports, best practices and lessons learned by the states that participated in the 2024 HSPA, and what partners are essential to building a dynamic system to provide coordinated services and supports in housing, health, and social care services.
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