LTSS Newsletter—March 2026

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) sent this bulletin at 03/24/2026 09:00 AM EDT

Stay tuned for the next LTSS webinar
American Indian/Alaska Native Long-Term Services and Supports

Technical assistance for tribal health care
March 2026
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LTSS Technical Assistance Center
Visit the online LTSS TA Center for videos, best practices, toolkits, a resource library, and a step-by-step planning roadmap.
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Emergency preparedness for people with disabilities

It is often recommended that people with disabilities assess their needs well in advance of any disaster and then plan accordingly.

For that reason, the American Public Health Association’s Get Ready campaign offers a series of fact sheets on disability and emergency preparedness.

The fact sheets provide information on what to include in emergency preparedness plans and portable emergency kits for people who:
  • Are blind or have low vision
  • Have cognitive challenges
  • Are deaf or have hearing loss
  • Have mobility challenges

 

 
     
   

LTSS for Native people with disabilities

  
       
   

The CMS LTSS Technical Assistance Center’s Emerging LTSS Issues page includes several reports that highlight efforts to address issues and challenges commonly faced by Native people with disabilities.

 

The report, Long-Term Services and Supports in Indian Country: Issues Affecting American Indian and Alaska Native Consumers with Disabilities (PDF, 798 KB, 23 pp), describes three tribally operated programs and organizations that have helped Native people with disabilities live as independently as possible.

 

  

Accessible transit for people with visual impairments
Front cover of the Every Ride Counts User Guide for People with Visual Impairments shows a seated transit passenger holding a white cane.

Increasing awareness of accessible local transit options through outreach makes it more likely that people with blindness or low vision will use those options.

 

To help transportation organizations serve this population more effectively, the National Aging and Disability Transportation Center’s Every Ride Counts campaign offers a User Guide for People with Visual Impairments (PDF, 1.1 MB, 19 pp).

 

The guide highlights the importance of connecting current and potential transit users with mobility managers or transportation navigators who can provide one-on-one support. It also recommends tapping into trusted networks and local partnerships for effective outreach, especially in rural areas.

 

Additionally, the guide lists several tips to ensure outreach materials are accessible and effective for people with blindness or low vision. Some of those tips include:

 

  • Clearly outlining local transit options in multiple formats—print, digital audio, video, and Braille versions
  • Choosing legible, high-contrast fonts and colors and including alt text for visual content
  • Using an accessibility checker once a document has been finalized, to ensure font formatting, color contrast, and other features have not been lost
  • Creating and launching digital ads that can be accessed with a screen reader

 

Health care for AI/AN people with disabilities

About 30% of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) people have a disability—a higher proportion than any other race or ethnicity.

 

To learn more about the barriers, challenges, and strengths that are part of daily life for many AI/AN people with disabilities, watch the webinar, Disability Healthcare: A Native American Lens. Presented by the University of Michigan, Center for Disability Health and Wellness, the webinar features four panelists who discuss:

 

  • How AI/AN communities typically view disabilities
  • Health care needs of AI/AN people with disabilities
  • Use of the Sweetgrass Method, a culturally grounded framework, to support effective communication between people with disabilities and health care providers

 

The webinar panelists also recommend the following resources:

 

  • Understanding Disabilities in AI/AN Communities – Developed by the National Council on Disability and the National Indian Council on Aging, this toolkit provides an overview of health care and federal insurance programs, independent living opportunities, elements of effective programs, and more.
  • Echo: The Saga of Maya Lopez – This Marvel comic features a modern, fictional representation of a young, deaf AI/AN woman.

 

Icons of a person with a cane, a person in a wheelchair, hands making a sign in sign language, and a face coming out of a mask.

 

Icons from the Understanding Disabilities in AI/AN Communities Toolkit Guide representing people who (1) are blind or visually impaired, (2) have limited mobility, (3) are deaf or hard of hearing, and (4) have hidden disabilities.

 
Content marked as decorative will not expose a description to screen readers.
 
Join the conversation on LinkedIn

Want to learn more about or discuss LTSS in Indian Country? Looking to connect with others working in the same field?

Join the Tribal Affairs Group on LinkedIn.
Upcoming webinar

Stay tuned for the next LTSS webinar

There will be no LTSS webinar in March. Check back soon for more information about the next webinar.

 

In the meantime, visit the LTSS TA Center to view archived LTSS webinars, such as Intergenerational Transmission of Traditional Practices and Foodways.

 
Caregiver's corner

Dementia-specific LTSS for people with IDDs

When people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) develop dementia, they often experience behavioral and emotional changes that affect their ability to communicate and stay socially connected.

 

For a better appreciation of how dementia-specific LTSS can address such challenges, review a guide offering practical strategies for professionals who serve people with IDDs and dementia (PDF, 3.3 MB, 101 pp).

 

Published by the National Alzheimer’s and Dementia Resource Center (NADRC), the guide provides insights into how staff at Area Agencies on Aging and other organizations can help family caregivers of people with IDDs and dementia:

 

  • Incorporate new techniques and approaches into their communication with care recipients
  • Respond to behavioral symptoms, which often stem from a care recipient’s unmet needs
  • Get connected to dementia-specific services and supports via warm handoffs (direct introductions to relevant LTSS providers)

 
Funding opportunities

Grants for in-home dementia care

Applications accepted on an ongoing basis
View the in-home dementia care funding opportunity

 

Family caregivers of people living with dementia are invited to apply for dementia-care grants for in-home respite care hours. Two categories of services are available:

 

  • Recharge respite – 50 hours of respite care, to be used within 3 months of the award date
  • Extended relief respite – 25 hours of respite care per week for 6 months

 

HFC (formerly Hilarity for Charity) and the Home Instead network have partnered to provide the respite care hours. There is no cash value.

 

Healthy Alaska Natives Foundation grants

Applications accepted on an ongoing basis
View the Healthy Alaska Natives Foundation funding opportunity

 

The Healthy Alaska Natives Foundation offers grants for work to address the needs of Alaska Native people. Preference is given to projects that align with the foundation’s current priorities, which include:

 

  • Improved access to care
  • Behavioral health
  • Rural health care

 
Upcoming events

Dementia Friends Information Session

April 1 at 1 p.m. Eastern
Virtual via Zoom
Register for the next Dementia Friends Information Session

 

The International Association for Indigenous Aging invites everyone to join their next quarterly Dementia Friends Information Session for Native communities. Session participants will hear six key messages about dementia and be better prepared to support fellow community members who are living with dementia.

 

Anyone unable to make the April 1 session is welcome to join the July 1 or October 7 session. Each session begins at 1 p.m. Eastern.

 

Tribal Public Health Conference

April 7–9
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Register for the Tribal Public Health Conference

 

The theme for this year’s Tribal Public Health conference is “The Vision for Generational Healing, Health, and Wellness.” Attendees will explore holistic Indigenous healing and wellness across lifespans and generations.

 

The conference will cover topics such as:

 

  • Environmental health and emergency management
  • Culturally adapted public health
  • Data and epidemiology
  • Oral health
An elder securing a traditional hat on the head of her grandson who is getting a piggyback ride from his father.

 

Conference art: “Dance on My Shoulders” by Kevin Tushka

 

Tribal Self-Governance Conference

April 7–9
Chandler, Arizona
Register for the TSG Conference

 

Federal partners, tribal leaders, tribal officials, and people who work closely with tribal communities are encouraged to attend this year’s Tribal Self-Governance (TSG) Conference. Note, TSG was formerly known as the Self-Governance Communication & Education Tribal Consortium.

 

Webinar – Bridging Aging and Disability: Strategies for Aging Well

April 8, 1 p.m. Eastern
Virtual
Register for the webinar on aging well with disabilities

 

The American Society on Aging will host a 1-hour webinar on services and interventions to better support elders with disabilities and their families. The webinar will cover age-related health needs, social and environmental factors, and practical strategies to promote wellness.

 

Annual NCUIH Conference

April 27–30
Washington, DC
Register for the NCUIH conference

 

This year’s National Council of Urban Indian Health (NCUIH) conference will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act. Urban Indian organization (UIO) staff, health care professionals, policymakers, community leaders, and advocates are encouraged to attend. The day before the conference, NCUIH will offer training for UIO boards of directors. Additionally, UIOs are invited to participate in Capitol Hill Day, April 30.

 

Send us your news

Do you have news to share about LTSS in Indian Country? Send it to LTSSinfo@kauffmaninc.com for possible inclusion in an upcoming newsletter. Contact us with other comments or feedback, too.

 

About the newsletter

American Indian/Alaska Native Long-Term Services and Supports Solutions is published monthly by the CMS Division of Tribal Affairs to share information, funding opportunities, and resources with LTSS planners, tribal leaders, and supporters.
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