IOWA

Iowa has been moving on a number of fronts to expand community options for people with disabilities since release of its Olmstead plan, the "Iowa Plan for Community Development," in July 2001 and the award of a $1 million federal Systems Change grant in September 2001.

Governor Thomas Vilsack (D) signed an executive order in February 2003, directing 20 state agencies to implement federal requirements to provide quality community living options to people with disabilities. As a result of the executive order, each affected agency has developed an initial plan identifying barriers to expanded community services and reviewing the partnerships each agency can forge with other agencies to overcome the barriers. The executive order directs the Department of Human Services and the Governor's Olmstead Real Choices Consumer Task Force to report quarterly to the governor on agency progress in removing these barriers.

One Olmstead priorities the state has established is housing. After issuance of the executive order, Lieutenant Governor Sally Pederson held five meetings around the state to explain the order and, according to state officials, to initiate "a dialogue with Iowans about the need for housing for people with disabilities." The governor has set a goal of 1,000 new housing opportunities for people with disabilities within four years. One strategy involves providing people with disabilities with low-income tax credits and the use of Section 8 housing vouchers.

A Disability Housing Summit in March 2003 brought together representatives of disability groups and housing officials to address the housing needs of people with disabilities. The Housing Summit was sponsored by the Iowa Finance Authority, the Department of Human Services, the Department of Human Rights (Division of People with Disabilities), and the Governor's Olmstead Real Choices Consumer Task Force. As a follow-up to the summit, Iowa sponsored a Midwest Regional Housing Conference for seven states in September 2003, hosted by the Iowa Department of Human Services. The Rutgers University Technical Assistance Collaborative and the National Disability Institute provided support to the conference and to the broader housing initiative.

Another major Olmstead-related activity involves the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities (MHDD) Commission, which the 2002 legislature restructured to redesign the state's mental health and developmental disabilities system. In the 2003 session, legislators further clarified the commission's responsibilities for the redesign and provided guidance on the major goals of the project. House File 529 requires the commission to make recommendations regarding: 1) standardizing clinical and financial eligibility; 2) identifying a minimum set of core services to be available in each county; 3) developing an option for a funding formula in which funding follows an individual to the setting in which the person wants to receive care; and 4) developing methods for improved coordination of federal, state and county funding streams.

The University of Iowa Center for Disabilities and Development is providing research and technical support to the MHDD Commission and support for DHS activities under the Systems Change grant. The commission was to report its recommendations by December 31, 2003.

The 2003 legislature also directed the Iowa Medical Assistance Program to be redesigned with five main goals (Senate Bill 543). One goal is: Iowa's senior population should have more options available to address the population's health care needs, including home and community-based services and assisted living.

The legislature also stated that the purposes of the case management program for frail elders include maintaining a system that focuses on the delivery of home and community-based services that emphasize individual independence, individual needs and desires, and consumer-driven quality of services (Senate Bill 548).