In this Policy Round Up:

Featuring a top national expert, a center for independent living, and a large health system, this Housing and Services Resource Center webinar will reveal effective strategies for supporting individuals as they find homes in the community, arrange for services individuals need and choose, and integrate into community life.

August 23 - 24 | 9:30 am - 1:00 pm ET (English)August 30 - 31 | 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm ET (Spanish)* Many older adults depend on community service providers for necessities and psychosocial support. However, these crucial services may be disrupted during disaster, impacting older adults in your community. Please join FEMA Region 2 and the Administration for Community Living (ACL) for virtual Ready Seniors Workshops in English and Spanish. This workshop prepares area agencies on aging (AAAs) and other organizations that provide critical support services to older adults.

The HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is now accepting comments on a proposed rule implementing Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability in covered health programs and activities. 

Today the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services delivered two major reports to President Biden, in response to his April 5, 2022, Memorandum on Addressing the Long-Term Effects of COVID-⁠19: The Services and Supports for Longer-Term Impacts of COVID-19 Report (Services Report) and The National Research Action Plan on Long COVID (the Research Plan).

ACL recently awarded cooperative agreements aimed at validating successful and innovative senior nutrition program models, including those created during COVID-19. Three community research grants, totaling $1,449,618 in FY22 awards, will focus on sustaining congregate and home-delivered meal programs as well as delivering impactful nutrition education.

Tuesday, August 16, 2:00 PM ETRegister for this webinar. Disaster situations – hurricanes, fires, winter storms, and so many others – can present unique, and sometimes life-threatening, circumstances for individuals with disabilities and those who are aging. Planning is the key for natural disasters and man-made hazards.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is seeking comments on a proposed rule implementing Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability in covered health programs and activities.

The Social Security Administration is accepting applications for the Interventional Cooperative Agreement Program (ICAP) to conduct interventional research supporting SSA programs. Cooperative agreements are legal financial assistance instruments between a federal agency (in this case, SSA) and a non-federal entity when substantial involvement between the two entities is required. Interventional research, which ICAP funds, is used to evaluate the effectiveness of specific treatments or preventative measures, such as new service models or policy alternatives, to achieve specific outcomes.

Download the issue brief. Competitive, integrated employment (CIE) – working in the community, alongside people with and without disabilities, at competitive wages – offers a direct pathway to greater independence and self-sufficiency for people with disabilities. CIE is increasingly becoming the expectation across the country.