 The Colorado Department of Health care Policy and Financing (HCPF) contracted with Colorado WIN Partners to conduct focus groups with participants that may be eligible for the Medicaid Buy-In Program for individuals with disabilities with incomes up to four hundred and fifty (450%) of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). The objectives for the focus groups were to obtain the following information: 1) List of which public health insurance programs, such as Medicaid, each participant was knowledgeable, or is/was enrolled; 2) Participant’s experience in obtaining health insurance coverage and how they accessed health care services, including their usual source of care; 3) Participant’s opinion of the potential barriers that exist for individuals to apply and enroll in the Medicaid Buy-In Program; and, 4) Participant’s opinion on the outreach strategies and methods that would be effective in generating awareness of the existence of these programs for the targeted population as well as the ways to facilitate application to and enrollment in the Medicaid Buy-In Program.
 Colorado WIN Partners was provided funding by the IBM Colorado Technical Vitality Council through the IBM Faculty Awards program to conduct research on Imagines’ SmartHome. The goal of this research project was to determine if living in a group home that utilized smart home technology increased the quality of life for eight adults with developmental disabilities. Data was collected two times using subjective questions (National Core Indicators) and an objective scale (Support Intensity Scale). The 8 residents were contacted prior to moving into the home and answered questions from the national Core Indicators (NCI) as well as some open-ended questions. Administrative data, the Support Intensity Scale (SIS) on these 8 residents was analyzed. The SIS data collected prior to moving into the home and a year after moving into the home was analyzed.
 This is a five year grant funded by the Administration on Children, Youth and Families to develop a model program to serve Substance Exposed Newborns. Through a multiagency planning process, this project developed a team within the Denver Department of Human Services Child Welfare Division that provides services to pregnant women who were using alcohol and other drugs as well as substance exposed newborns and their families. Colorado WIN Partners staff members were subcontracted to provide evaluation services for this multi-million dollar project. While a true randomized design could not be used for this project due to Denver Department of Human Services policies, it was the only project in the nation to develop a comparison group to measure the effectiveness of the services provided.
The Integrative Services project is a 3 year grant from HRSA (Health Related Services Administration) to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) that ends in 2011. CDPHE subcontracted with Colorado WIN Partners to lead the project, assist with the state youth advisory team, and evaluate the project. The goal of Integrative Services is to assist 4 Colorado communities move along the path to becoming Medical Home communities.
 Social Security Administration (SSA) awarded Colorado WIN Partners a cooperative agreement to lead and manage a 5-year national demonstration project, generating empirical evidence, based on both process and random-assignment evaluations, on the impacts of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) waivers and enhanced coordination of services for youth with disabilities. Under this project, a two-pronged intervention was tested: 1.) the effectiveness of altering certain SSI rules as an incentive to encourage beneficiaries to initiate work or to increase their work activity and increase their earnings; and, 2.) a service delivery system to assist youth with disabilities, ages 14-25 receiving SSA disability benefits, to successfully transition from school, which may include post-secondary education, to employment and economic self-sufficiency based out of a One-Stop Career Center. Colorado WIN Partners managed the project implementation, recruitment and enrollment of participants, delivery of services, and subcontract execution with four local Workforce Centers.
Colorado WIN Partners also entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., SSA’s national evaluation contractor, in order to participate in the project’s national evaluation. Under this agreement, Mathematica enrolled 880 youth and randomly assigned them to treatment and control groups. Colorado WIN Partners enrolled treatment group members into the study, delivered services, and conducted a process evaluation and analyzed impacts on outcomes of participants in the study. Colorado WIN Partners and Mathematica shared research designs, data, and research results as necessary to carry out the evaluations under this agreement.
Social Security Administration (SSA) awarded Colorado WIN Partners a cooperative agreement to lead and manage a 5-year national demonstration project, generating empirical evidence, based on both process and random-assignment evaluations, on the impacts of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) waivers and enhanced coordination of services for youth with disabilities. Colorado WIN Partners as one of their sites. Colorado WIN Partners entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., SSA’s national evaluation contractor, in order to participate in the project’s national evaluation. Under this agreement, Mathematica enrolled 880 youth and randomly assigned them to treatment and control groups. Colorado WIN Partners enrolled treatment group members into the study, delivered services, and conducted a process evaluation and analyzed impacts on outcomes of participants in the study. Colorado WIN Partners and Mathematica shared research designs, data, and research results as necessary to carry out the evaluations under this agreement.
 Project LAUNCH (Linking Actions for Unmet Needs for Child and family Health) was a 14 month capacity-building project funded by the Colorado Department of Human Services SSUF funds. Colorado WIN Partners teamed up with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and Arapahoe County Early Childhood Council to form a Wellness Council (child care navigator, family navigator, public health nurse, Medicaid, workforce specialist, physician extender, mental health specialist, Part C specialist, and TANF caseworker). The Wellness Council was formed using existing navigation-type positions in Arapahoe County who were likely to be working with TANF-eligible clients. The goals for this council included (1) forming collaborative relationships to provide wrap-around care for TANF eligible families, (2) learning about the needs of TANF eligible families and what services exist in the communities, (3) learning what providers need in order to better serve TANF eligible families, (4) providing a multi-agency entry point for TANF eligible families, (5) providing comprehensive, collaborative services for TANF eligible families by tapping into the Wellness Council, and (6) creating and testing a plan to follow-through on referrals to ensure families are getting the care they need (closing the loop activities).
Over the grant period, the Wellness Council served 39 TANF eligible families who gave permission to have their cases discussed at a joint-agency case staffing. The Wellness Council met monthly to receive training on agencies/services in the community that could help TANF-eligible families, hold multi-agency case staffing, and come up with a close-the-loop referral approach that would work across agencies. The Wellness Council was very successful and continues to meet in Arapahoe County, even with no funding.
 Funded by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment and the Colorado Workforce Development Council, this demonstration project was sponsored to support and sustain successful inclusion and employment of young adults with developmental disabilities through services provided by the Jefferson County workforce system. This project was designed to 1) develop individual “portfolios” to provide person-centered workforce system services to 40 young adults; 2) identify accommodations needed for young adults receiving services; and, 3) educate young adults with disabilities and their parents/caregivers about agencies and services young adults can use in preparing for life after high school. Colorado WIN Partners (CWP) facilitated the implementation of the demonstration project and subcontracted with a local workforce center for the delivery of services. CWP collaborated on the curriculum development and delivery in conjunction with SSA, the local county Department of Human Services (Medicaid), mental health center, community centered board, local school district, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, and local nonprofit advocacy and community agencies (Arc in Jefferson County and Savio House). CWP also designed and implemented the evaluation of the “portfolio” use; tracked the accommodations needed, as well as whether or not they were provided for youth using the portfolio; and, evaluated the trainings.
 Measuring Collaboration in Medical Homes is a 2 ½ year grant from the Colorado Health Foundation. The goals of this project are to (1) develop tools to measure the level of collaboration amongst those who are developing Medical Home communities, (2) identify what is being done to increase collaboration, (3) provide TA around collaboration, and (4) create tools that will help other groups increase their level of collaboration. This grant works with two of the sites in the Integrated Services grant, the Wellness Council in Arapahoe, and a state level team looking at medical home goals for all of Colorado.
 Colorado WIN Partners was contracted by the Colorado department of Human Services/Division of Vocational Rehabilitation and their State Rehabilitation Council to design a Needs Assessment to identify the needs of individuals with disabilities residing within the state for vocational rehabilitation services and for guidance in the development of their state plan. Colorado WIN Partners conducted a needs assessment survey, analyzed the survey results and summarized the findings to determine overall customer needs. The needs assessment also analyzed the Division of Vocational Rehabilitations effectiveness in reducing paperwork and increasing self-employment options for consumers.
 Colorado’s WIRED Initiative, funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, was designed to align workforce, economic development, and education in support of the regional economy. In November 2007, the Colorado Office of Workforce Development (COWD), the recipient of Colorado’s Disability Program Navigator (DPN) grant received additional funding from the US Department of Labor to assist Colorado’s WIRED Initiative with incorporating the disability perspective in all of its goals and activities. Colorado WIN Partners took the lead on this new initiative by the US Department of Labor and worked collaboratively with the COWD and Colorado’s DPN Initiative. Two reports were submitted to the US Department of Labor and Colorado’s WIRED Initiative. They were entitled: 1) A Demographic Snapshot of Metro Denver WIRED Region: Status of Individuals with Disabilities; and, 2) A Report of the Metro Denver WIRED region’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats as it relates to people with disabilities: WIRED From a Disability Perspective: SWOT Analysis. In addition WIN Partners received additional funding from COWD through the US Department of Labor (DOL) to develop and refine various technical assistance and training tools for use by Colorado’s Disability Program Navigators (DPNs), Workforce Development System and other Workforce Systems around the country. Three of the tools developed included: the DPN Maturity Model; the state and local DPN Maturity Model Matrices; and, the state and local DPN Maturity Model Inventories. The DPN maturity Model Inventories have been automated for use around the county and can be found at: http://www.winpartnerssurvey.org/development/index.php.
 The Colorado Department of Human Services (DHS) has contracted with the Lewin Group, Inc. and its partners, Colorado WIN Partners/ University of Colorado Denver, the Johns Hopkins University’s Institute for Policy Studies, and Capital Research Corporation to perform an in-depth study of the Colorado Works Program. Its aim was to provide administrators with information about program strategies and approaches counties might find useful for improving program implementation, performance, and outcomes. The study began in January 2005 and was designed in active consultation with DHS and an Advisory Committee that includes representative of the counties and Colorado’s advocacy community. The study objective was to identify successful programmatic choices and service delivery strategies used by the counties in order to learn more about what policies and approaches work well. Topics for special analysis with associated final reports included: Program Coordination and Collaboration in the Colorado Works Program; Employment Services and Employer Interaction in Colorado Works Programs; Family and Preventative Services in Colorado; and, Serving the Hard-To-Employ in Colorado.
 This was a five-year systems change grant funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy and awarded to the Colorado Office of Workforce Development. The Colorado Office of Workforce Development contracted with Colorado WIN Partners/UCD for training, technical assistance and evaluation of this youth transition systems change grant. In the first year of the grant, a resource mapping process was employed at both the state and local levels. The results of both state-level and local resource mapping data was incorporated into a multi-agency, statewide plan that served as the basis for policy and procedural changes. The goals of the grant were to restructure state and local workforce investment delivery systems in order to better meet the needs of youth with disabilities; and extend the most successful transition practices learned from the K-12 efforts into the state’s system of workforce development (One-Stop system), including the postsecondary school sector. By the final year of the grant, transition systems change activities were in place in each of the nine federally recognized workforce regions in Colorado including innovative efforts to design, refine, and implement practices designed to eliminate barriers to success for youth with disabilities.
Colorado WIN Partners was contracted by the Colorado Assistive Technology Partners to participate on their Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (RERC) for the Advancement of Cognitive Technologies Project. Colorado WIN Partners’ role was to assist in the design and development of the “Perceptive Animated Interfaces for Workforce Training” demonstration project and in evaluating the 12 research programs in the Center to determine adherence to and movement towards the RERC’s goals. |
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