Case for Inclusion 2008 reports on community-based supports for Americans with intellectual, developmental disabilities

United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) released its "Case for Inclusion 2008" report, which ranks all 50 States and the District of Columbia on how well they are providing community-based supports to Americans with intellectual and developmental disabilities being served by Medicaid.

The findings compared to 2007 are a mixed bag, UCP says:

• There are almost 1,400 fewer Americans living in at large state institutions (more than 16 beds). However, there are still 173 large institutions housing 37,711 Americans.
• Although fewer people are being served in large state institutions, in a concerning trend 6,000 more individuals are being served in public or private large institutions - to over 72,000 from less than 66,000. For comparison, the number of Americans with ID/DD served in their own home increased by about 3,200 (from over 101,100 to almost 104,400) and the number served in community settings, with one to six beds, remained almost the same (about 157,000).
• Now 17 states, up from 16, direct more than 80% of related funding to those living in the community;
• 39 states, up from 33, report having a Medicaid Buy-In program supporting individuals as they go to work and increase their earnings;
• Moving the wrong direction, fewer individuals report participating in competitive employment.
• In terms of rankings, Pennsylvania (to #15 from #29 in 2007) and Missouri (to #28 from #41) improved the most with West Virginia (to #24 from #16) and Nevada (to #25 from #17) dropping the most in the rankings.

The 10 worst states are:

• Nebraska
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Louisiana
• Arkansas
• Virginia
• Dist. of Columbia
• Illinois
• Texas
• Mississippi

You can read the full 2008 report here.