Family well-being in a participant-directed autism waiver program: the role of relational coordination.

Background: Massachusetts is one of a very limited number of states exclusively employing participant-direction to deliver autism waiver services to children. A crucial element of this waiver program is the work conducted by the state's Department of Developmental Services (DDS) staff and state-approved providers with waiver families to facilitate the implementation of the participant-direction model. Our study investigates the effect of the collaboration between state providers and family caregivers on family well-being.

"In the driver's seat": Parent perceptions of choice in a participant-directed medicaid waiver program for young children with autism.

This study investigated families' experience of choice within a participant-directed Medicaid waiver program for young children with autism. Fourteen parents or grandparents participated in in-depth interviews about their experience of choosing personnel, directing in-home services, and managing the $25,000 annual allocation. Key findings included families' preference to hire providers with whom they have a prior relationship, parent empowerment and differences of opinion about parents as teachers.

Role for a labor-management partnership in nursing home person-centered care.

Purpose: To investigate how a partnership between labor and management works to change the organization and focus of nursing home frontline work, supporting a transition toward person-centered care (PCC) in participating nursing homes.

Design And Methods: Using a participatory research approach, we conducted case studies of 2 nursing homes participating in a partnership between a labor union and a provider coalition. The study was designed to reveal whether and how the labor-management partnership supported PCC and to identify challenges to overcome in the future.