Individuals with Disabilities: Risk Monitoring and Needs Assessment

Current Projects

Risk Assessment and Mitigation (Services for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities)

Mission Analytics Group serves as the risk management contractor for the California Department of Developmental Services (DDS). In this capacity, Mission works directly with the Department and the 21 regional centers that provide case management services to DDS clients. Mission also works indirectly with direct service providers and, through its dissemination activities, with DDS clients and their families. Activities under this project include analyzing data, distributing findings, and providing technical assistance to help regional centers identify and limit risks to their clients. Mission also helps regional centers improve data collection, and previously maintained the DDS SafetyNet website as a vehicle for delivering information to regional centers, vendors, and direct service professional. In addition to Mission’s data analysis and technical assistance to support risk mitigation for DDS, Mission is also currently leading the re-design of this website.

Completed Projects

Service Access and Equity

Under sub-grant to Georgetown University’s National Center for Cultural Competence, Mission supported the California Department of Developmental Services (DDS) to assess the effectiveness of the DDS Service Access and Equity grant program. Georgetown and Mission also recommended measures and metrics to DDS and proposed approaches to prioritize areas and populations of focus for future grant disparities reduction efforts by DDS. Mission contributed to data collection and analysis for this evaluation.

Aid to the Needy Disabled (AND) navigator Survey Report

In 2022, Mission worked with the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) and the Employment and Benefits Division (EBD) to conduct surveys with clients and Navigators in the Aid to the Needy Disabled (AND) Navigator program. Mission developed surveys, recruited participants, and conducted the survey and interviews. Mission created a report and infographic to summarize our findings from this survey.

California State Independent Living Council (SILC) Development of 2014-2016 State Plan for Independent Living (SPIL)

For the California State Independent Living Council (SILC), Mission managed the development of the triennial, federally mandated State Plan for Independent Living (SPIL). Mission organized and facilitated meetings of the executive planning team, created and delivered presentations to various stakeholders, and solicited feedback from the independent living community. The SPIL set funding priorities for the funding the Department of Rehabilitation (DOR) received under Title 7B of the Rehabilitation Act. Along with each priority, Mission worked with SILC to develop measurable goals and objectives for its 2014-2016 SPIL.

California State Independent Living Council (SILC) Needs Assessment

For the California State Independent Living Council (SILC), Mission conducted a federally mandated needs assessment. The purpose of the assessment was to identify the needs of individuals with disabilities who have been underserved or underrepresented within the Independent Living Network. The needs assessment focused on three main areas of underserved populations: 1) by region, 2) by type of disability, and 3) by race/ethnicity.  This needs assessment was a stand-alone product, but also provided a foundation for the 2014-2016 State Plan for Independent Living (SPIL).

Feeling Safe, Being Safe Webcast Survey and Outreach

Mission helped the California Department of Developmental Services (DDS) to improve the functionality and usage of the Feeling Safe, Being Safe (FSBS) webcast.  Mission evaluated the accessibility of the webcast by consumers and their support community and provided recommendations to improve the usability of the webcast. Mission developed an online survey using Survey Monkey, to target specific consumer groups, advocacy groups, provider groups, emergency response agencies, family members, and other stakeholder groups in California.  Mission also conducted research to determine a list of stakeholders, providers, and community entities that may provide individualized training to consumers on developing their personalized emergency preparedness plans, and distribute information packets about FSBS to increase stakeholder awareness of the FSBS webcast and materials.  The outreach included entities in each of the 21 regional centers.  In addition, Mission included outreach into California’s rural areas and diverse cultural populations served by the regional centers.  And finally, Mission developed a report from the results of the survey that, along with research, provided information to DDS on ways to improve the functionality, awareness, and usage of the FSBS webcast training tool and materials. Visit the FSBS website.

Living Well Training and Technical Assistance

Mission worked with the Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AIDD) and the Administration for Community Living (ACL) to support the design and development of training and technical assistance (T/TA) to the eight Living Well project grantees. We aimed to enhance the grantee outcomes in creating comprehensive model systems for AIDD, which focus on improving the quality, effectiveness, and monitoring of AIDD’s home and community-based services for individuals with developmental disabilities.

Strategic Planning for the Expansion of California's Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) Network

Mission worked with the California State Independent Living Council (SILC), in partnership with the California Health and Human Services Agency (CHHS), to develop a strategic plan for statewide expansion of California’s network of Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs). The final strategic plan had four components: criteria for designating new ADRCs; standards for determining how entities should partner to form an ADRC; a plan for publicizing the services provided by ADRCs (such as options counseling and remote assessment); and an estimation of how much the Medicaid program might save when individuals are diverted away from facilities and institutional care. The strategic plan included input from an Advisory Committee that met bi-monthly and from groups of stakeholders convened in different parts of the state.

Training Materials for Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRC) on Mental Health Promotion and Suicide Prevention

Mission has worked with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) through the Program Support Center (PSC), to develop materials to train the eight Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) grant recipients (funded under the Part A: Enhanced Options Counseling Program) to better meet the needs of older adults and individuals with disabilities who experience serious mental illnesses and/or are at risk for suicide. 

Validation of ODDS Functional Needs Assessment Tool

Mission has served as a contractor for the Oregon Department of Human Services, Office of Developmental Disability Services (ODDS). ODDS was required to conduct a functional needs assessment for each individual receiving Medicaid funded supports through an ODDS program. Mission improved, validated, and determined normal distribution in the combined assessment tool to meet the functional needs assessment requirement from the Centers for Medicaid Services (CMS) and the State of Oregon's legislative requirement for a single normed and validated assessment tool for all service elements in ODDS.