Description: Virginia formed a statewide council made up of many stakeholders, including Centers for Independent Living (CILs), Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs), people with disabilities, and older adults to draft statewide standards for person and family-centered practice. They standardized this practice through a service known as options counseling. The development of options counseling standards engaged CILs and AAAs in a process of collaboration around a common goal and facilitated the strengthening of relationships to bolster the NWD System. State reimbursement for each options counseling encounter provides funding for CILs and AAAs. Virginia created a co-employment model to hire options counseling coordinators, which further facilitated partnerships. Each AAA and partnering CIL employ one options counselor who maintains a physical presence at both entities to help with the provision of options counseling and other related activities in accordance with the statewide standards. As a staff member of both the CIL and partnering AAA, the counselor reports to the executive director of both agencies and receives performance evaluations from the two entities. A sample job description guides CILs and AAAs in their collaboration. The state reimburses local NWD System sites that require options counselors to complete state training and a yearly refresher course. The reimbursement model involves a cap and hourly rate for the first eight hours per recipient. Thereafter, the CILs and AAAs must identify other funding channels. CILs and AAAs receive reimbursement only once counselors complete the entire encounter, follow-up, and evaluation. The training and reimbursement programs for options counseling have strengthened the capacity of person- and family-centered practice among local NWD organizations.

Keyword(s): older adults; state agencies; partnership building; leadership; person-centered care; disability

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