Webinars, Online Sessions and Events

Events

Ongoing Workshop

Building Better Caregivers Online Workshop

Veterans Administration
Free 6-week online workshop offers group support for caregivers of Veterans

Are you caring for a Veteran with PTSD, traumatic brain injury, or memory loss? The Building Better Caregiver® (BBC) free 6-week online workshop can give you the support you need. Renee, a caregiver for her Army Veteran husband, was able to reduce stress, improve her health and find time for herself after taking the BBC workshop for support. See how BBC changed Renee’s life.

When you join a 6-week BBC online workshop, you’ll:

  • learn new ways to reduce stress
  • set weekly goals and get support in achieving them
  • find time to take care of you

The workshop was developed by Stanford University to support caregivers of Veterans of all eras. When you join a BBC Workshop, you’ll connect with other caregivers and trained leaders in helping you learn new ways to manage the challenges of caregiving.

Caregivers must meet criteria and be willing to participate in the VA Caregiver Support Program in either the Program of Comprehensive assistance (PCAFC) or Program of General Caregiver Support Services (PGCSS) programs.

The Building Better Caregiver® (BBC)

Previously Recorded

Using an Equity Framework to Evaluate & Improve Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS)

Justice in Aging
Recorded August 16, 2023

Most older adults and people with disabilities want to be able to receive help with daily activities at home and in their communities. This type of help, which is called Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS), enables older adults to remain independent at home rather than being forced to move into an institution. The Medicaid HCBS “system,” however, is a patchwork of programs with wide variation among and within states, leading to disparities in who has access to the supports and services needed to live in the community and who has no option but to receive care in an institutional setting. To address these disparities and achieve health equity for older adults and people with disabilities, policymakers, advocates, and other stakeholders must begin by evaluating HCBS programs to ensure they are neither preserving nor causing inequities driven by systemic racism, ageism, ableism, classism, sexism, xenophobia, and homophobia. Justice in Aging developed an HCBS Equity Framework to support stakeholders in making equity a primary focus at every stage of HCBS program design and implementation. 

This webinar, Using an Equity Framework to Evaluate & Improve Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services, will use Justice in Aging’s HCBS Equity Framework to help advocates and other stakeholders think about the ways in which equity is embedded in HCBS and to advance policies to ensure all eligible individuals have access to adequate and quality services. Presenters will walk through the Framework and provide examples of inequities in policies, program rules, and decision points. The webinar will help attendees use the Framework to identify similar issues and equity-centered solutions in the HCBS programs they work on.

Who Should Participate:
Aging, disability, and legal advocates, HCBS program administrators, providers, community-based organizations working with older adults and people with disabilities, and policymakers. 

Presenters:

  • Amber Christ, Managing Director of Health Advocacy, Justice in Aging
  • Natalie Kean, Director of Federal Health Advocacy, Justice in Aging
  • Gelila Selassie, Senior Attorney, Justice in Aging

The Webinar:

MassFamilies Housing Webinar Series

MassFamilies

This webinar series shared examples of innovative housing options being developed by parents and experts in the field. 
Archived webinars include conversations with parents and practitioners as they discussed:

  • When to start planning for independent living
  • The importance of developing a vision for your child’s life as an adult
  • Identifying and leveraging resources (community and government) to make independent living a reality
  • What to expect when transitioning to a new housing arrangement
  • Case studies that illustrate the person-centered approach

Multisector Plan for Aging January 2023

American Society on Aging

In season six of Future Proof Live, West Health, The SCAN Foundation and The John A. Hartford Foundation have come together to provide an in-depth look at how states can plan strategically to transform infrastructure and coordination of services to address the needs of a rapidly aging population.
In this Future Proof Live episode, panelists discuss what a Multisector Plan for Aging is, what it looks like at different stages, across different communities and with different priorities. They also will explore key tools and concepts to create a movement toward change through an aging and disability lens that goes beyond traditional health and community services.

Free Webinar: New Health Care Rights Law Proposed Rule–What Advocates for Older Adults Need to Know

Justice in Aging
Previously recorded on September 13, 2022

The Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS OCR) announced a new proposed rule implementing the Health Care Rights Law (HCRL), also known as Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act. Older adults, especially people of color, immigrants, people with limited English proficiency (LEP), people with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ individuals, often face discrimination in health care settings that leads to poorer health outcomes. The HCRL and its implementing regulations are critical to preventing and redressing such discrimination.

This webinar provides an overview of the HCRL, discuss how the current and proposed regulations impact older adults, and provide ways for advocates to engage in the rulemaking process. Presenters discuss how the new proposed rule takes important steps to restore vital anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ seniors and language access protections for limited English proficient (LEP) older adults that were gutted in 2020 by the previous administration. HHS is also proposing to further strengthen anti-discrimination protections by broadening application of the rule to all Medicare providers and requiring staff training on language assistance, effective communication, and reasonable accommodations.

The proposed rule is open for a 60-day public comment period through October 3, 2022. In the coming weeks, Justice in Aging will provide updates and resources for aging advocates to engage in the rulemaking process on our HCRL webpage.

Who Should Participate:
Aging and legal advocates, advocates serving LGBTQ+ and LEP communities, community-based providers, and others wanting to learn more about changes to the regulations implementing the Health Care Rights Law and the impact on older adults.

Presenters:

  • Natalie Kean, Director of Federal Health Advocacy, Justice in Aging
  • Denny Chan, Managing Director of Equity Advocacy, Justice in Aging
  • Murray Scheel, Senior Attorney, Justice in Aging

Watch the recording about Healthcare Rights Proposed Rule
Get the slides about Healthcare Rights Proposed Rule

Beyond Medicaid! New Models to Pay for Long-Term Care

New York Gray Panthers (YouTube recording)
Recorded on July 26, 2022