Washington, DC -United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) released today the 2009 Case for Inclusion Report (www.ucp.org/medicaid), ranking all 50 states and the District of Columbia for the Medicaid services they provide to their Mental Retardation/Developmental Disability populations. The report finds that all states have room to improve outcomes and services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. While too much money is still spent isolating people in large institutions and waiting lists for services are increasing overall, real and notable progress has been made in just one year. "Still, too often the goals of independence, productivity and community inclusion are at odds with reality," said CEO Stephen Bennett.

The top and bottom ten states in terms of quality of Medicaid service provided are; 1) Vermont; 2) Arizona; 3) Alaska; 4) New Hampshire; 5) Massachusetts; 6) Michigan; 7) California; 8) Hawaii; 9) Colorado; 10) Connecticut 42) Indiana; 43) Tennessee; 44) Nebraska; 45) Ohio; 46) Louisiana; 47) Illinois; 48) District of Columbia; 49) Texas; 50) Arkansas; 51) Mississippi

Five states shifted by at least five places in the rankings from 2008 to 2009, and 15 states shifted at least five places in the rankings from 2007 to 2009.

Some other key findings of the report:

• Positively, there are 1,536 fewer Americans living in large state institutions (more than 16 beds). However, there remain 169 large institutions (4 fewer) housing 36,175 Americans.
• Nine states - Alaska, Hawaii, Maine, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont and West Virginia, and the District of Columbia - have no large state institutions. Thirteen states have only one large state facility remaining.
• Fifteen states report having a residential services waiting list so large that their programs would have to grow by at least 25 percent to accommodate the need.

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About UCP:

United Cerebral Palsy is one of the largest health organizations in America and has been committed to change and progress for persons with disabilities for 60 years Its mission is to advance the independence, productivity and full citizenship of people with cerebral palsy and other disabilities. Reflective of its long history of service and support to people who experience all types of disability, more than 65% of the people served by UCP have disabilities other than cerebral palsy. The nationwide network of UCP affiliates provide over $1 billion in direct services to 176,000 people with disabilities and their families daily. The national office advocates at the federal level on behalf of the 54 million Americans with disabilities..

About the Author:

Tarren Bragdon has been involved in healthcare policy research and analysis for over a decade. His work has been featured in newspapers and media outlets nationwide including the Wall Street Journal, New York Post, New York Sun and PBS. He served two terms in the Maine House of Representatives on the Health and Human Services Committee and currently serves as chair of the board of directors of Spurwink Services, one of the largest social service providers in Maine.