AIVRTTAC Updates and Announcements | | |
Medicaid Community Engagement Requirements Resource
PRESS RELEASE: CMS Approves Traditional Healing Waivers in Utah and Maine, Inclusion of Utah Urban Indian Organizations
Beyond the Job Description: Customized Employment in Action (Oct 13th)
Reducing Burnout in Social Services - Case Amplify Free Webinar (Oct 20th)
Finds Their Way: Nurturing Resilience within Communities for Native Youth Transition (Oct 28th)
Hidden Harms: Recognizing and Responding to Brain Injury in Intimate Partner Violence (Oct 29th)
Review the U.S. Census Bureau Dear Tribal Leader Letter Virtual Tribal Consultation (Nov 2nd)
National Council on Disability and U.S. Access Board Tribal and Rural Community Town Hall (Nov 9th)
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Medicaid Community Engagement Requirements Resource
Under Medicaid community engagement requirements, some beneficiaries must take part in qualifying activities like work, school, job training, or community service, or meet the criteria for an exemption, to keep their coverage.
At the State of the States in Brain Injury Conference, the National Association of State Head Injury Administrators (NASHIA) released a new resource to help states and partners account for brain injury as they implement these requirements. It outlines considerations for those with brain injury, recognizing that it can affect memory, communication, organization, behavior, and the ability to navigate complex systems.
NASHIA encourages partners to utilize this resource and to reach out to Jill Ferrington (jferrington@nashia.org) or Zaida Ricker (zricker@nashia.org) on the NASHIA team with any questions.
The resource tailors information for:
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States: Considerations for designing and implementing policies, processes, exemptions, and supports that reflect the needs of people with brain injury.
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Organizations supporting people with brain injury: Steps organizations can take to educate individuals, help them understand and meet requirements, and address potential barriers to maintaining Medicaid coverage.
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Advocates: Opportunities to inform implementation, seek transparency, and elevate the experiences of people with brain injury.
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PRESS RELEASE: CMS Approves Traditional Healing Waivers in Utah and Maine, Inclusion of Utah Urban Indian Organizations
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 25, 2026) – U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved section 1115 applications from Utah and Maine to provide reimbursement for Traditional Healing for eligible beneficiaries. The approvals advance recognition of traditional health care practices for American Indian and Alaska Native people.
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Beyond the Job Description: Customized Employment in Action
Disability Employment Technical Assistance Center (DETAC) Webinar
Date: Tuesday, October 13, 2026
Time: 3:00 - 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time (ET)
Each October, National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), celebrates the contributions, skills, and talents of people with disabilities in America’s workforce. In recognition of this year’s theme, “Celebrating Value and Talent,” join DETAC for a webinar exploring how customized employment can connect job seekers’ strengths with real business needs.
Customized employment starts with a simple idea: understand a job seeker’s interests and strengths, identify what a business needs, and bring the two together. This webinar will highlight practical techniques for bridging the two to create customized jobs. Participants will learn how Lean strategies, which are process improvement techniques that increase efficiency and reduce waste, promote sustainable employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities and businesses. Participants will also hear directly from employers about their firsthand experiences on what worked, lessons learned, and the value customized employment has brought to their organizations.
Learning Objectives:
At the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Apply tools and strategies to match job seeker strengths with unmet business needs.
- Strengthen employer engagement and build lasting partnerships.
- Develop customized job proposals that create value for both employees and businesses.
- Identify scalable, employer-tested practices and lessons learned from real-world experience.
Presenters:
Laura Owens, Ph.D, CESP, President, TransCen
Marc Colletti, Molly Maid of East Metro Milwaukee and Racine
Lisa Marquardt, Children’s Wisconsin
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Reducing Burnout in Social Services
Documentation, compliance, and chasing down case information add to an already demanding job and contribute heavily to burnout.
Join Case Amplify for a practical webinar on lightening that load, including a demonstration of how our trauma-aware AI can support documentation, simplify complex case information, and help organize daily priorities.
Tuesday, October 20th | 11 a.m.– noon Pacific
| Can’t attend? Watch the replay on the Case Amplify YouTube channel afterward. | |
UPCOMING WEBINAR
Finds Their Way: Nurturing Resilience within Communities for Native Youth Transition
Wednesday, October 28th, 2026
11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. MST
Join us to learn about the Finds Their Way program. The programs goal is to increase access for Native students with intellectual and developmental disabilities and help grow their skills, knowledge, services, and supports to participate in long-term competitive integrated employment careers. This webinar will cover how the Sonoran Center designed a Native American-led transition to employment framework for Tribal youth responsive to culture, highlight promising practices, and the development of Wayfinder, a culturally adapted Pre-Employment Transition (PreETS) curriculum.
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Objectives
- Explore how tribal, state, and educational institutions can collaboratively work together to provide Pre-Employment Transition services to native youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
- Understand how to increase support and transition services for native youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities
- Discuss how to incorporate culturally relevant activities and practice-based evidence into transition services.
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FREE WEBINAR
Hidden Harms: Recognizing and Responding to Brain Injury in Intimate Partner Violence
October 29, 2026
2:00pm - 3:00pm ET
Who is this training for?
This specialized session is designed for professionals across all resource and support systems who encounter individuals at the intersection of brain injury and intimate partner violence. It is ideal for:
- Behavioral Health Professionals & Counselors (SWs, LPCs, LMFTs)
- Domestic Violence Advocates & Crisis Intervention Staff
- Justice System & Law Enforcement Personnel
- Case Managers & Care Coordinators
- State Agency Administrators & Policy-Makers
Is this just for NASHIA Members?
This training is open to everyone! NASHIA Members receive discounts on certificates and CEs.
Cost
NASHIA webinar attendance is always FREE!
Certificate
Social Work CEs available:
$10 NASHIA Members
$15 Non-members
General Certificate available:
Free for NASHIA Members
$15 Non-members
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URGENT: Review the U.S. Census Bureau Dear Tribal Leader Letter on Proposed 2030 Census Rules
The United States Census Bureau held a consultation on October 2, 2026, to hear from Tribal Leaders about the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued on September 10, 2026. If adopted, the rule would fundamentally change how the 2030 census counts every person in the United States.
Of particular note, the proposed rule would remove the Race/Ethnicity questions, thereby erasing all data about American Indian and Alaska Native populations in the country. This change would significantly impact funding for Indian Country and Alaska related to housing, community development, maternal health, and transportation.
The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) is sharing the attached Dear Tribal Leader Letter from the U.S. Census Bureau announcing a virtual Tribal consultation on proposed regulations governing residence criteria and demographic questions for the 2030 Census.
Written comments are due Monday, November 2nd, 2026.
Submit comments electronically: Visit Regulations.gov, search for docket number USBC-2026-0628, select the “Comment” option, and enter or attach your comments.
Submit comments by mail:
U.S. Census Bureau
4600 Silver Hill Road
Designation: ADDEMO/FRN
Washington, DC 20746
Questions may be directed to Census Bureau Tribal Affairs Coordinator Dee Alexander at (301) 763-9335 or Dee.A.Alexander@census.gov.
Please review the attached Dear Tribal Leader Letter for additional information and share this notice with the appropriate leaders and staff within your Tribal Nation.
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Join the National Council on Disability and the U.S. Access Board for a Tribal and Rural Community Town Hall in Phoenix, Arizona.
Date: Nov. 9, 2026
Time: 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Mountain Standard Time (MST)
Location: Ability 360, 5025 E. Washington St. Phoenix, AZ 85034
Provide your public comments on Housing, Employment, Education, Independent Living, Healthcare, and Transportation. Virtual attendance is also available. Lunch is provided for in-person attendees.
Space is limited so register today.
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