FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Kelsey Walter
[email protected] 
(202) 898-2578

WASHINGTON, DC – ADvancing States Executive Director, Martha Roherty, announced today that the Administration for Community Living (ACL) has awarded funding to support ADvancing States' efforts to expand the National Core Indicators (NCI) Project to encompass a focus on aging and disability services. In conjunction with the expansion, Mrs. Roherty announced that Kelsey Walter will assume the role of Director of the National Core Indicators-Aging and Disabilities (NCI-AD).

Since 2012, with support from their Board of Directors and NCI-AD Steering Committee, ADvancing States has been working with the Human Services Research Institute (HSRI) and the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disability Services (NASDDDS) to expand NCI to include a new focus on services for seniors and adults with physical disabilities. Currently, ADvancing States and HSRI are working with the NCI-AD Steering Committee to redesign the adult consumer survey in preparation for its use in three pilot states. ADvancing States is pleased to announce that Georgia, Minnesota, and Ohio have agreed to run the pilot in their states.

Martha Roherty explained, "This funding is especially important because it signifies the Administration for Community Living's support of the states' efforts to measure and track their performance." With involvement of the states from the initial design of the instrument through its implementation, the results and benchmarking can lead to greater shifts in services and care provided. States will be able to use data from NCI-AD to gauge their success in meeting national benchmarks, and use the overall feedback to inform state policy and strategic plans.

"I am delighted to announce that Kelsey Walter will fill the critical role of Director as the NCI-AD project gains momentum," said Mrs. Roherty. Ms. Walter has worked as a Policy Associate at ADvancing States since November 2012, and has been closely involved in the work to expand the NCI-AD since the beginning stages. In her new capacity, Ms. Walter will assist the NCI-AD Steering Committee as they finalize the adult consumer survey and support Georgia, Minnesota, and Ohio as they begin to pilot the new tool.