Meeting the Nation's Need for Personal Assistance Services
State of the Science Conference
A one-day state of the science conference on meeting the nation's needs for personal assistance services (PAS) was held by the national Center for Personal Assistance Services at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) at the National Press Club in Washington, DC on April 27, 2007. The conference was sponsored by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) and the Agency for HealthCare Policy and Research (AHRQ).
PAS, also known as personal or attendant services, is defined as paid or unpaid help with activities of daily living or instrumental activities of daily living for individuals with disabilities who are living at home, in the community, and at the workplace. The conference had two purposes:
- (1) to summarize, synthesize, and disseminate current research findings on PAS to researchers, policy makers, advocates, and other stakeholder groups, and
- (2) to discuss research issues in the delivery of PAS in order to develop a future research agenda for the study of PAS.
The conference was attended by 120 individuals representing a broad array of organizations and individuals including: researchers, academics, federal and state policy makers, consultant, PAS users, policy analysts, health professionals, and representatives of disabled and aged advocacy and consumer organizations. Registration was from 24 states and three international areas.
Speakers were from NIDRR, AHRQ, the UCSF PAS Center, InfoUse, the Topeka Independent Living Resource Center, the California State Independent Living Council, the Job Accommodation Network, the American Association of People with Disabilities, PHI, RTI International, the University of Maryland Baltimore County, and Pennsylvania State University.
Proceedings and a summary of the conference can be found below. Participants contributed comments and questions throughout the conference and participated in a discussion of ideas for a future research agenda for the field. The conference was webcast by the National Press Club and questions from the audience were taken by computer from the webcast audience and asked of the speakers. The webcast is archived on the National Press Club's website and can be accessed below. The power point presentations are available with the webcast.
Summary and Proceedings
Summary and proceedings from the conference are available to view at:
www.pascenter.org/documents/SOS_Conf_Summary.pdf and
www.pascenter.org/documents/SOS_Conf_Proceedings.pdf
Conference Videos
Individual conference sessions are available to view at:
http://www.pascenter.org/sos_conference/play_sessions.php
The Conference Objectives
- To learn and discuss the current research and policy implications for personal assistance services in the home, community, and workplace.
- To identify the potential future directions for research and policy regarding personal assistance services.
Agenda
The following topics will be covered at the conference:
- Personal Assistance Services: A Public Policy Challenge
- Need and Unmet Need for PAS, Its Consequences, and Costs
- Home and Community Based Services and Personal Assistance: National Trends and State Variations
- PAS Research on the Workforce and in the Workplace
- Trends in the PAS Workforce: Where Have We Been and Where Are We Going
- The ADA and Beyond: Reducing Barriers to PAS at Work
- Future Research and Policy Directions
- Open Forum and Discussion
A full agenda is available in both html and pdf.
Contact Information
For more information contact:
Cynthia Mercado-Scott
Department of Social & Behavioral Sciences
University of California
3333 California Street, Suite 455
San Francisco, CA. 94118
Telephone: (415) 502-4502
Fax: (415) 476-6552
Email: Cynthia Mercado-Scott