The RESTORE (Research, Education, Service, Transition and Outreach through Reflective Engagement) Hub strives to improve the community it serves through research, education and implementation science while also serving underserved and overlooked populations through transition programs and outreach.
Currently RESTORE is partnering with the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) on four initiatives. Two of the four initiatives are part of promoting future workforce development and focus on delivering Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) for Medicaid beneficiaries.
The goal is to strengthen and ensure a more sustainable Medicaid system. RESTORE will be responsible for developing and delivering on-demand, high-impact, and high-value training related to service delivery and business and financial acumen that will lay a foundation for a stronger system. This dedicated education will increase provider capacity by offering targeted tools and ways to address the challenges and gaps facing community-based providers and organizations dedicated to working with and on behalf of specialty Medicaid populations.
A third RESTORE initiative centers on providing assessment and recommendations for Community Reintegration & Qualified Residential Treatment Programs (QRTPs). This work aims at resolving current barriers to the expansion of HCBS Community Reintegration (CR) and determining how it can fit with the current QRTP model for children in foster care.
The last initiative is piloting the university’s Inclusive Post Secondary Education (IPSE) programs as a future HCBS service called Day Program for Adults with Intellectual and/or Developmental Disabilities. This initiative will serve Medicaid-eligible young adults between the ages of 18-26 with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) transitioning from high school and looking for supports to help in their daily living, with special emphasis on vocational goals and connection to community.
As part of this effort, the H.O.W.L. (Helping Our Wolves Learn) and A.T.L.A.S. (Autonomy Through Leadership, Advocacy and Service) Transition Programs will examine student outcomes including employment, quality of life and social networks, while integrating evidence-based case management practices along with evidence-based practices. The H.O.W.L. Transition Program, which aims to ensure students with intellectual and developmental disabilities can have the college experience and live independently, started at A-State in 2020 and has been a great success for those involved.
Also, the H.O.W.L. Service Center provides individual, group, and couples counseling, play therapy as well as intensive academic interventions (reading, mathematics, writing, and spelling) at two locations. The center provides services to A-State students, faculty, and staff in Room 133 of the College of Education building and provides services to community members at 2301 E. Johnson Avenue.
The initiatives are funded through approximately $31.2 million in ARP funds distributed by DHS.
