Alma C. Stewart, R. N., M. A., C.C.H.C
Disability Subject Matter Expert
Alma is a specialist in organization development and change, as well as a subject matter expert in areas pertaining to disabilities and long-term care. She is the founder of the Disability and Aging Resource Institute, a specialized service for providing technical consultation and assistance on matters regarding services for people with disabilities and compliance issues.
Alma has more than twenty-five years of professional experience in healthcare and human services programs, including more than ten years as a senior program manager and over five years as a senior executive in state government. Starting her career as a public health nurse responsible for outreach to underserved rural minority communities, she has worked at all levels of human services delivery and management. Alma's experience makes her uniquely qualified to understand both strategic and operational issues in the human services arena and to help clients turn strategic initiatives into operational realities.
Among her accomplishments are:
Program Development and Expansion
Along with a "grassroots advocacy" effort, Alma was very involved in planning Louisiana's Community and Family Support System, one of the first states in the nation, including the development of legislation and a subsequent plan for the implementation. She directly managed the development and implementation of services under the plan, such as a cash subsidy program for children, supported living for adults, and a broad range of family supports. She has successfully developed grant proposals and programs, such as:
- Residential services for children with autism
- Family supports for individuals with developmental disabilities
- The Family Ties program to reunite children with significant health problems living in institutions with their families.
- The Disability and Aging Resource Institute
Organization Development, Program Restructuring, and Performance Based Budgeting
As Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, Alma managed the operations of the Office for Citizens with Developmental Disabilities with a budget of over $200 million. Focusing largely on organizational development and change, frequently referred to as "systems change", she identified key strategies leading to long-term systemic reforms with incremental yet visible results. These strategies included defining and organizing the agency around critical functions and operational processes to implement the agency's vision. During the five years, she served in this position, the agency:
- Experienced growth in the number of people served
- Expanded services that were cost efficient community services options
- Improved access to services by streamlining the eligibility process, and redesigning service coordination services with a customer focus
- Developed and implemented an intensive transition planning process that included safeguards for clients moving from institutions to Home and Community-Based Waiver Services
Collaboration, Strategic Planning, and Advocacy
Alma has worked with various groups on a local, state, and national level to organize coalitions and facilitate collaborative planning for advancing public policy and human services. The most noteworthy of these coalitions is the President's Committee on Mental Retardation (PCMR) State Team that became the national model for subsequent academies. In 1995, the Governor designated her as the contact person responsible for selecting and organizing the Louisiana State Team, which would participate in the first of five national academies sponsored by the President's Committee on Mental Retardation. For its accomplishments, the Louisiana State Team received the prestigious "Excellence in State Policy Collaboration, Planning, and Action to Facilitate Lifelong Community Inclusion for Persons with Mental Retardation" Award in 1997.
Litigation and Implementation of Remedial Actions
Alma has extensive knowledge of lawsuits concerning people with disabilities. She is most familiar with lawsuits that challenge state policies in three areas: access to Medicaid home and community services, community placement for institutionalized persons as provided by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Civil Rights for Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA) deficiencies in public facilities. She is also familiar with ADA workplace requirements, particularly with regard to reasonable accommodations. Her experience includes implementing remedial actions and court ordered mandates with emphasis on the coordination of services, capacity development and quality assurance.
With experience in both the public and private sector, Alma is a recognized leader in the developmental disabilities field, as an advocate of community inclusion, for her accomplishments and expertise in disability and long-term care policy.
In 2001, working as an independent consultant, she established A. Charles Stewart Consultants. Recognizing the complexities of today's business environment and the challenges of creating and sustaining organizational change, she pursued postgraduate study at Georgetown University, where she obtained the Certificate of Organization Development. Alma continues to use her health care and management experience, knowledge of public policy, and expertise in disability and long-term care policy in her consulting practice.
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