As the lead state agency for brain injury in the Commonwealth, the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) is required to provide an annual report per Item 327.4 of the 2004 Appropriations Act documenting “the number of individuals served, services provided, and success in attracting non-state resources."

In SFY 2022 nine state funded community based organizations provided support to 2279 individuals living with brain injury. This is a small increase over the previous fiscal year which saw a growth of 68%, despite the COVID pandemic. In addition to providing services to people living with a brain injury, these nine organizations have also seen a dramatic growth in the number of family members looking for information, resources, and their own support.

Currently 19% of Virginia counties and cities do not have any brain injury services at all. But in 2022 the General Assembly included three key budget items that will significantly expand services across the entire Commonwealth including:

• $570,000 per year in new funding to expand brain injury case management to unserved areas of the Commonwealth.

• Medicaid reimbursement for brain injury case management as part of the State Plan for Medical Assistance beginning in SFY 2024.

• $250,000 for DMAS to convene a workgroup to develop a plan for a neurobehavioral science unit and a waiver program for individuals with brain injury and neuro-cognitive disorders.

DARS is an active participant in the DMAS Workgroup designing Case Management and waiver services. DARS staff on the Workgroup include: Carolyn Turner, Director of Disability Services in the Division for Community Living; Chris Miller, Brain Injury Services Coordination Unit Director; and Joani Latimer, State Long-Term Care Ombudsman. Seven of the nine state funded brain injury services providers also participate in the workgroup. Chair of the Brain Injury Council Dr. Cara Meixner (Brain Injury Researcher/JMU Professor) and Council Secretary Dr. Kara Beatty (Brain Injury Survivor/Neuropsychiatrist) are also Workgroup members.

The Brain Injury Services Annual report includes additional detail on services provided, activities of the Virginia Brain Injury Council, and the focus of the most recent federal traumatic brain injury grant. Advances are being made in screening for brain injury across service providers including community service boards, domestic violence programs, and housing/homelessness agencies. Efforts are being made to improve the use and reliability of data to direct brain injury resources. Using the resources of Virginia’s No Wrong Door/Virginia Navigator, more people with brain injury and their families can access online screening for brain injury and connect directly to local services.