The Center for Personal Assistance Services, based at the University of California San Francisco, hosted its State of the Science conference on Friday, April 27, 2007 at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. Entitled "Meeting the Nation's Need for Personal Assistance Services", the conference covered research areas of the Center including the Unmet Need in Personal Assistance Services, Home and Community Based Services and Personal Assistance, Trends in the PAS Workforce, and Reducing Barriers to PAS at Work.

The conference, attended by more than 120 people, hosted a lunch speech by Andrew Imparato, President and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities, who spoke about Modernizing PAS Policy in a Challenging Climate. In addition, Steve Tingus, the Director of the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) - the funder of the Center - addressed attendees with a personal message about PAS. David Keer, the Center's Project Officer at NIDRR and D.E.B. Potter, from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), both of which provided funds for the conference, also addressed attendees. Other speakers presented talks on Consumer-Directed Home Care, the Needs of Vulnerable Working Age Populations with Disabilities, and Does Medicaid Home Care Reduce Unmet Need.

The conference was also webcast live. The webcast is archived and available to view at
http://pascenter.org/sos_conference/index.php#2