Aging/Older Adults

This document lays out the State of Alabama’s plan on aging in accordance to Older Americans Act requirements. The plan describes the mission and strategies of the Alabama Department of Senior Services (ADSS) and how it plans to coordinate supportive services given funding restrictions. The FY11-12 plan has its goals promoting independence for its aging population and enabling seniors to remain in their homes via home and community-based services.

This document offers recommendations for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of Older Americans Act (OAA) services upon its reauthorization. Recommendations are made under each Title of the Act. More general recommendations include increasing interaction and coordination with other federal programs that deliver services for older adults such as the Low-Income Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), Senior Corps, and Adult Protective Services.

This Fact Sheet highlights some of the most important features of the Older Americans Act in providing quality home care. Some areas of the OAA that are covered include supportive services, nutrition services, caregiver support services, the Senior Community Service Employment Program, the Long-Term Care Ombudsman program, and funding for OAA services.

This report serves as a follow-up to the 1995 Institute on Medicine (IOM) report which argued for an ombudsman program to address the quality of care in long-term institutional settings. This study investigates the role and effectiveness of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Programs (LTCOPs) in improving care. Surveys with all states/territories reveal new findings on the structure of the program in different states as well as their own perceived effectiveness. Comprehensive data and analysis.

Review additional discussion of assisted living and residential care in the states, and learn more detailed data on assisted living and residential care capacity. Assisted living and other residential settings represent a critical component of the LTSS system for older adults who cannot live alone, but do not require the skilled care provided by nursing homes. In 2010, states reported a total of 51,367 licensed residential care settings with a total capacity of 1,233,690 beds.

The results of the survey suggest that in the past three months, 39.8 million people (aged 15 and older) provided unpaid care. Starting last year, respondents were asked about caregiving. Almost a third of respondents reported taking care of two or more older people, and 23% also had a minor child in their households. The results also suggest that men caregivers are growing in numbers. The average time spent providing care was three hours, though women spend about an hour more than men.

This document aims to guide providers of self-management education (SME) chronic condition programs in efforts to assure high-quality services are available over the long-term. This guide is a synthesis of practical experience and evidence-based strategies to help SME providers achieve sustainability. It provides a process for exploring critical issues in the areas of revenue, marketing, referral networking, service operations, evaluation, community support, advocacy, and resource linkages.

The Toolkit was designed to help hospitals and community partners address the needs of people with chronic conditions by improving self-management skills. This toolkit provides information on the benefits of starting and sustaining a Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP), helpful sources and materials implementing the CDSMP.

The first National Alzheimer’s Plan includes current federal activities and initial recommendations to expand, coordinate or condense programs to overcome Alzheimer’s disease. The plan was called for in the National Alzheimer’s Project Act (NAPA), which President Obama signed into law in January 2011. The National Plan sets forth five goals, including the development of effective prevention and treatment approaches for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias by 2025.

The Older Americans Act of 1965 created the National Aging Network with many states adopting Area Agencies on Aging at the local level. This brief is a summary of two surveys regarding states’ monitoring practices of their Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) and states’ spending rules for their AAAs. All states with Area Agencies on Aging which were surveyed reported that they conduct some monitoring, and most differed in their rules concerning excess funds.