Aging/Older Adults

This report provides a snapshot of the APS program during a period of transition and change. Key elements driving the change include the economic environment, the continuation of states reorganization, and the federal budget impasse and decision of whether or not to fund the Elder Justice Act. ADvancing States and NAPSA will continue to collect data from the states and localities to provide updates on this evolution.

States endow Commissions on Aging Services with different responsibilities. States that have Commissions with more of an oversight nature advise states about aging issues and are responsible for working with legislators, advocating for seniors, and evaluating needs and services. More advisory Commissions offer guidance in identifying and researching aging issues. Results of a ADvancing States survey found that 20 states have Commissions in place, 5 with oversight capacity, and 15 that are more advisory.

The ADvancing States assessment of the AoA funded project to develop a national volunteer resource center to enhance engagement of volunteers in the Aging Network, especially Baby Boomers, consisted of an online scan and three follow-up conference calls with program directors. The results are synthesized in an overall brief and separated by program: Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP), State Health Insurance Programs (SHIP), and Long-Term Care (LTC) Ombudsman programs.

This document is designed to enable new State Unit on Aging (SUA) Directors to quickly understand the unique role of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program (SLTCOP). The Older Americans Act (OAA) establishes this program with responsibilities that make it different from other aging programs. Within the network of services provided under the OAA, the LTCOP has some mandates that set it apart from other services.

This document provides citations from the Older Americans Act that are supportive of, and outline opportunities for coordination efforts between State/Area Agencies on Aging and State/local health care systems.

Alabama’s Department of Senior Services (ADSS) launched a project to promote civil service by integrating AmeriCorps Members into its State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) and Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) Program. This innovative means to increase benefits assistance and enrollment has proven successful, especially for programs such as Medicare Savings Programs (MSP). This report describes AmeriCorps programs generally as well as the positive results of ADSS’s AmeriCorps project.

The Senior Community Service Employment Program is the only federally mandated job training program that explicitly serves low-income adults, age 55 and older, to promote economic self-sufficiency and community service. This paper provides an overview of the program’s goals, its structure in different states, its funding, and the relationship between stakeholders. The mission of the SCSEP serves to empower older individuals by making them more employable in both the public and private sectors.

Budgeting is a crucial aspect in the deliverance of Older Americans Act (OAA) services. This brief provides information geared at State directors to help them better understand various funding sources and requirements. This summary explains the Inter-State Funding Formula on which the Administration of Aging (AoA) distributes OAA funds as well as the Intra-State Funding Formula (IFF) on which states distribute OAA funds.

This presentation took place on March 20, 2012 at the Aging in America Conference to demonstrate how the aging network can benefit from working with other agencies to provide more integrated services. Namely, the State Units on Aging working with mental health and substance abuse agencies and programs to provide for more comprehensive care that takes into consideration issues unique to the aging population, such as suicide and alcohol and prescription drug abuse.

Preventive services is one way of cutting down health care costs, as well as detecting health issues early. Medicare beneficiaries have access to many preventive services, including cancer screenings, glaucoma screenings, certain immunizations, etc. This fact sheet provides an overview and chart of the different preventive services available to Medicare enrollees, outlining the different services covered under the different Medicare plans or “parts”, especially Medicare Part B.