Older Americans Act (OAA)

ADvancing States in collaboration with the Human Services Research Institute (HSRI) released the results from a six-state deployment of the National Core Indicators – Aging and Disabilities (NCI-AD™) adult consumer survey. While 13 states are participating in the NCI-AD survey in 2016, six of the states - Colorado, Georgia, Maine, Mississippi, New Jersey, and North Carolina- received their results more quickly.

ADvancing States has released the association’s 2016 policy priorities. The priorities document outlines issues and recommendations regarding a wide range of health and human services programs important to older adults and people with disabilities. These include issues such as: • Implementation of the Older Americans Act reauthorization; • Medicaid LTSS innovations; • Support for caregivers; and • Employment for people with disabilities •

Justice in Aging, with the support of the Albert and Elaine Borchard Center on Law and Aging, released a new paper, Advocacy Starts at Home: Strengthening Low-Income Older Adults and Caregivers. The paper's structure introduces Margaret and her story of being a family caregiver, discusses the problems as a result of the strain of poverty on low-income family caregivers and then offers solutions to help support older adults and their caregivers.

The White House released the final report from the White House Conference on Aging (WHCOA). President Barack Obama hosted the sixth WHCOA on July 13, 2015. Prior to the conference, events were hosted all over the United States to allow stakeholders to provide their input. The final report summarizes the work done both at the WHCOA and during the pre-conference activities and feedback elicited throughout the process.

The results of the annual survey represent a snapshot of the current status of state government employees, the agencies that administer the programs, and the services that are provided. The 2015 survey revealed that states are continuing to address the same underlying challenges discussed in the previous reports.The report also includes summary tables that outline specific information about each individual state agency and LTSS program. Email adiaz@advancingstates.org to request a hard copy version.

The National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a) released a report on the Eldercare Locator, a national information and referral resource, funded by the Administration on Aging, that provides assistance to older adults and caregivers. The report draws on data from the locator, breaking the data into different categories.The trends in this data reflect information gathered from 271,234 contacts made with the Eldercare Locator.

A report published by the Government Accountability Office found that almost 4 million seniors are faced with food insecurity. Findings showed that 1 in 5 seniors did not know where their next meal would come from and were in need of transportation services. However, some improvement was seen with home-based care. This report indicates that the funding for the Older Americans Act program is not sufficient for the increasing population.

This report addresses: 1) federal programs that fund HCBS and supports for older adults, in particular in-home and nutrition services, affordable housing, and transportation; 2) how HCBS and supports are planned and delivered in selected localities; and 3) agencies’ efforts to promote a coordinated federal system of HCBS for older adults.

In light of a rapidly aging population, increasing costs, and funding that is not keeping pace, programs like Meals on Wheels face unprecedented challenges to meet the growing need for meal and nutrition services. Decision-makers at all levels of government and community-based organizations within the Aging Network are increasingly seeking lower cost solutions to stretch constrained budgets. This report investigates the impact of meal service delivery on the health and well-being of adults 60+.

Generations United has developed a series of tools to help communities develop intergenerational best practices. This publication compiles some of these tools including: planning tips from across the United States, inspiring stories from award winning communities, engagement and development scales to assess programs, self-administered community assessment, and an infographic on why intergenerational solutions are critical to building strong communities.