Grants To Help Families In 19 States Find Long Term Care

Grants of $15 million to19 states from the Administration on Aging will create a single source of information and assistance for families navigating the often confusing array of long-term care services available in their communities.

The Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) grants are part of the New Freedom Initiative, an effort to help overcome barriers to community living for the elderly and disabled. The ADRC grants are jointly administered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (formerly HCFA; now CMS) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Administration on Aging.

Currently, a broad range of programs and services ranging from home-and-community based care to institutional support are available to assist older adults and individuals with disabilities. These services are sponsored and supported by numerous agencies and have diverse and sometimes complex eligibility requirements.

Individuals and their families who are seeking support services often have difficultly sorting through or even locating community-based services. The result may be unnecessary and costly institutionalization.

The ADRC grants are designed to give states flexibility in the development and administration of their programs. Some states may use a single agency as the entry point to long-term support while other states will establish centers with multiple sites that may work together to ensure uniform access to long-term care support options.

States and territories receiving the grants referenced in today’s announcement are:
Alabama,
Arizona,
Colorado,
District of Columbia,
Guam,
Hawaii,
Idaho,
Kansas,
Kentucky,
Michigan,
Mississippi,
Nevada,
Ohio,
Tennessee,
Texas,
Vermont,
Virginia,
Washington
Wyoming.

All together, 43 states have received the three-year grants with awards of up to $800,000.