The
Administration on Aging (AoA), an agency in the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services, is one of the nation's largest
providers of home- and community-based care for older persons
and their caregivers. Our mission is to ensure that older
Americans have the opportunity to age with dignity, have
choices in managing their own lives, and remain active and
productive members of their families and communities.
Created in 1965 with the passage of the Older Americans
Act (OAA), AoA is part of a federal, state, tribal and local
partnership called the National Network on Aging. This network,
serving about 7 million older persons and their caregivers,
consists of 56 State Units on Aging; 655 Area Agencies on
Aging; 236 Tribal and Native organizations; two organizations
that serve Native Hawaiians; 29,000 service providers; and
thousands of volunteers. These organizations provide assistance
and services to older individuals and their families in
urban, suburban, and rural areas throughout the United States.
While all older Americans may receive services, the OAA
targets those older individuals who are in greatest economic
and social need: the poor, the isolated, and those elders
disadvantaged by social or health disparities.
Services Funded by the
OAA
There are six core services funded by the OAA including:
Supportive services, which enable communities to provide
rides to medical appointments, and grocery and drug stores.
Supportive services provide handyman, chore and personal
care services so that older persons can stay in their homes.
These services extend to community services such as adult
day care and information and assistance as well.
Nutrition services, which include more than a meal.
Since its creation, the Older Americans Act Nutrition Program
has provided nearly 6 billion meals for at-risk older persons.
Each day in communities across America, senior citizens
come together in senior centers or other group settings
to share a meal, as well as camaraderie and friendship.
Nutrition services also provide nutrition education, health
screenings, and counseling at senior centers. Homebound
seniors are able to remain in their homes largely because
of the daily delivery of a hot meal, sometimes by a senior
volunteer who is their only visitor. March 2002, marked
the 30th anniversary of the OAA Nutrition Program, and AoA
will be celebrating this successful community-based service
throughout the year.
Preventive health services, which educate and enable
older persons to make healthy lifestyle choices. Every year,
illness and disability that result from chronic disease
affects the quality of life for millions of older adults
and their caregivers. Many chronic diseases can be prevented
through healthy lifestyles, physical activity, appropriate
diet and nutrition, smoking cessation, active and meaningful
social engagement, and regular screenings. The ultimate
goal of the OAA health promotion and disease prevention
services is to increase the quality and years of healthy
life.
The National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP),
which was funded for the first time in 2000, is a significant
addition to the OAA. It was created to help the millions
of people who provide the primary care for spouses, parents,
older relatives and friends. The program includes information
to caregivers about available services; assistance to caregivers
in gaining access to services; individual counseling, organization
of support groups and caregiver training to assist caregivers
in making decisions and solving problems relating to their
caregiver roles; and supplemental services to complement
care provided by caregivers.
The program also recognizes the needs of grandparents caring
for grandchildren and for caregivers of those 18 and under
with mental retardation or developmental difficulties and
the diverse needs of Native Americans.
Services that protect the rights of vulnerable older
persons, which are designed to empower older persons
and their family members to detect and prevent elder abuse
and consumer fraud as well as to enhance the physical, mental,
emotional and financial well-being of America's elderly.
These services include, for example, pension counseling
programs that help older Americans access their pensions
and make informed insurance and health care choices; long-term
care ombudsman programs that serve to investigate and resolve
complaints made by or for residents of nursing, board and
care, and similar adult homes. AoA supports the training
of thousands of paid and volunteer long-term care ombudsmen,
insurance counselors, and other professionals who assist
with reporting waste, fraud, and abuse in nursing homes
and other settings; and senior Medicare patrol projects,
which operate in 47 states, plus the District of Columbia
and Puerto Rico. AoA awards grants to state units on aging,
area agencies on aging, and community organizations to train
senior volunteers how to educate older Americans to take
a more active role in monitoring and understanding their
health care.
Services to Native Americans, which include nutrition and
supportive services designed to meet the unique cultural
and social traditions of tribal and native organizations
and organizations serving Native Hawaiians. Native American
elders are among the most disadvantaged groups in the country.
Eldercare Locator
Additionally, AoA supports the Eldercare Locator, a national
toll-free service to help callers find services and resources
in their own communities or throughout the country. That
number is 1-800-677-1116.
For
More Information
Working
in close partnership with its sister agencies in the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, the AoA is the
official Federal agency dedicated to policy development,
planning and the delivery of supportive home and community-based
services to older persons and their caregivers. The AoA
works through the national aging network of 56 State Units
on Aging, 655 Area Agencies on Aging, 236 Tribal and Native
organizations representing 300 American Indian and Alaska
Native Tribal organizations, and two organizations serving
Native Hawaiians, plus thousands of service providers, adult
care centers, caregivers, and volunteers. For more information
about the AoA, please contact:
U.S.
Administration on Aging
Department of Health and Human Services
Washington, DC 20201
Phone: (202) 619-0724
Fax: (202)
357-3560
E-mail: aoainfo@aoa.gov
Website: http://www.aoa.gov
