HHS AWARDS $9.3 MILLION TO HELP STATES DEVELOP NEW AGING AND DISABILITY RESOURCE CENTERS

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced 12 grants totaling $9.3 million to support state efforts to create "one stop shop" centers to help consumers learn about and access long-term supports ranging from in-home services to nursing facility care.

"These new centers will serve as visible and trusted places where people can turn for information on the full range of long-term support options, as well as assistance in accessing those options" Secretary Thompson said. "The centers will offer consumers reliable information to help them make appropriate choices for themselves and their families."

The grants announced today are being awarded to state agencies in Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina and West Virginia. Additional grants may be funded in fiscal year 2004, subject to availability of funds.

The Aging and Disability Resource Center Grant Program is part of the President's New Freedom Initiative, which aims at overcoming barriers to community living for people with disabilities of all ages. The program is a joint effort involving HHS' Administration on Aging (AoA) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and provides states with an opportunity to effectively integrate their long-term support resources for consumers into a single coordinated system.

"States use a variety of approaches to meet the unique needs of the populations they serve," HHS Assistant Secretary for Aging Josefina Carbonell said. "The program has been designed to allow for a great deal of flexibility. Some state programs will utilize a single agency serving as the entry point to all long-term supports while other states will establish multiple sites that are coordinated and standardized to ensure there is 'no wrong door' for individuals trying to access the long-term care system."

"These centers will offer assistance to families often desperate to find appropriate and affordable support for a loved one, " CMS Administrator Tom Scully said. "The grants will assist states in their efforts to streamline access to multiple public programs and ensure that families can find the assistance they need through a single point of entry into the long-term support system."

More information on the Aging and Disability Resource Centers Grant program, including descriptions of grantee projects, is available at http://www.aoa.gov and at www.cms.hhs.gov/newfreedom/. A list of the grantees follows:

AGING AND DISABILITY RESOURCE CENTER GRANT PROGRAM

	FISCAL YEAR 2003 AWARDS
State	Agency	Total Award

Louisiana

Governor's Office of $799,998 Elderly Affairs

Maine

DHS Bureau of Elder $767,205 and Adult Services

Maryland Department of Aging $800,000

Massachusetts

Executive Office of $750,000 Elder Affairs

Minnesota Board on Aging $739,136

Montana

DPHHS Senior and $699,284 Long-Term Care Division

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Note

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Last Revised: September 22, 2003