Department on Aging serves seniors and their families

Nearly one and one half million people age 65 and older live in Illinois. While the majority enjoy relatively good health and complete independence, more than one third rely on outside sources to remain in their own homes and communities as long as possible. The Illinois Department on Aging helps older people achieve maximum independence. Marital status, children, work force participation, living arrangements and income all affect the amount and extent of support an older person needs. Over 500,000 older adults receive the help they need through the Department and the regional and community-based agencies that comprise the Illinois Aging Network.

Maralee I. Lindley

Services provided through this network are made possible through two main sources, state general Revenue funds — which pay for more than three quarters of the programs available to older Illinoisans — and federal Older Americans Act funds. State funds support in-home and community-based programs for frail seniors. Federal funds provide information and assistance, transportation, senior centers, home-delivered and site-based meal programs, employment training and volunteer programs. While participation depends on specific eligibility factors, like income and assets, most programs are available to all Illinois seniors.

One of the most important factors in empowering older people to make knowledgeable choices about the services that are best for them is to provide appropriate information about those services. More than 80 information and assistance sites, located throughout the state, maintain up-to-date information regarding senior programs. The Department on Aging also operates a toll-free information and assistance service, the Senior HelpLine, (800) 252-8966 (voice and TTY), which can be accessed from anywhere in Illinois. Whether a person lives in a large metropolitan area like Chicago or Peoria, a small town like Thayer or Ullin or in the most isolated rural area of the county, help is at hand.

Outreach services target older adults who may not be aware senior services are available and those who are difficult to contact. Specially trained staff tell older people (or their representatives) about available benefits and programs, encourage participation and help them get there.

When older adults and their families need to decide about long-term care, case management services help them make informed choices. A case manager with one of Illinois' local Case Coordination Units will determine the person's needs, provide information about services, develop a plan of care and arrange for services.

The department on Aging's Community Care Program (CCP) is a national leader in providing in-home care to older adults who are at risk of losing their independence because of failing health and reduced income. This comprehensive, community-based entitlement program provides services to any person who applies and meets current eligibility requirements. To receive CCP services, a person must be age 60 or older, a U.S. citizen or legal alien, a resident of Illinois, have non-exempt assets of $10,000 or less and have an assessed need for long term care. The program provides homemaker assistance, adult

Maralee I. Lindley is director of the Illinois Department on Aging. Its $212 million budget funds one of the largest in-home and community-based programs for the frail elderly in the nation, an elder abuse and neglect services program, and serves as an advocate on behalf of older persons through area agencies on aging and local service providers. She also serves as a member of the U.S. Committee for the Celebration of the United Nations International Year of Older Persons: 1999.

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The Department on Aging also helps older people who are at risk at the hands of others. Through its Elder Abuse and Neglect Program, the agency responds to reports of alleged abuse, neglect and exploitation of older people who live at home. Financial exploitation is the type of abuse most frequently reported (over 50 percent of all reports). Elder abuse is quite clearly a family problem. Over three-quarters of alleged abusers are either the spouse, child or other relative of the victim. To combat elder abuse, the Department on Aging works with local legal assistance providers, law enforcement agencies and health care providers to intervene and resolve abusive situations.

The Department's elder rights services also are available to nursing home residents through the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program. Over 300 volunteers help investigate and resolve complaints made by or on behalf of older adults who live in Illinois' licensed long-term care facilities. The program also works to prevent problems through educational sessions, consultations and interactions between ombudsmen and facility staff.

Although frail older adults are the department's top priority, our programs reach members of every generation — children who need help in school, teens who share their homes with grandparents, adults who worry about Mom and Dad living alone, new retirees who are looking for volunteer opportunities and seniors who want to know more about health care and benefits.

One of our most successful current initiatives is a statewide effort to reach and assist grandparents raising grandchildren. An estimated 70,000 Illinois children are living with a grandparent or other older relative rather than a parent. The Department on Aging, in cooperation with the Task Force on Grandparents Raising Grandchildren in Illinois, works to locate, assist and promote awareness of older caregivers who are currently raising their family's children. The Department on Aging also has developed an information packet with tip sheets, resources and service contacts for grandparent caregivers, available from the department's Senior HelpLine.

The department also distributes a multitude of publications on issues of interest to an aging society, and loans nearly 1,000 videos upon request to individuals, organizations and agencies. Special health awareness programs — Senior Health Watch and Older and Healthier — are broadcast on radio and cable TV stations throughout Illinois.

As director, I am very proud of the Department on Aging and the work we do. With only 100 full-time employees working with a sophisticated network of regional and local agencies, we are helping thousands of Illinois seniors live happier, more independent lives in their own homes and communities.

6 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING • JULY 1998