FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRC)

2. Why do we need Aging and Disability Resource Centers?

AoA and CMS believe Resource Centers are a key component of an effectively managed, consumer-driven system of long-term support. In many communities, long-term support services are supported by numerous funding streams, administered by multiple agencies, and have complex, fragmented, and often duplicative intake, assessment, and eligibility functions. Figuring out how to obtain services is difficult for persons who qualify for publicly-funded supports and for those who can pay privately. These barriers can lead to institutional long-term support as the default outcome. A single, coordinated system of information and access for all persons seeking long-term support will minimize confusion, enhance individual choice and support informed decision-making. It will also improve the ability of state and local governments to manage resources and to monitor program quality through centralized data collection and evaluation.

Resource Centers will enable policy makers and program administrators to more effectively respond to individual needs, address system problems, and limit the unnecessary use of high-cost services, including institutional care. The strategy is not to add resources, but to ensure the needs and preferences of consumers underpin all aspects of the system. Implementation of this approach may require some realignment or reorientation of a state’s long-term care system, particularly the eligibility processes and resources.

3. What states or territories have received the Aging and Disability Resource Center grant?

A total of forty-three states and territories have been awarded the Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) grant, jointly funded by the Administration on Aging and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

In 2003, twelve states were awarded the three year ADRC grant: Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and West Virginia.

The second round of ADRC grants was awarded to twelve additional states and territories in 2004: Alaska, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, New Mexico, North Carolina, Northern Mariana Islands, and Wisconsin.

In 2005, nineteen additional states and territories received the third round of ADRC grants: Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming.

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4. What models are Aging and Disability Resource Center grantees implementing?

States will be able to use the AoA and CMS Resource Center Program grant funds to better coordinate and integrate existing information, counseling and access functions that are associated with the multiple Federal and state long term support programs and services available. Many states have already begun to establish one-stop shop entry points into their long term support systems. Such states will be able to utilize the funds to strengthen their programs by choosing to add functions, such as serving private-pay individuals, or to expand their program to parts of the state not currently served. Other states may choose to utilize the grant funds to begin to develop a single point of entry system.

The operational configuration of Resource Centers will vary from state to state. In most states, Resource Centers will involve a state/local partnership, where the state will provide oversight and guidance, but may arrange for responsibility for the operation of Resource Center functions to be vested in local entities. In some communities, all Resource Center functions may be performed in a single location. However, in some localities, Resource Centers may be decentralized and have multiple sites and organizations involved in performing the information and access functions. Some communities may even have different access points for different populations, provided they perform all functions of a Resource Center. Regardless of the configuration, the functions of the Resource Center will be coordinated and standardized to ensure that all individuals are provided with uniform information and access to long-term support, with the system appearing seamless.

What is the Aging and Disability Resource Center Grant Program?

The Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) grant program is intended to stimulate the development of state systems that integrate information and referral, benefits and options counseling services as well as facilitating access to publicly and privately financed long term care (LTC) services and benefits. The forty-three ADRC projects awarded in 2003, 2004, and 2005 serve older adults and individuals with disabilities. The program is jointly sponsored by the federal Administration on Aging (AoA) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), both part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ADRC also is part of thePresident's Long Term Care Re-balancing Initiative and New Freedom Initiative

What functions will be performed by Aging and Disability Resource Centers?

Resource Center programs will--
• Promote public awareness of both public and private long term support options, as well as awareness of the Resource Center, especially among underserved and hard to reach populations;
• Provide information, and counseling as needed, on all available long term support options;
• Facilitate programmatic eligibility determination for public long term support programs and benefits, including level of care determinations for Medicaid nursing facility and home and community-based services (HCBS) waiver programs;
• Assist individuals in determining their potential eligibility for public long term support programs and benefits;
• Provide short-term assistance or case management to stabilize long term supports for individuals and their families in times of immediate need before they have been connected to long term supports;
• Provide information and referral to other programs and benefits that can help people remain in the community (i.e., health promotion or disease prevention programs, transportation services, and income support programs);
• Help people plan for their future long term support needs; and
• Organize, simplify and ensure “one-stop shopping” for access to all public long term support programs.

Resource Center programs must have an information management system that supports the functions of the Centers. In addition, grantees will be required to evaluate the effectiveness of their Resource Center programs.

Who will the Aging and Disability Resource Centers serve?

Resource Center programs will serve individuals who need long term support, their family caregivers, and those planning for future long term support needs, regardless of income. They will also serve as a resource for health and long term support professionals and others who provide services to the elderly and to people with disabilities. Resource Centers supported under this program must, at a minimum, include the elderly population and at least one of the following major target groups by the first quarter of the second year: (a) individuals with physical disabilities, (b) individuals with serious mental illness, and/or (c) individuals with mental retardation/developmental disabilities.

In addition, the availability of information and counseling for private-pay individuals is a central element of the AoA/CMS Resource Center vision. Reaching people before they become Medicaid-eligible, and helping them to learn about low-cost options and programs such as private long-term support insurance, can help individuals make better use of their own resources and help to prevent or delay spend-down to Medicaid.

For more information on the populations a particular state serves, refer to the ADRC Grantee Profiles available on the ADRC-TAE Web site.

How will ADRCs form partnerships and linkages?

Resource Centers will create formal linkages between and among the major pathways to long-term support, including preadmission screening programs for nursing home services, hospital discharge planning, physician services, and the various community agencies and organizations that serve the Resource Center’s target populations. These linkages will ensure people have the information they need to make informed decisions about their support options as they pass through critical transition points in the health and long-term support system.

Aging and Disability Resource Center programs will coordinate closely with other long-term care systems change initiatives at the state and local level to ensure a single and efficient state approach to long-term care reform. This will include close coordination with CMS Real Choice Systems Change grant programs, Department of Health and Human Services Administration on Developmental Disabilities Family Support 360 grants and other initiatives.

In addition, Resource Center programs will establish collaborative working relationships with programs that provide services important to consumers who are either seeking home and community-based services or planning for future long-term support needs. Collaborative relationships must be established with State Health Insurance Assistance Programs (SHIP), National Family Caregiver Support Programs, Alzheimer’s Disease service and support programs, health promotion and disease prevention programs, transportation, employment, housing, adult education and others. A strong collaborative relationship with local CMS SHIP programs is particularly important to ensure streamlined access for consumers interested in planning for future long-term care needs.