AAAs and what they can do for Seniors

AAAs provide a variety of services and supports, directly and indirectly, to seniors (60+), people with disabilities, and family caregivers.

AAAs may also provide some informational and referral support to professionals who work with aging individuals and their family members.

AAAs offer five core services under the Older Americans Act (OAA)²:

1. NUTRITION- congregate and home delivered meals
2. HEALTH & WELLNESS- including prevention services, minor health care interventions, Medicare and benefits counseling
3. CAREGIVERS
4. SUPPORTIVE SERVICES- including information and referral, in-home services, homemaker & chore services, transportation, case management, home modification
5. ELDER RIGHTS- including long term care ombudsman, legal services

AAAs may also provide some informational and referral support to professionals who work with aging individuals and their family members.

For the most part, AAAs are not allowed to provide certain direct aging services, such as meals, transportation and in-home services. So they contract with local service providers to deliver those services using the OAA funds they receive.

Most AAAs are direct providers of information and referral, case management, benefits/health insurance counseling and family caregiver support programs.

They also work in elder rights, both at the individual and community level. They are commissioned to advocate on the behalf of older adults.

The average AAA offers more than a dozen additional services.

The most common non-core services offered by AAAs are²:
• Insurance Counseling (85%)
• Case Management (82%)
• Senior Medicare Patrol (44%)

All AAAs are different in their structure and funding. They have minimal federal requirements so they can tailor their supports to their local communities. Thus, they often offer a different combination of services. For our local AAA offerings, see the Where you can find them section below.

Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) were established by Title III of the Older Americans Act in 1965. The purpose of Title III of the OAA is to encourage and assist state and local agencies in the development of comprehensive and coordinated in-home and community based long-term services for older adults (age 60 and older).¹

Since that time, policies and practices around community supports and long term care services have evolved, and as a result, AAAs themselves, and the supports they offer, have transformed.

Missouri

In Missouri, the Department of Health & Senior Services oversees the AAAs. Missouri has ten (10) AAAs, each responsible for providing services within specifically defined geographic boundaries.³

Kansas

In Kansas, the state of Kansas contracts with Southwest Kansas Area Agency on Aging, to provide ADRC services throughout the state. SWKAAA subcontracts with ten other ADRCsthat collectively cover all 105 counties in Kansas to provide AAA services across the state.⁵

AAAs receive funding from a pot of money called the Older Americans Act Funds (almost 1.4 billion) support Title III Programs nationwide.

AAAs often also receive funds from other sources like the state general funds, grants, Medicaid, and service fees.

Some AAAs are nonprofit entities or just one of multiple funding streams for a nonprofit, which means they can receive donations. They may fundraise to offer additional supports or enhance the basic offerings.

Others are government (city or county) entities that cannot receive donations and are often funded additionally by local taxes, like personal property taxes.

Either way, this variation in the funding of many AAAs explains why sometimes organizations labeled as AAAs provide minimal services, and others provide a wide array of different services and supports.