Older American Act Re-Authorizations Passes Congress

The Older American Act Reauthorization Act of 2016 (OAA) passed Congress recently and is expected to be signed into law by the President. The OAA makes important investments in creating a well-trained workforce and in providing person- and family-centered care for older Americans. Among other initiatives, the OAA supports three crucial family caregiver programs:

• Family Caregiver Support Services program provides a range of support services to approximately 1.4 million family and informal caregivers annually in states, including counseling, respite care, training, and assistance with locating services.
• Native American Caregiver Support program provides a range of services to Native American caregivers, including information and outreach, access assistance, individual counseling, support groups and training, respite care and other supplemental services. In 2014 more 934,096 caregivers were served through this program.
• Alzheimer's Disease Support Services program supports family caregivers who provide countless hours of unpaid care, thereby enabling their family members with dementia to continue living in the community. The program conducts evidence-based interventions and expands the dementia-capable home and community-based services. The program provided direct services to 46,860 individuals with Alzheimer's disease and their family caregivers in 2014.

The Society has long supported the reauthorization of the OAA and has joined in advocating for the passage of the bill through work with the Eldercare Workforce Alliance and the Leadership Council of Aging Organizations (LCAO).