ADRC Hawaii Logo - Generations Magazine - October-November 2012The Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) Program is a collaborative effort of the Administration on Aging (AoA) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The goal of the ADRC Program is to empower individuals to make informed choices and to streamline access to long- term care. It is a support system for older adults, all persons with disabilities, family caregivers and providers of long-term services and support. The program was designed to be a single point of entry into long-term services and publicly administered long-term supports, such as those funded under Medicaid, the Older Americans Act, and state revenue programs.

ADRC provides information and assistance to:

  • people in need public or private resources
  • professionals seeking assistance for their clients
  • individuals planning for their future long-term care needs

The vision is to have ADRCs in every community where people can turn for information on the full range of long-term support options. ADRCs are essential to the development of effective managed person-centered services at national and state levels. These services are envisioned to:

  • optimize choice and independence
  • be served by an adequate workforce
  • be transparent
  • encourage personal responsibility
  • provide coordinated, high quality care
  • be financially sustainable
  • utilize health information technology

The ADRC initiative focuses on improving access to care so an individual can receive the right services, at the right time, in the right place. ADRCs use two broad strategies to divert individuals from unnecessary long-term institutional care and ensure that short-term institutional stays do not become permanent: 1) intervening with options counseling in critical pathways, and 2) expediting eligibility determination processes for home and community-based services.

ADRCs operate in more than 350 community sites across 54 states and territories. In 2006, the Executive Office on Aging (EOA) in Hawai‘i was awarded an initial grant to pilot the ADRC concept. In 2009, EOA received an ADRC Expansion award grant allowing ADRC to expand statewide and to deliver a five-year plan and budget detailing how the Aging Network will transform into the Aging and Disability Resource Center statewide. The sites are operated by the Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) within the four counties. The role of the AAA will expand to not only address the needs of older adults, but to provide the necessary supports and referral for persons with disabilities.

For more information, please call 808-643-2372, TTY 808-643-0889 or visit www.hawaiiadrc.org.