State Action on Elder Rights
In Title VII of the Older Americans Act the United States Congress established a vision and unique mission for state aging networks. The Act requires State Units on Aging(SUAs) to assure that older individuals have access to and assistance in securing and maintaining benefits, rights, opportunities and protections promised to them through various laws, policies and programs.
The Center for State Action on Elder Rights is NASUA's focal point for advancing the state aging network's advocacy capacity. The Center's mission is to promote the development of comprehensive elder rights systems offering a full, seamless array of protection and empowerment supports, services, and logical pathways for older persons to obtain help, solve disputes, exercise choice, and maintain control over their lives.
Center activities are focused on intra-agency coordination, helping SUAs effectively link the key elder rights programs - Long Term Care Ombudsman, Legal Assistance Development, Elder Abuse Prevention, and Health Insurance Counseling -- and forming collaborative, interdisciplinary partnerships with other state and federal government agencies having elder rights responsibilities.
The following are among the Center's current activities:
- Supporting the continued development of the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program, in partnership with the National Citizens Coalition for Nursing Home Reform providing technical assistance on issues such as enabling legislation, services in assisted living, nursing home quality indicators, guardianship issues, and transition from institutions, and with the National Association of State Long Term Care Ombudsman Programs, identifying effective strategies for future growth of the program;
- Promoting a systemic response to elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation, as the lead organization for the National Center on Elder Abuse, with four partners, the American Bar Association Commission on Law and Aging, the National Adult Protective Service Association, the University of Delaware, and the National Coalition for Elder Abuse Prevention, providing public education and technical assistance, and enhancing the quality and effectiveness of adult protective service programs throughout the country;
- Improving the capacity and resources of State Health Insurance Information Counseling and Assistance Programs (SHIP), with current attention particularly focused on implementation of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, signed into law December 8, 2003 by President Bush. Activities are also underway regarding the Medicare fraud and abuse detection and prevention programs and continuing a partnership with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, national SHIP Steering Committee, and National Association of Insurance Commissioners to promote collaboration;
- Supporting activities related to legal assistance and elder justice. The current focuses include co-sponsoring and providing training at the annual National Aging and Law Conference; collaborating with the AoA-funded senior legal assistance grantees, including the AARP Foundation, The Center for Social Gerontology, and Consumer Law Center; and serving as a founding member and active participant in the national Elder Justice Coalition.
In support of these priority areas, the Center collects and disseminates data on state elder rights system development achievements, tracks and analyzes related state and federal policy, convenes policy forums and briefings, assists states with specific technical assistance challenges, provides customized training and makes presentations at conferences.
The Center has developed extensive expertise in elder rights system development, promising practices for elder abuse intervention and prevention, Medicare benefits, guardianship, assisted living and home care advocacy, ombudsman program management, and outcome measures for the ombudsman program.
- Elder Abuse
- Long-Term Care Ombudsman
