Available Programs
The services described in this document are not all inclusive or available in every community. Other program or regulatory restrictions may apply.
Home and community based services are offered at the local level to assist seniors in obtaining access to health care and to provide other necessary services such as transportation, nutrition, in-home care and support, and information and referral in an effort to preserve maximum independence for seniors while allowing them to remain at home. Most people who receive long-term care at home require additional help from family or friends to supplement services from paid providers.
ADRD Education and Support
Statewide education and support services to people with ADRD (Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders) and their caregivers as well as providing education and ADRD to the general public, healthcare professionals, professional caregivers, agencies and organizations.
Further information may be obtained through the current grantee, Alzheimer’s Disease Resource Agency of Alaska.
ADRD Mini-Grants
Mini grants are available to individuals who experience ADRD. Mini grants can include, but are not limited to, therapeutic devices, access to medial, vision and dental, and special health-care, and other supplies or services that might remove or reduce barriers to an individual’s ability to function in the community and become as self-sufficient as possible.
Further information may be obtained through the current grantee, Alzheimer’s Disease Resource Agency of Alaska.
Adult Day Services
Adult day services provide supervised care in an organized program of services during the day in a community group setting for the purpose of supporting an adult’s personal independence and promoting social, physical and emotional well-being. A variety of program activities are offered and are designed to meet individual needs and interests. These services help seniors remain in their communities and offer respite for family caregivers on a planned or scheduled basis.
Conservatorship
Conservatorship is a legal arrangement in which a person or institution is appointed to handle the financial affairs for another person. The conservator collects and deposits all income, pays all debts and bills, secures all assets, and handles taxes and insurance. A person appointed as guardian may also be appointed as conservator, or a separate conservator can be appointed. For more information please see the Alaska Court System Family Law Self-Help Center.
Adult Protective Services (APS)
Adult Protective Services helps to prevent or stop harm from occurring to vulnerable adults. Harm may result from abandonment, abuse, exploitation, neglect or self-neglect. Vulnerable adults have a physical or mental impairment or condition that prevents them from protecting themselves or from seeking help from someone else. For further information please see the State of Alaska Division of Senior and Disabilities Services website.
Assisted Living
Assisted Living homes provide 24 hour care for individuals who are not able to live in their own homes. This service provides assistance with activities of daily living and supervision of individuals who require it. Often transportation to outside activities is included by the home. A list of licensed assisted living homes is available at the State of Alaska Division of Public Health website.
Care Coordination
The purpose of care coordination services is to make the community care system work most effectively in order to assure individuals receive assistance responsive to their needs.
Care coordination is comprised of the assessment of needs, coordination and monitoring of services required by an individual experiencing a short-term medical crisis or requiring long-term chronic care. This assistance helps frail clients and their families find appropriate medical, social, educational, and other services while ensuring coordination of the services, regardless of the funding source for the services. Care coordination may include outreach, intake screening and initial assessment; care planning, service arrangement, ongoing monitoring, and reassessment by a licensed professional or agency.
Chore Services
Chore services provide assistance to individuals who are unable to perform one or more instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs). Chore services can help with IADLS, such as meal preparation, shopping for personal items, routine household cleaning, laundry and heavy household chores such as washing floors, windows and walls; tacking down loose rugs and tiles; moving heavy items such as furniture and snow shoveling in order to provide safe access and egress.
Congregate Meals
Congregate meal programs provide at least one hot or other appropriate meal per day to qualified individuals in a group setting. Congregate nutrition programs may also include nutrition education and, based on a Nutrition Risk Assessment, referral to a dietitian for counseling (if available).
Consumer Directed Personal Care Attendant (CDPCA)
This model requires the consumer to manage their own care by selecting, hiring, firing, and supervising their own PCA. The CDPCA agency provides administrative support to the consumer and the PCA.
(IADL) Instrumental Activities of Daily Living
IADLs refer to the following activities: preparing meals, shopping for personal items, medication management, managing money, using the telephone, doing heavy housework, doing light housework and transportation ability. Transportation ability refers to the individual’s ability to make use of available transportation without assistance.
Department of Senior and Disabilities Services
General Relief is also operated by DSDS which provides funding for individuals to reside in assisted living homes while they wait for eligibility for other programs. This program is managed by the Adult Protective Services unit of DSDS. For additional information please see the Department of Senior and Disabilities Services website.
General Relief
General Relief is a state-funded public assistance program for vulnerable adults designed to meet the immediate, basic needs of Alaskans facing extreme financial crisis. For further information please see the State of Alaska Public Assistance website.
(see also Department of Senior and Disabilities Services)
Health Promotion & Disease Prevention
Activities include routine health screening, nutritional counseling and education services, health promotion programs, physical fitness, group exercise, music, art, and dance-therapy programs, home injury control services, mental health screenings, benefits and preventive health services education, medication management screening and education, diagnosis, prevention, treatment and rehabilitation information.
Home-Delivered Meals
Home-delivered meals are an in-home nutrition service that provides for at least one hot, cold, frozen, dried, canned, or supplemental-food meal with the number of meals per week determined by local service providers in their grant proposals. Recipients of home delivered meals must have documented need for the service based on eligibility criteria (inability to perform ADLs and IADLs). Provider agencies “target” those with the greatest need. Home delivery includes social contact and informal checks on the senior’s well-being.
Homemaker Service
Homemaker service can include meal preparation, shopping, light housekeeping, assisting with paperwork for financial, health care, insurance or other issues, making telephone calls on the senior’s behalf, or assisting with using the telephone, escorting and assisting the senior to medical appointments, shopping, and other errands (does not include general transportation).
Information, Assistance, and Referral
Information, assistance, and referral services provide information on services available to seniors for continued independent living (medical, social, legal, counseling, etc.). To the maximum extent possible, adequate follow-up procedures are established.
Legal Services
The legal services program for seniors provides legal advice, counseling and representation by an attorney or other person acting under the supervision of an attorney. Activities include legal advice, representation, and investigation related to resolution of civil legal matters and protection of civil rights; assistance with administrative hearings and small claims court preparation; and community legal education presentations. For further information please see Alaska Legal Services.
Long Term Care Ombudsman
This program identifies, investigates and resolves complaints about long term care services and advocates for seniors. The ombudsman investigates complaints about nursing homes, assisted living homes, and senior housing units as well as concerns about individuals’ care and circumstances. For further information please see the Office of the Long Term Care Ombudsman website.
National Family Caregiver Support Program
This program offers support services to non-paid family caregivers of older adults (age 60 years and older; and grandparents and relative caregivers, 55 years and older, of children not more than 18 years of age (including grandparents who are sole caregivers of children and those individuals who are affected by mental retardation or who have developmental disabilities). Services include information, assistance, caregiver counseling, caregiver support groups, caregiver training, respite care, and supplemental services. Family caregiver is defined as an adult family member, or another individual, who is an informal provider of in-home and community care to an older individual.
Nursing Home Transition Program
This program can provide one-time funds for specific approved services or items to be used to help an elderly person or individual with a disability transition from a nursing facility back into the community. For more information please see the State of Alaska Division of Senior and Disabilities Services.
Personal Care Services
A personal care attendant (also known as a PCA) performs tasks of a non-technical medical nature which help individuals remain safely at home. Personal care includes assistance with personal hygiene, going to the bathroom, incontinence care, medication reminders, taking vital signs, and care of bed-bound and chair-bound clients (skin care, turning, positioning). To qualify for PCA services, individuals must require extensive assistance with two or more ADLs. For Further information please see the State of Alaska Division of Senior and Disabilities Services.
Pioneers’ Homes
Pioneers’ Homes are a unique type of assisted living home which specializes in caring for individuals who experience dementia. The Pioneers’ Home information including wait-list registry information is available at their website.
(see also Assisted Living)
Respite Care Services
Respite care service provides temporary relief to non-paid caregivers and family members who are caring for seniors. Services can be provided in or out of the home, in an adult day center, or a licensed assisted living facility.
Senior Centers
Senior Centers are social institutions that address the needs of older individuals, their families, and their caregivers as a vital and inclusive part of a community. They provide a variety of services including nutrition, recreation, social and educational services, and comprehensive information and referral to help seniors help themselves through assistance in finding appropriate services and care.
Transportation
Transportation includes assisted and unassisted rides provided by bus, van, taxi, boat or any other vehicle for a maximum of five days a week. All vehicles must comply with Department of Transportation vehicle safety standards. Rides are scheduled according to the following priorities:
1. Medical services
2. Congregate meal site
3. Adult Day Care
4. Employer/Volunteer site
5. Other
Volunteer Programs
Volunteer opportunities benefit seniors by keeping them active and involved, and adding to seniors’ self-esteem and social value as well as providing benefits to the communities they serve. Examples of volunteer programs include Retired Senior Volunteers (RSVP), Senior Companions (SCP), Foster Grandparent/Elder Mentor Program (FG/EM), and other local volunteer opportunities.
