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Older Americans Act

Older Americans Act Sub Navigation:


Older Americans Act

Overview

The Older Americans Act was originally signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 14, 1965 (PDF). In addition to creating the Administration on Aging, it authorized grants to States for community planning and services programs, as well as for research, demonstration and training projects in the field of aging. Later amendments to the Act added grants to Area Agencies on Aging for local needs identification, planning, and funding of services, including but not limited to nutrition programs in the community as well as for those who are homebound; programs which serve Native American elders; services targeted at low-income minority elders; health promotion and disease prevention activities; in-home services for frail elders, and those services which protect the rights of older persons such as the long term care ombudsman program.

The Older Americans Act was originally signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 14, 1965.

The Older Americans Act Amendments of 2000 was signed into law on November 13, 2000. Public Law 106 - 501 extends the Act’s programs through FY 2005.

The reauthorized Act contains an important new program, the National Family Caregiver Support Program, which will help hundreds of thousands of family members who are struggling to care for their older loved ones who are ill or who have disabilities. Family caregivers have always been the mainstay underpinning long-term care (LTC) for older persons in this country. Among non-institutionalized persons needing assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs), two-thirds depend solely on family and friends and another one-fourth supplement family care with services from paid providers. Only a little more than five percent rely exclusively on paid services.

The National Family Caregiver Support Program, part of the Administration’s long term care initiative first advanced in 1999, is authorized at $125 million in grants to State agencies on aging for FY 2001. Under this program, which received bipartisan support, State agencies on aging will work with area agencies on aging and community and service provider organizations to provide support services including information and assistance to caregivers, counseling, support groups and respite and other home and community based services to families caring for their frail older members. The National Family Caregiver Support Program also recognizes the needs of grandparents who are caregivers of grandchildren, and other older individuals who are relative caregivers of children who are eighteen and under.

The Act contains other significant changes and improvements which provide added flexibility and reduce Federal prescriptiveness. The following information will provide you with a summary description of those changes as well as some Frequently Asked Questions (and Answers) which will assist you in understanding of the newly reauthorized Act.

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