Maximizing Resources: Networking with Area Agencies on Aging

February 2025: Maximizing Resources: Networking with Area Agencies on Aging 

Jennifer Ottowitz: Welcome to OIB-TAC's monthly webinar, where our presenters share valuable information and helpful resources to support professionals working with older adults who are blind or vision impaired. Let's check out this month's webinar. 

Again, I'd like to welcome you to our webinar, Maximizing Resources, Networking with Area Agencies on Aging, and I'm so pleased to have three wonderful presenters with us today. 

Olivia. And Olivia, I always have to check the pronunciation of your last name. Umoren? 

Olivia Umoren: Umoren, yes. 

Jennifer Ottowitz: Thank you. Dr. Priscilla Rogers and Larry Johnson. And I'm so excited that we're talking about this topic today, because Area Agencies on Aging offer a variety of programs and services, and they are a wonderful opportunity for professionals to connect with the aging network, but also for us to help consumers connect. 

And so we're going to get some different perspectives as throughout the presentation today to help us understand why this is important and how we can make these connections. So I'm going to have Olivia start us off. If you could tell a little bit about yourself and then share with us exactly what is an Area Agency on Aging, what are some of the things you do and how can we find and connect with you? 

Olivia Umoren: Absolutely. Thank you so much, Jennifer, and thank you for having me on today's webinar. My name is Olivia Morin. I'm the director of public policy and advocacy at USAging, and USAging is the National Association representing Area Agencies on Aging and we also support Title 6 Native American aging programs. 

We were formerly known as the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, but as you can tell, that's a mouthful. So they cut it down to USAging. And truly the network does excellent work. Area Agencies on Aging. They are critical when it comes to supporting older adults and aging well at home and in their communities. 

And we really do a lot of the work in terms of as USAging in terms of making sure that people are aware of what Area Agencies on Aging do. And sometimes what they do, oftentimes people think that this is what medicare does in terms of providing those supports for older adults on the ground that's outside of the hospital. 

But truly, the Area Agencies on Aging, also known as Triple A's, they are really the ones that are doing this critical work. So just to kind of level set a little bit. Many of you may know that the population in the U.S., The aging population, older adult population is growing by the day. And in 2030 or so, about one in 5 Americans will be 65 or older. 

And that number really tells you that we need to prepare to have a support for these older adults, because it's going to be the most that we've seen. So just to give. Excuse me, a little bit of background. 90 percent of older adults, 65 and older want to stay in their homes and communities. I don't think anyone ages- we're all aging on this call. I don't think we wake up one day and we're like, I want to be in a nursing home. 

You want to be able to stay in your home in the comfort of where you live, where, you know and our members, Triple A's, they ensure that an older adults are able to do that by providing those in home services and supports things like laundry, or maybe making a meal, connecting them with transportation and nutrition, all of those things that really contribute to helping anybody live well and comfortably. So a big component of the AAA's work is the Older Americans Act. I'm not going to go too deep into this because this could be a webinar on its own, but I do want to just provide some information about the Older Americans Act, also known as OAA. 

And this was created in the summer of 1965 alongside Medicare and Medicaid. And it's interesting because it was created alongside them, but most people are usually only familiar with Medicare and Medicaid. So again, going back to USAging's role in terms of letting people know the importance of the Older Americans Act. 

This is the foundational core of the aging network's work today. And most of the applies to those that are 60 or older, and it targets services for those that are most vulnerable as well as special populations like veterans, low income individuals with limited English proficiency and minority populations as well. 

There are several titles in the Older Americans Act, though I think the one that would probably be of most relevance to this group is Title 3B, which is supportive services, also known as home and community based services. And as I just mentioned, this is the part that really provides that foundational support for activities of daily living. 

Chores, home modifications, legal services, adult daycare, and truly any other services that are general general services that support the welfare of older adults, including vaccination support. We've had a lot of our programs team provide a lot of support in terms of vaccines, especially. Throughout the covid pandemic and making sure that older adults have access to these critical vaccines. 

So the Triple A's, they do a whole lot of work. And this also includes information, referral and assistance. So at the end of my spiel here, I'll tell you all how to connect with your Triple A when it comes to referrals. I really do want to encourage you all to lean on your AAA make contact, make relationships with your AAA because they are resourceful. 

And I say this as somebody who started out in the healthcare space, and it's amazing to me how much in healthcare they're trying to reinvent the wheel, but a lot of what they're trying to do as it relates to health and related social needs, social determinants of health, whatever you may call it, or whatever the new term comes up. 

Triple A's do that. So this is really they already have the model. They've been doing this for decades. And I really do want to encourage everyone on this call. If you haven't already, please do create that relationship with your Triple A. Trust me, you will not regret it. They are just extremely resourceful. 

So the National Aging Network is really comprised of AAAs and other organizations as well that support older adults. And the mission is to develop a comprehensive system of home and community based long term services and supports that is responsive to the needs of older adults. and their caregivers. 

The purpose is to meet people where they are. Make sure that what the services that are being provided are also in alignment with what people are asking for. What people are asking for slash what they may want could differ now versus 20 years ago. So the Aging Network's goal and the mission is to make sure that We're basically keeping up with the changes in the older adult population in the caregiver population as well. 

There are over 600 Triple A's across the country that serve older adults in just about every community in the nation. Triple A's can be either nonprofits. They can be private organizations. And just because, when this was created, you know, we wanted everybody to be confused and not be able to figure out if a AAA is a AAA, but just a little side note, not all AAAs have the Area Agency on Aging name in them, so don't be alarmed if you're looking at a AAA for your area and you don't see Area Agency on Aging. 

Not all of them have the same name across the board. So just flagging that because when I first started, I was like, why isn't it just all called the same name, but just put the location in front of it. So just a heads up on that. It might cause some confusion, but don't worry. You're you're you'll be in the right the right direction there. 

And in a few smaller states, it's the state that actually serves as the AAA or serves as the AAA function in terms of supporting older adults. And some of those states include Delaware, New Hampshire, Nevada, Rhode Island, Wyoming, and I believe 2 others. So, just again, a heads up with this, if any of you are representing these states, or support any individuals that are in these states. 

And lastly, here, in terms of the Triple A core services, these really span across nutrition, supportive services again, those services for caregivers, elder rights and health and wellness and, excuse me the, and these are just, they range depending on where, you know, which population, which community that that they are serving as well. 

Just on average, the average AAA offers more than a dozen additional services beyond those core offerings that I just mentioned and those common non core services, they include. Nutrition counseling and non older on non older Americans at nutrition programs. They also include case management benefits and health insurance management or counseling assessment for care planning, long term care ombudsman and as I mentioned previously, vaccination support. 

And even though I mentioned that AAAs serve older adults, 90 percent of AAAs serve individuals that are under the age of 60. So, they're not just for older adults in the community. Basically, AAAs serve they serve everyone. 80 percent of them, they serve individuals under 60 with a disability or chronic and serious illness. 

75 percent of them serve caregivers of all ages. 33 percent of them serve veterans under 60 and about 50 percent serve consumers with dementia of all ages. And lastly, before I, I hand off the mic to to Dr. Rogers here I just want to give you some guidance in terms of how to reach out to your AAA. 

It's very simple. You can either look it up on USAging's website at usaging. org or on eldercare. acl. gov. And all of this information I will pass to Jennifer as well so she can share it with you all. But make sure that, you know, you know all that your local AAA can offer to you and the members of your community. 

Meals, rides, home modification, home health. These are all things that your AAA can support, and they are happy to support you. In terms of the eldercare, I know because my office is directly across from our eldercare locator, and trust me, their phones ring just about every second in terms of people calling wanting to be directed to where they need. 

In terms of just being connected to the sports that they need either for their loved one or as a caregiver themselves. So I know that's a lot to kind of pack in here, but I'll just end here by saying our members really do a lot of work and they do. That critical work that supports older adults and individuals with disabilities in just being able to live well and comfortably in their homes and their communities with having the necessary supports to do so. 

So I will stop there and thank you so much again. 

Jennifer Ottowitz: Thank you so much, Olivia. I really appreciate that. It's wonderful to know all about the many, many services you guys have been doing for many years. And Pris, while you're getting the PowerPoint set up, if it's okay with all of you, our presenters, I do just want to address a couple of questions that came through in the chat. 

We, I do ask, we'll save the rest of the questions until our Q&A part after our, after Larry's part of the presentation, but I thought this while you're getting set up, we could address these. One question was what we know what's going to happen if the older blind funding is discontinued at this point. 

We don't know what's going to happen. And so. We want to be proactive but until we know more, we really you know, are hopeful where going on business as usual, keeping our ears to the ground to you know, as soon as we know anything for sure to figure things out, but making connections across disciplines across networks, the aging network, the vision rehab network. This is what's going to be so important for whatever happens, right? To make sure that services will continue in some way, shape or form. And so I think you know, making connections like with the AAAs are going to help no matter what. 

So. Just a note about that, and then there was one other comment and Olivia, I don't know if you can speak to this, but if people who are blind or visually impaired are maybe contacting AAAs and maybe being told or getting the impression that they're not they feel they're not equipped to work with people who are blind or visually impaired what should they do? 

I know Larry's going to talk more about his experience, so he might have some ideas as well. 

Olivia Umoren: Jennifer, did you want me to answer that now or? 

Jennifer Ottowitz: Yeah, yeah, if you don't mind and then Pris will turn it over to you. I don't want to take up too much time, but go ahead. 

Olivia Umoren: Sure. Yeah, no problem. So our AAAs, most of them, but not all, they serve individuals under 60 with a disability or chronic disease or serious illness. 

But what I cannot say exactly what may be the reason that an individual was unable to connect with you or provide those services, but one thing to note is that Triple A's have been chronically underfunded. And unfortunately, sometimes that means that the span of their services and the populations they're able to support may be limited. 

Depending on the Triple A itself. We have some Triple A's that they can support as many people as possible. And then we have other Triple A's that may have a staff of 10 or so, and they're tasked with supporting an entire community. So I'm, I'm sorry that that was the experience of the individual that you're, you're speaking about, but I'm sure that the intention wasn't that they didn't want to serve, but rather, maybe they did not have the capacity to serve unfortunately. 

Dr. Pris Rogers: Or the training. The knowledge. 

Olivia Umoren: Yes. Exactly. 

Dr. Pris Rogers: We'll talk about that a little bit. 

Jennifer Ottowitz: And I think that's a good transition to, to your piece, Pris. If you're ready to go, because I think it is about educating, right, each other and again, continuing to make those networks so cross referrals can be made. 

So, at this point, I'll turn it over to you, Pris. 

Dr. Pris Rogers: Hi, everybody. I'm Pris Rogers. I am a co chair of the Aging and Vision Loss National Coalition and also work for the American Foundation for the Blind as their special person on aging and vision loss or something like that. Anyway so today I, I want to talk about connecting vision to aging and then, and flipping the script, connecting aging to vision. 

And you're going to wonder, where, where's this flip the script bit coming from? Well for May, Older Americans Month, it, the new thing that's going to be coming up is flipping the script. And I thought, What an appropriate thing to talk about today because it's all about us working with each other right across the networks with the networks. 

So that's why I titled it that way. So why is flipping the script in both directions important? Well, first of all. We know we have large numbers of older people with vision loss and also chronic conditions. And I'm going to get into that in a little while. Also, older people with vision loss often do not know how to access vision services. 

And so they're not served by either service delivery network. They're not making it into aging. They're not making it into vision. And then we have the issue of vision and aging services not being connected in the legislative and policy worlds. And what do I mean by that? I mean, for example the aging network is pretty much under the administration for community living nationally. 

And then the Vision of Rehab Services are under the OIB program, which is in the Department of Education. So they're not even in the same department nationally. And that also happens in the states. So we have these structural issues to deal with, which can be done, but I think it adds an extra layer to some of our issues sometimes because we're not working in the same departments and seeing each other every day or working with each other every day. 

So there's an imperative need for education and for awareness and for advocacy, and I can't stress the advocacy enough. I think that the aging and vision rehab networks need to learn more about each other, the services they provide and how to access them. Often aging service providers do not know how to work with people who are blind or low vision, or how to welcome them into their program. 

It's not that they don't care, they just don't know what to do sometimes. And then on the other hand what Olivia's done today is really helpful, because vision rehab agencies need to learn about the services that are available through the aging network, for which older people with vision loss are eligible. 

And I want to say that anybody 60 years of age and older who's is eligible. It's just the situation where, like she was talking about, whether there are funds available at that time or enough people. There are lots of ifs, as we all know, but certainly, the overlap between aging and vision is there at that, especially at the age group of 60. 

Although, like she said, a lot of older, a lot of people with disabilities are also served through the Aging Disability Network. And although vision rehab services are not called out in the Older Americans Act, there are lots of ways that aging service providers can work with vision rehab agencies. 

For example, VISIONS, excuse me, which is a not for profit in New York, has been funded as a senior center for several years. And so they host, they have the senior center there, and they have lots of people coming in. But there are lots of other examples of those types of things throughout the country. 

So, additional reasons that we need to flip the script. Social isolation, loneliness, and depression. We hear those words all the time, but what do they really mean? And how do they apply to older people? With especially those who have vision problems. We know that depression is a major issue for older people who are blind or visually impaired. So, these things need to be addressed and through the social networks that are available through the aging network, that can be done. 

We also have a high number of falls. Some of the studies show that there's up to two times higher incidence of falls among older people. People, older people with vision problems. Then, as I mentioned before, we need comprehensive services to promote independence. Did you know that older people with vision problems are three times more likely to be admitted to long term care facilities? 

So do we want that to happen? Again, it's, this is why it's so critical to work together. Older people with vision problems are often hiding in plain sight. They're disconnected by a lack of transportation, an inability to use a phone. Psychological trauma, lack of understanding of their own vision loss, a lack of knowledge of services, and their own pride. 

They often don't want to admit that they're having vision problems. They don't want to talk about it. So that adds to the whole problem. And then, of course, the economics, and I'm going to get into that in just a minute. So let's look quickly at the numbers. There is a, as, as Olivia was talking about the baby boomers turning 65 and the number of people who were, that were approaching by 2039 or 2040 we're going to have a doubling in the number of, of older people with vision loss. 

It just goes right along with what she was talking about. Right now the big data work that The Aging and Vision Loss National Coalition has done with VisionServe Alliance, we've found that about 7 to 8 percent of people 65 and older in this country identify with having vision difficulties. 

And we looked at it from state to state, for sort, for example, in, you know, Illinois, it's almost 6 percent. And in Louisiana, it's over 12%. So it varies throughout the country. And I put a map up of the whole United States that shows age 65 and older with severe vision loss by county and the darkest areas of blue. 

It represents the largest number of older people who have vision problems. And for example, Texas, the lower part of Texas, is entirely almost dark blue. Well, we have a large Hispanic population there. We have a larger number of older individuals, Hispanic individuals, who have vision problems. There are large numbers in the Midwest. 

There are large numbers in Appalachia. And it does vary by county, but it's really good data to have. So for example, in my state of Tennessee, I know that in my area of Tennessee, the Upper East part, we have over 20 percent in counties that we serve. So we, that helps then the state to know, well, where do they need to concentrate some services? 

Why? And we need to then look at why are we having these high numbers? So some of the chronic conditions that we're looking at, not surprisingly. Diabetes, over a third of the individuals over 65 who have vision problems have diabetes. 33 percent have hearing loss. So that honestly was a surprise to me that we had that, that high percentage. 

And then the depression numbers that I talked about before, it's about 27 percent according to the study in 2019. On health- related quality of life, we're looking at a high numbers over 50 percent of people saying they have fair to poor health and 35 percent saying they have frequent mental distress. 

I mean a frequent physical distress So, you know, these are again are not surprising given the issues that they're having with their vision. And then on disabilities measures, 57 percent said they have problem walking or climbing steps, and 35% problems with running errands. Again, not a question because we know the mobility issues. 

So all of these make, to me, make a lot of sense. We're looking at people with lots of conditions who need the services that Olivia was talking about to help them, the home and community based support, that in addition to the vision rehab services we can do, can help these people stay at home. And if we look at the economic burden of vision loss, it's really kind of scary. 

53 billion was spent in 2017 on medical problems for people with vision loss, 41 billion on nursing homes, 35 billion on productivity. And you know how much we spend on supportive services, which include what we do with OIB. 3.4 billion. That's all. That is all. So where, where do we need to be putting the money? 

We need to be putting it into supportive services and into the service programs that Olivia was talking about so that we can keep people at home and we can not have the people going into long term care facilities. So, nationally, vision loss in that year, 2017, when the article was written and that I just talked about, the cost of vision loss per person was almost 17,000. 

Okay? We look at the OIB program and what we do in OIB, and I think we're spending less than two grand a year, aren't we, per person? So when you look at it that way, it kind of gives you perspective, doesn't it? So and the costs were highest, of course, among people 65 years of age and older. And, of course, they incurred the highest medical costs and the lowest productivity costs. 

So. What can we do to change this dynamic? I just recently read a book called The Aging Revolution. And it talks about the un siloed approach. Most older people have multiple problems that required an un siloed team of based approach. And this comes from that book. And they talk in that book about age friendly health systems and the four M's. 

What matters, medication management, mentation, or identifying and helping with depression and dementia, and mobility. These are all things that we look at in, in serving older people. And it's some of the things, or some of the things that Medicare is going to be doing with hospital systems. But I want to throw those out because those are things we look at all the time. 

What matters? We need to know and align services with what matters for the older person. So I think it's time to start an aging revolution and to stop this styled approach. There isn't a one and done solution. You need to think about the options. Is there a way to provide a more integrated services approach? 

How can we incorporate what matters? How do we how can we include an age friendly vision rehab system? Is there a way to take advantage of the partnerships and health contracts that area agencies have formed? And how can we work with the aging network to assess for vision problems and for them to refer those who meet OIB guidelines to us and vice versa? 

The same business. We want to help people to thrive. That's what we are all about and what we need to be doing. So, I'm asking you, is there a way to engage our consumer graduates of OIB programs such as Partnering with ACB and the Alliance on Aging and Vision Loss and NFB? So, just think about those things and when Larry's talking, he's going to bring up more about it. 

So Olivia has given you a great overview of how the Aging Network and AAAs are organized. I think it's critical that we work at all levels, top down and bottom up, starting at the State Department on Aging or whatever they call themselves in your state, because it could differ. We need to be involved in their state plans and multi sector plans on aging, which are also being developed in the states. 

We have to be at that table. And we have to provide training and I think this is critical. We have to provide the training to the AAAs and the senior centers and other places in order for them to feel comfortable and know what to do when they have a person coming into their their service delivery program or to their center. 

And as I said before, we need to engage consumer advocates who are active at all levels. I think that really is a key to helping us extend our services and get people involved. So I've given you some references in here, which I think Jennifer will share later on some of the things I was talking about, like the aging revolution. 

You should read it. And now I am through, and I'm going to turn this program over to our last speaker, Larry. Thanks, Jennifer. 

Jennifer Ottowitz: Thank you, Pris. I love the idea of an aging revolution. That's wonderful. And Larry, I know we're looking to you to share some personal perspective about being involved with an Area Agency on Aging. 

You are a participant. You're also a volunteer participate on advisory boards and are very much a consumer advocate for making those connections between the vision side of things and the aging side. So I'm going to turn it over to you. 

Larry Johnson: Thank you and good afternoon, everyone. Yes I, first of all, am a board member of a national organization called the Alliance on Aging and Vision Loss, which is affiliated with the American Council of the Blind. 

And even, let me start by telling you that 11 years ago, I attended a conference in Denver. And I learned about a fall prevention program called A Matter of Balance, and it sounded very interesting. And so, I asked the presenters, how could I get involved? Well, they told me that when I got back to San Antonio, I should contact my local Area Agency on Aging, and I did that. 

The result was that I volunteered to become a certified trainer and the program manager arranged to have the training material transcribed for me into braille. And over the next seven years, until COVID came along, I taught classes to seniors all over San Antonio. Fall prevention is really important, and it's especially important for blind people or people with low vision, as was mentioned earlier. 

Their rate of falling is much greater than those people who are sighted. So, keep that in mind. I took advantage of my local Area Agency on Aging, and we shorten it to call it the AAA, but don't get it confused with the automobile association, okay? So I took advantage of the AAA programs to have grab bars installed in my bathroom, to have meals delivered to my home, and to benefit from their Senior Home Companion Program. And under this program, a volunteer college graduate student came to my home once a week to help me with paying bills, to play table games, and to accompany me to museums, or the botanical garden, and the supermarket. 

We became good friends, and I attended her graduation, and even though she now lives in Houston, 

Three years ago, I applied for and was accepted as a member of Bexar County's Senior Advisory Committee. I began working to help the AAA staff and their volunteers understand about the special needs and the barriers to service for blind and low vision older adults. As a result of our Committee's efforts, the AAA has held five community outreach information events at five different senior centers and in San Antonio to inform the general public and the deaf and blind older population in particular about the programs and services offered by the AAA. 

They made AAA program and service information available on USB thumb drives in both Spanish and English for blind and low vision attendees who wish to receive it in that format. I've made two sensitivity awareness PowerPoint presentations. On On blindness to one of them was to the AAA senior management staff and the other was to the 40 member advisory committee. 

We scheduled a presentation by the San Antonio Lighthouse for the Blind, which now is called Vibrant Works to the AAA Senior Advisory Committee and an outreach presentation by AAA staff to the SA Lighthouse Senior Support Group. And just a couple of months ago, our AAA created a multimedia Video describing the programs and services available from the AAA, which is now being distributed and shared with organizations and agencies and audiences, including the blind and deaf populations of Bexar County, in other words, in order to increase an awareness of and the participation in the programs and services by all seniors that they may benefit from them. 

I've shared a copy of this video with Jennifer. And if some of you are interested in it, I'm sure she can make it available to you. The Area Agency on Aging of Bear County which serves some 250, 000 older adults, 60 years of age and older, is now more aware of and responsive to the needs and concern of the some 25, 000 older individuals who are blind or who have low vision, as well as those who are deaf or hard of hearing. 

But it's a work in progress. Much more still needs to be done. Now let me tell you just a short word about our Alliance on Aging and Vision Loss, which is, as I said, a membership affiliate organization of the American Council of the Blind. So what we have just done, we have launched a nationwide initiative to have ACB members identify and reach out to their local Area Agency on Aging In order to invite them to attend a chapter meeting to talk about its programs and services. 

Then, the next step is for the ACB chapter folks to reciprocate by offering to make a presentation to their AAA staff about blindness and how the AAA can make its programs and services more accessible to people with low vision. The third step will be for ACB members to seek opportunities to join the AAA's local advisory committee or council and thus be in a position to continue to educate and assist its staff and volunteers to benefit it. 

And to understand how best to outreach to and serve the older blind population in its area. This is an initiative which you, as vision rehabilitation professionals, can definitely participate in either by participating with a local ACB chapter in your area or by your hosting a meeting of your visually impaired customers to which you would invite a AAA staff member to come and talk about their services as described earlier. There are many services and programs offered by Area Agencies on Aging, which can benefit your older blind customers, but they do not know about them or how to apply for them. This is where you can play an important role. You can work to help bridge that gap. 

In the end, blindness and low vision service agencies need to do a much better job of collaboration, cooperation, and communication with the mainstream agency services network. Thank you. 

Jennifer Ottowitz: Thank you so much, Larry. It really is an opportunity to get out of that silo approach, right? To have to have Triple A's, you know, OIB programs and vision rehab, as well as consumer groups and consumers as individuals working together to figure out ways to address concerns fill in gaps, and, And really make services available. 

So thank you so much for sharing. We are going to open it up to questions and comments. I know we do have a question in the chat. I'm going to ask Stephanie. If you don't mind to read Anesio's question that was in the chat, please for our presenters. 

Stephanie Welch-Grenier: So, we have one from Andy first that says what other certifications are offered by the Triple A's. 

Olivia Umoren: Could I ask to if there's an elaboration on that and what kind of certifications. 

Jennifer Ottowitz: I'm guessing related to Larry, you were talking about becoming certified to teach in the matter of balance program. And so my guess is it's going to depend on the, the programs that are available at your local AAA. 

Larry Johnson: Yes. Another program that is really important is called the ombudsman program. 

These are volunteers who go through eight weeks of intensive training. Usually it's. It's a hybrid training on through zoom. They then become certified and their role is to visit nursing homes. They are, they have a commitment to visit at least two nursing homes each month twice and, and become the advocates for the residents of the nursing homes. 

And let me mention here that recent data shows that some 60 to 65 percent of residents in nursing homes across the nation are persons who have a visual impairment. Some of it more severe than others. And some of it is not being treated appropriately. So having an advocate, having someone in whom they can confide and who can advise them is critically important. 

Having a blind, visually impaired ombudsman be representing that issue would be terrific. 

Jennifer Ottowitz: Thank you. Andy, I hope that answers your question. 

Stephanie Welch-Grenier: Yes. And theAnesioio shared that in some states, the assessment tools used to identify need and eligibility for services of HBCS focus on daily living skills and self care needs impacted by physical limitations only, not accounting for barriers resulting from vision loss. 

Therefore, many seniors with visual impairments may be found ineligible for these services. Okay, and then Monica just, sorry, do you have? 

Jennifer Ottowitz: I was just going to ask the presenters if they had any comments to that? 

Dr. Pris Rogers: I just want to say that that's something that we addressed when we were working on the Older Americans Act reauthorization this year, but it didn't make it into any of the stuff that we worked on, but the Older Americans Act hasn't been reauthorized either. 

So here we are. [laughs] So that is something, though, that we felt was important to, to specify vision in those situations. 

Stephanie Welch-Grenier: Thank you. So Monica asked is the Central Illinois Agency on Aging in Peoria, Illinois, part of this national network. 

Olivia Umoren: Yes, it definitely is. Whether or not they're a USAging member. I would have to check, but they were definitely part of the national aging network. 

Jennifer Ottowitz: And I should say, if you do have questions, you can feel free to unmute yourself too and ask. That's fine as well. 

Participant: This is Dee Ann from Indiana. So what I'm hearing is as Area Agencies on Aging have an opportunity to join USAging or not? And is that the same with independent living centers? 

Olivia Umoren: So, thank you so much for that question. So, our members are agencies on aging, so they do have the decision to either be a USAging member or not. 

It doesn't make a difference in terms of the types of services that they provide. But basically, if they're a member of ours we support them with just keeping up to date with what's going on in federal advocacy and provide additional supports that will help them and just being able to provide and improve you know, the types of services that they provide. 

We do not, though have memberships for for, I think you said CILs independence. 

Jennifer Ottowitz: Yes, Centers for Independent Living, correct. 

Participant: I know that the center I'm a chair of, I'm a president of the board, a chair of the board for, receive some USAging grants. 

Jennifer Ottowitz: Okay. Great. All right, and Anesio, you have a question? 

Participant: My question is is USAging a government organization or nonprofit? And then the 2nd part of that is, if if you have issues with your own, if one has issues with the one zone Triple A, are you able to address or resolve, or is this something that, you know, we could encourage people to come to you and say, hey, they are telling me this. 

Olivia Umoren: Thank you for that question. I'll start with the first one. We are a nonprofit organization, though we do work very closely with federal government. And especially the administration on community living. And for your 2nd question, if anyone is having issues with Triple A, we unfortunately do not get involved in terms of addressing those issues. 

However, if a person is having issues, the state unit on aging would likely be the best place in order to get those challenges addressed. 

Participant: Great, thank you. 

Olivia Umoren: You're welcome. 

Larry Johnson: Jennifer. I'd like to also explain something that may be confusing when folks are trying to outreach to their local Area Agency on Aging and Olivia kind of referred to it a little bit, but there's even another step here. 

There is another agency, which is called the Aging and Disability Resource Center. These are information and referral agencies. Sometimes they are standalone independent. Sometimes they are attached to their local Area Agency on Aging. They primarily will direct someone to an appropriate agency that can provide the services that that person needs and that may not come from an AAA. 

It may come from some other community service agency. So, it, it does get a little confusing because there is a lot of overlap as we are looking to prepare for the convention in Dallas. I've done a little research, and I found out that there is an ADRC, and they don't call themselves ADRC. They have their own name. 

Then there are senior centers, which offer a variety of services and programs. Then there is another agency called the Senior Source, which offers some of the traditional programs of AAAs, and some of the programs associated with senior centers. And then there is also the AAA. So it does get a little bit overwhelming when you try to find out who should I talk to. 

And so her suggestion that you kind of go to the elder I forgot the name of it. Now. What is it? The locator? Yeah, that you may find an array of different agencies to approach. 

Jennifer Ottowitz: Thank you so much Larry for that explanation and clarification that it's kind of can be as clear as mud sometimes. Right? 

That a lot of very similar sounding agencies, a lot of agencies that may be challenging to figure out who to talk to first. So thank you, thank you, thank you. An elder care locator is a really great resource. I know I believe we have a webinar, a past webinar about their services. We're hoping to get an updated webinar to talk about their services within the upcoming year as well. 

So thank you for that. 

Other questions or comments? 

Participant: My name is- My name is Penny Moss. Can you hear me? Yes. Yes, I am from Birmingham, Alabama, and I am the local president of our ACB chapter here. And I am also on the, in Alabama, the older blind program is called Oasis, and I'm on our, the Oasis advisory board. I represent ACB and the way that I got involved in our local AAA, which is a part of United way of central Alabama is that their director came to the advisory meeting committee meeting that I was a part of. And so I introduced myself and told her I would like to form a linkage, which we did, and I did have her come and speak to our meeting, which is very informative and they now participate in our state convention. 

They bring exhibits because I turned out to be the exhibit coordinator. So we actually have a good relationship with them, but you may want to start with your older blind program and see if they have an advisory board that has a member from your local Area Agency on Aging. 

Jennifer Ottowitz: And that is an excellent idea. Thank you so much. And I love that even, even ACB and the consumer groups are represented on advisory boards and advisory councils as well too, right? Because again, together we can all approach the issues. And, but, but great suggestion. Thank you so much. 

Participant: The only thing I haven't, we have not done is go to their board and talk about blindness. 

I think that one of our rehab teachers has done that already, but well, our vision rehab therapists, but I'll check in that and see, if we can't get that part done, thank you so much. 

Jennifer Ottowitz: Thank you. Keep up the great work. 

Larry Johnson: AAVL would love to be in contact with you. If you wouldn't mind send an email to advocacy at ACB dot org with your information and Anesio who is our advocacy chair committee will be happy to hear from you. 

Participant: I am a member of AAVL and I've already been given his email address, Anesio, which I have, and I will be in touch. 

Great. Thank you Penny. 

Stephanie Welch-Grenier: Oh, there is a question in the chat. Is it normal to wait 3 plus months for assistance from a Triple A. 

Larry Johnson: No, should not be it should not be and you should raise that issue with the management staff. Escalate your question to the top. 

Dr. Pris Rogers: I do know that in some states, there's a waiting list for services, but they should let you know that you're on a waiting list and not just leave you sitting there. So. 

Larry Johnson: Right. 

Jennifer Ottowitz: And I think you mentioned earlier, Larry, too can be confusing. I mean, sometimes communication is key, right? 

So it should. You're hopefully you're getting communication within 3 months, but, you know, we want to make sure to that. We're going to the proper source for the proper, I guess, questions that we have resources that we're seeking training that we're seeking and it can be really confusing. But, but we're hopeful that, you know, the agencies are letting folks know if they're if that's outside of their scope, and again, it could possibly be and but that's when they would hopefully cross refer and connect you with, you know, just don't just drop the chain, but keep keep the chain going right to connect you to the services that you need. 

Larry Johnson: And that's why it's important to try to get somebody on their advisory council or advisory committee to find out if there are problems as as Olivia mentioned, maybe they are really strapped for funding and they just don't have enough staff to respond to all the questions. So, you got to get into the inner circle by joining their advisory committee and they're almost always are openings. 

Jennifer Ottowitz: Great idea. 

Participant: This is Matt from Alabama, and I thank Penny for bringing that up about our advisory council, but I have a question on a more local level because I feel like here we have a good relationship at the state level and in a pretty good relationship with the Triple A level. Where things get difficult is at the senior center level, because a lot of times these are local areas are covered by different people, and they're not necessarily always attached to the Triple A. Are there any recommendations out there about how to reach out to senior centers and help them understand that they have people in their communities that are visually impaired that would benefit from their services and if there's any recommendations about how to do that on a more grassroots local level than at the state level and big agency level is we've been talking about. So. 

Larry Johnson: You have to find out who they are accountable to. It's different in every community. Some communities, the senior centers, are accountable to the city. In some cases, they're accountable to an insurance company like WellMed. 

So it depends who they are receiving their funding from and who they're accountable to. 

Jennifer Ottowitz: Thanks, Larry. Pris, I don't know if you have any other suggestions. I know, Olivia, that's out, the senior centers are a little outside of the AAAs, but if you have suggestions as well, I don't know either. Any additional comments to share to Larry's great suggestions? 

Dr. Pris Rogers: No, that's exactly what I was going to say. 

You have to find out how, you know, who oversees the senior center. Is it a city senior center? Is it a county? I mean, you don't know. So I think you have to go that route, frankly to go to find out. 

Participant: This is Dee. Just like with other programs, the Area Agencies on Aging have a statewide network with a statewide plan and getting our voices heard as to what we need within our states. 

Jennifer Ottowitz: And I think these are questions we can continue to, you know, work together to share answers to and suggestions, right? And share good experiences and help each other with, with ideas to work through any challenging situations too. So thank you all for, for questions. All right. Well, if there's nothing else, I would like to give a big round of applause and say a hearty thank you to Olivia, to Pris, and to Larry for sharing all the information, sharing your perspectives, helping us understand the need to flip the script. 

And to really make connections, so we're not working in silos and that we're taking advantage of wonderful resources that we all have to share and really helping both the aging side and the vision side. And even from a consumer perspective, you know, just to share how we can work together to educate each other to collaborate with each other and to really help increase the livelihood of older adults living with vision loss throughout the country. So until next time, again, we'll hope you'll join us in March, but thank you all so much. Thank you Olivia, Pris and Larry. Thank you so much. 

Jennifer Ottowitz: This has been OIB-TAC’s monthly webinar. Thanks for tuning in. Find recordings of our past webinars on our YouTube channel and discover all of our many resources at OIB-TAC.org. That's OIB-TAC.org, like us on social media and share our resources with your colleagues and friends. Until next time.