ACL recently announced grant awards totaling over $1.2 million to help older adults gain access to quality legal services.  These awards are designed to help improve the quality of life of elders at risk of abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation in their communities.

The Administration for Independent Living (ACL), Independent Living Administration (ILA) recognizes there is a need to develop capacity building within existing Centers for Independent Living (CIL) for serving individuals with disabilities in Indian Country. Through a new funding opportunity ACL intends to:

A message from Kathy Greenlee to our colleagues in the aging and disability networks Dear colleagues, Earlier today, I shared the news with my staff that I will be leaving ACL at the end of July. Edwin Walker, who currently serves as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Aging, will assume the roles of Acting Administrator of ACL and Acting Assistant Secretary for Aging.

The Administration for Community Living recently announced grant awards totaling over $1.2 million to help older adults at risk of abuse, neglect, or exploitation gain access to quality legal services.

This blog was updated with additional resources on 10/7/2024

Long-Term Care Ombudsman Programs Final Rule is Now Effective The Long-Term Care Ombudsman Programs final rule became effective on July 1, 2016.   A culmination of several years of collaborative work with states and other partners, this rule guides implementation of the portions of the Older Americans Act governing grants to states for operation of Long-Term Care Ombudsman programs. The rule addresses:

Seventeen years ago today, the Supreme Court decided in Olmstead v. L.C. (Olmstead) that under the Americans with Disabilities Act, people with disabilities cannot be unnecessarily segregated and must receive services in the most integrated setting possible. This landmark decision is at the core of ACL’s mission and has caused a shift in funding, policy, and attitudes toward community living that has improved the quality of countless lives of people with disabilities and older adults.

The Olmstead Decision Seventeen years ago, on June 22, 1999, the Supreme Court decided in Olmstead v. L.C. (Olmstead) that under the Americans with Disabilities Act, people with disabilities cannot be unnecessarily segregated and must receive services in the most integrated setting possible.

Today marks the 17th anniversary of a landmark Supreme Court decision. In Olmstead v. L.C. the Court ruled that people who need assistance with activities of daily living such as eating, bathing, dressing and walking cannot be unnecessarily segregated. They must receive services in the most integrated setting possible. This decision, based on the Americans with Disabilities Act, has great implications for older adults.

Home and community-based services (HCBS) provide opportunities for individuals with disabilities and older adults to receive services in their own home or community. On January 16, 2014, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services published a final rule that sets forth new requirements for states using Medicaid funds to pay for HCBS, supports enhanced quality in HCBS programs, and adds protections for individuals receiving these services.