Join the ACL-funded Modernizing Senior Centers Resource Center and the National Center to Reframe Aging for a fun and interactive virtual summit where participants will look at how to communicate about senior centers. The summit will provide information, resources, examples, and activities that you can use to enhance the image of your center and be an agent of change in combatting ageism in your community.

We hope you have enjoyed the ACL Updates, blog posts, and other information we have shared throughout National Family Caregivers Month. As we close the 2023 celebration, we’re recapping a few important highlights in case you missed the opportunity to read, watch, or share with your networks.

The Social Health Connector uses a person-centered virtual assessment to generate a customized social health connection plan for people with disabilities, older adults, and family caregivers. This personalized plan leverages AI and machine learning to offer insights into individualized risks and strengths, highlighting local recommended resources for users in Virginia.

Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released an updated joint-policy statement on supporting the inclusion of children with disabilities in early childhood programs. The statement reiterates expectations for inclusive early childhood settings and updates recommendations for state and local agencies that implement Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) programs, Head Start, child care, home visiting, preschool, and public schools to increase inclusive early learning opportunities for all children.

Join SAGE, one of the ACL-funded national Minority Aging Technical Assistance and Resource Centers, for their webinar, “Planning for Lifelong Care for Transgender & Non-binary People.” During this webinar, you will learn about a new decision-making tool with guiding questions that any gender-diverse person can use to identify their values and goals concerning dementia, gender identity, and gender expression, which can then be used in an advance directive.

Under a contract with ACL’s Administration on Disabilities (AoD), the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) is leading the development of a model for providing peer-to-peer support to help people with disabilities find — and, most importantly, learn to use — augmentative and alternative communication tools.

Nominations are due by January 16, 2024. People with multidisciplinary experience supporting and caring for those affected by Long COVID are encouraged to apply. HHS is specifically interested in receiving nominations of people who have had Long COVID and other disability stakeholders.

AmeriCorps Seniors invites organizations to submit applications for the FY 2024 Senior Companion and Foster Grandparent programs. These funding opportunities specifically help AmeriCorps Seniors focus Senior Companion and Foster Grandparent projects on issues that are critical to communities and help expand the programs to more geographies.

Performing the duties of ACL Administrator and Assistant Secretary for Aging Each year, more than 53 million Americans provide a broad range of assistance to support the health, quality of life, and independence of an older adult or person with a disability. Another 2.7 million grandparents ­— and an unknown number of other kinship caregivers — open their arms and homes each year to children who cannot remain with their parents.

As the population of older adults and people with disabilities continues to grow, the availability of services and supports that help many remain independent at home and in their communities will be increasingly important. To be effective, those services and supports must address health-related social needs (HSRNs) — the social and economic needs, such as housing instability, food insecurity, and lack of transportation, that impact an individual’s ability to maintain their health and well-being. This month, the U.S.