Over the past few years, DNA tests have become popular across the country. Unfortunately unscrupulous people are taking advantage of the buzz around these tests to scam Medicare beneficiaries. Scammers will often target Medicare beneficiaries through telemarketing calls, booths at public events, health fairs, and door-to-door visits. They offer "free" genetic testing to help recipients avoid diseases or find the right medications.

ACL is awarding a total of $1.25 million in funding to help six legal assistance organizations strengthen programs serving older adults. The first-ever Legal Assistance Enhancement Program (LAEP) funding will focus on four key areas: outreach, partnerships, intake, and delivery. Grantees will address a diverse set of issues including the opioid epidemic, supporting grandparents raising grandchildren, utilizing technology to advance elder justice, Medical-Legal Partnerships, reaching under-served communities, and disaster recovery.

More than one third of community-dwelling adults age 65 and older live alone. Many of these older adults have complex health needs. Additionally, many depend upon others for assistance and support—and their loved ones may not live nearby. These circumstances contribute to the disproportionate effect that disasters have been shown to have on older adults. The majority of the victims of the 2018 California wildfires were reported to be over age 70.

    Update To This Blog, September 30, 2019 (this update authored by Keri Lipperini, Director, Office of Nutrition and Health Promotion Programs) On September 26th, ACL visited one of our Falls Prevention Program grantees making a positive difference in the community!

A new issue brief has been released entitled "What I Want my Doctor to Know About How Arthritis and Chronic Pain Affect My Everyday Life" under a grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR).

ACL awarded a five-year cooperative agreement to the Oasis Institute for $3,800,578 annually to establish a National Volunteer Care Corps.  The Oasis Institute, in partnership with the Caregiver Action Network, the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, and Altarum will foster innovative models in which volunteers assist family caregivers, older adults or persons with disabilities with non-medical care in order to maintain their independence.

By Greg Link, Director of the Office of Supportive and Caregiver Services Grandparents play a special role in families. They pass along traditions, wisdom, and culture to future generations. Increasingly, they also provide loving and stable homes to their grandchildren. Nearly eight million children are raised in a family led by a grandparent. In a third of these families, there are no parents in the home—the grandparents are fulfilling that role.

ACL recently awarded seven grantees for innovative projects that will enhance the quality, effectiveness, and outcomes of nutrition services programs provided by the national aging services network. The grants total $1,748,404 for this year with a three-year project period. Through this grant program, ACL aims to identify innovative and promising practices that can be scaled across the country and to increase the use of evidence-informed practices within nutrition programs.  The seven organizations receiving grants and their projects are: