The Administration for Community Living (ACL) is committed to the fundamental principle that older adults and people with disabilities of all ages should be able to live where they choose, with the people they choose, and fully participate in their communities. By funding core programs and investing in research, sharing best practices, and sparking innovation, ACL helps the disability and aging networks provide local services and supports that make this principle a reality for millions of Americans.
The FY 2017 budget request for the Administration for Community Living is $2.076B, an increase of $28.4M over the FY 2016 enacted level. The request maintains the increases received in FY 2016 and continues to focus on sustaining core programs that promote self-determination, independence, productivity and community integration for older adults and people of all ages with disabilities, allowing them to remain independent and involved in their communities. The budget requests additional funding for four priority investment areas—nutrition and supportive services for older adults, adult protective services and elder justice, respite care, and streamlined access to community-based services. The request also includes funding to cover increased costs associated with ACL’s new headquarters location and external services. Finally, the budget also reflects the transfer (consistent with the FY 2016 appropriation) of the Traumatic Brain Injury Program from the Health Resources and Services Administration to ACL.
FY 2017 investments include:
- An additional $25.4M to support investments in core home and community-based supportive services (including nutrition programs) for older adults and in the Lifespan Respite Care program, which supports caregivers and families of both seniors and individuals with disabilities.
- Increased capacity to provide effective monitoring, oversight, and technical assistance to grantees.
- Modernization and innovation initiatives. By using evidence-based practices and promoting the adoption of proven models across the aging and disability networks, ACL will help ensure that core services are able to address the evolving needs of the populations that we serve and better align resources with needs. These efforts are critical to delaying, reducing, or eliminating the need for more expensive and less preferable institutional services. Specifically, the request includes:
- $10M (+$2M) to continue to develop a national Adult Protective Services (APS) data system and provide funding for key APS research.
- $8.1M (+$2M) for the Aging and Disability Resource Centers program, a proven success in helping states develop more efficient, cost-effective, and consumer-responsive systems of information, person-centered counseling, and streamlined access to community-based services and supports.
- Proposed language to allow up to 1% of nutrition appropriations to be used to modernize nutrition programs by investing in innovative models for delivering services.
- Funding for core ACL programs under the Older Americans Act, the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act, the Assistive Technology Act, the Rehabilitation Act, and other legislation are maintained. The FY 2017 request includes funds from the Prevention and Public Health Fund authorized by the Affordable Care Act to provide chronic disease self-management education programs ($8 million), senior falls prevention programs ($5 million), and activities under the president’s Alzheimer’s Initiative ($14.7M). Also included is $18 million for anti-fraud activities, including the Senior Medicare Patrol, and $37.5M for Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act programs.
The populations ACL serves are growing rapidly: people over age 60 are projected to increase by 20% between 2014 and 2020, from 64.8 million to 77.6 million. The 2010 Census reports that 56.7 million people live with disabilities; 12 million of whom require assistance with tasks like dressing, eating, and performing household chores. This budget will allow us to continue to provide vital services and supports to people with disabilities and older adults so that they can live independently, in the community.