Background and Goals
Falls are the leading cause of both fatal and nonfatal injuries for people 65 years of age and older. Every 14 seconds, an older adult is seen in an emergency department for a fall-related injury.
To help address this growing epidemic, since 2014, ACL has awarded more than $43 million in grants through the Prevention and Public Health Fund.
These grants have been awarded to domestic public and private nonprofit entities, state agencies, community-based organizations, universities, and tribal organizations. ACL also funds a nonprofit organization to serve as the first-ever ACL National Falls Prevention Resource Center.
The purpose of the ACL Falls Prevention program is to bring to scale and sustain evidence-based falls prevention programs that have been proven to reduce falls, fear of falling, and fall related injuries in older adults.
Falls Prevention FY22 Grants
In 2022, ACL awarded seven forward-funded cooperative agreements (three-year project period) totaling approximately $3.8 million.
- Grantee Progress
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Since the beginning of this grant program, over 135,000 older adults have taken part in evidence-based falls prevention programs such as A Matter of Balance, Stepping On, and Tai Ji Quan: Moving for Better Balance. In this time, more than 8,000 workshops have been held in every region of the United States.
The average age of a participant in an ACL-funded falls program is 73, with one in five (19 percent) having experienced a fall within the last three months prior to starting the program.
After taking part in the programs funded through these grants, 89 percent of participants report a reduced fear of falling. Furthermore, participants reported taking the following actions to reduce their chance of a fall:
- 66 percent did exercises they learned in the program at home
- 42 percent made changes in their home
- 36 percent talked to a family member or friend about how they can reduce their fall risk
- 23 percent had their vision checked
- Fiscal Year 2022 Grants
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Grantee
Award Amount
$546,737
$553,163
$553,163
$553,163
$552,322
$517,597
$550,009
- Fiscal Year 2021 Grants
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Grantee
Award Amount
$1,054,885
$273,057
$287,696
$287,696
$287,696
$287,344
$286,214
$286,985
$287,688
$278,641
$287,610
- Fiscal Year 2020 Grants
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FY 2020 Awardees
Grantee Award Amount $290,759 Council for Jewish Elderly, IL $300,000 Iowa Department on Aging, IA $297,286 Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital, NH $299,995 National Kidney Foundation of Michigan, MI $300,000 Partners in Care Foundation, CA $1,185,721 University of North Carolina Asheville, NC $1,199,384 Wisconsin Institute for Healthy Aging, WI $300,000 - Fiscal Year 2019 Grants
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FY 2019 Awardees
Grantee Award Amount $450,224 Central Maine Area Agency on Aging, ME $449,342 Chicago Housing Authority, IL $147,364 Elder Services of the Merrimack, MA $437,634 Florida Department of Elder Affairs, FL $150,000 MAC, Incorporated, MD $449,532 New York City Department on Aging, NY $450,224 Ohio Department of Health $450,223 South Dakota State University, SD $149,702 United Way of Tarrant County, TX $446,440 University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, OK $448,070 Winston-Salem State University, NC $147,626 - Fiscal Year 2018 Grants
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FY 2018 Awardees
Grantee Award Amount Innovations for Aging, LLC, MN $543,601 Marymount University, VA $542,554 Michigan State University, MI $543,601 The New York State Department of Health/Health Research, Inc., NY $542,554 The Oasis Institute, MO $539,839 The Tennessee Commission on Aging and Disability, TN $148,752 Tule River Indian Health Center, CA $150,000 Washington State Dept of Health, WA $543,554 Wyoming Department of Health, WY $107,447 YMCA of the Suncoast, Inc., FL $543,601 - Fiscal Year 2017 Grants
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FY 2017 Awardees
Grantee Award Amount University of North Carolina at Asheville, NC $599,755 Partners in Care Foundation, Inc., CA $600,000 United Way of Tarrant County, TX $599,999 Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services, VA $554,561 Wisconsin Institute for Healthy Aging, WI $468,018 Trustees of Dartmouth College, NH $599,955 Utah Department of Health, UT $599,760 - Fiscal Year 2016 Grants
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FY 2016 Awardees
Grantee Award Amount Elder Services of the Merrimack Valley, MA $570,538 Iowa Department of Public Health, IA $585,447 MAC, Inc., MD $582,656 Marymount University, VA $479,821 New Mexico Department of Health, NM $561,955 Rush University Medical Center, IL $367,699 Southern Maine Agency on Aging, ME $478,779 Indian Health Council, CA $150,000 Inter Tribal Council of AZ, Inc., AZ $150,000 Spirit Lake Tribe, ND $149,589 - Fiscal Year 2015 Grants
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FY 2015 Awardees
Grantee Award Amount Partners in Care Foundation, CA $684,000 The Oasis Institute, MO $558,997 Dartmouth Center for Healthy Aging, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health, NH $510,389 New Jersey Department of Human Services $509,000 New York State Department of Health $509,311 United Way of Tarrant County, TX $602,799 Wisconsin Institute for Healthy Aging $695,000 - Fiscal Year 2014 Grants
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FY 2014 Awardees
Grantee Award Amount National Council on Aging (serving as the Resource Center) $400,000 Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment $400,000 Elder Services of the Merrimack Valley $492,960 Foundation for Healthy Communities, NH $223,100 Georgia Department of Human Services $399,918 Hardrock Council on Substance Abuse $100,000 Health Foundation of South Florida $400,000 Iowa Department on Aging $385,840 Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians $99,999 Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians $42,532 Minnesota Board on Aging $500,000 Sokaogon Chippewa Community $99,816 State of Vermont $535,059 Utah Department of Health $465,530 - National Falls Prevention Resource Center
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ACL funds a National Falls Prevention Resource Center to increase public awareness and educate consumers and professionals about falls risks and how to prevent falls. The Resource Center is housed at the National Council on Aging’s Center for Healthy Aging.
The National Falls Prevention Resource Center cooperative agreement is designed to achieve two major goals:
Goal 1: Increase public education about the risks of falls and how to prevent them.
Goal 2: Support and stimulate the implementation and dissemination of evidence-based community programs and strategies proven to reduce the incidence of falls among seniors.
The Resource Center serves as the national clearinghouse of tools, best practices, and other information on falls and fall prevention. Access these resources at their website: https://www.ncoa.org/healthy-aging/falls-prevention/.