Area Agency on Aging

What it means

Area Agencies on Aging exist under federal law and cover the whole country, each responsible for a defined geographic area.

They arrange or fund meals, transport, in-home help, caregiver support, benefits counseling and information about local options.

They are a point of entry rather than a provider: much of what they do is knowing what exists locally and who qualifies.

Why it matters

It is the most useful free resource in eldercare and the least known. It can take months assembling privately what one call would have mapped.

It is also local, which is precisely what makes it valuable — care is arranged county by county, and national information cannot tell you what exists on a particular street.

When you are likely to meet it

• When a parent needs help at home and nobody knows where to start.
• When looking for transport, meals or respite.
• When trying to find out what a parent qualifies for.

Related terms

• Adult day servicesA daytime program providing supervision, activity and often health care outside the home.
• Adult Protective ServicesThe state agency that investigates suspected abuse, neglect or financial exploitation of vulnerable adults.
• Congregate mealsMeals eaten together at a center or site, funded under the Older Americans Act and not means-tested.
• Custodial careHelp with everyday living rather than medical treatment — bathing, dressing, eating, moving about. It is what most long-term care actually is.
• Eldercare LocatorA national public service that connects people to the aging services agency covering a particular address.
• Geriatric care managerA professional, usually a nurse or social worker, hired to assess an older person's needs and coordinate their care.
• Home and community-based services waiverA Medicaid program paying for care at home instead of in a nursing facility.
• Home careNon-medical help at home — bathing, dressing, meals, housekeeping, company. Medicare does not pay for it.
• Home-delivered mealsMeals brought to the house under the Older Americans Act, assessed on need rather than on income.
• Long-term care ombudsmanAn independent advocate for residents of nursing homes and other care facilities, who investigates complaints and works to resolve them.
• Respite careShort-term care that gives an unpaid family caregiver a break — a few hours, a day, or a stay of some days.

Official sources

The authority this page describes, at the agency that publishes it. Sahvelo does not restate a rule from a secondary source.

• Eldercare Locator (opens in a new tab)

Sahvelo guidance that uses this

• Home safety
• Housing transitions