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Common Community-Based Services for Seniors

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There are a variety of community-based programs and services that can assist senior citizens to remain at home. The descriptions below explain the key types of services available and where to go to find out more about them. Note: CANHR offers listings of basic resources for each county in California.

Contact the Senior Information and Referral (I&R) Program in your local area by calling the statewide Elder Services Locator Number 1-800-510-2020. Or check the Community Service section of the phone book. Senior I & R is the key resource to access all the services described in this fact sheet.

Coordinating Services

Case management (sometimes referred to as care management or coordination) links persons to needed services through assessment, planning and monitoring.

• There are publicly funded programs: Multipurpose Senior Services Program (MSSP Medi-Cal eligible persons), Linkages, and Program for All Inclusive Care (PACE—limited counties).
• Home health agencies can offer short-term case management services.
• There are also fee-for-service private geriatric case managers.

Personal Care Services

• In Home Supportive Services (IHSS) and Medi-Cal's Personal Care Services. Apply through the county welfare department.
• Home health agencies also provide this service for a fee and Centers for Independent Living sometimes keep a registry of workers who provide in-home care on a fee-for-service basis.

Home Health & Hospice

These services are provided by certified home health agencies. Medicare, Medi-Cal and long-term care insurance might pay for such services if prescribed by a doctor and are considered medically necessary. Some home health agencies operate a Nursing Facility (NF) Waiver Program, providing nursing home type care in a person's home with funding from Medi-Cal.

Caregiver/Dementia Related Services

The focus is on family caregivers providing information, counseling, peer support groups and respite care.

• Contact one of the state's 9 regional Caregiver Resource Centers or the local chapter of the Alzheimer's Association.
• Contact the new Family Caregiver Support Program.
• Consider participating in Adult Social Day Care or Adult Day Health Care.

Nutrition

Contact Senior I&R or the Area Agency on Aging (AAA). There are recommended donation amounts for these services.

• Congregate Senior Nutrition offers meals, usually 5-days per week.
• Home-Delivered Meals (Meals-on-Wheels).

Monitoring/Companionship

Contact the council of churches or hospitals.

• Telephone Reassurance programs.
• Emergency Response Systems (e.g., Life-Line) charge a monthly fee.
• Friendly visitors and Senior Companion Program.

Transportation

This is one of the most needed and lacking services, especially if a person needs to be accompanied, not just dropped off and picked up.

• Senior Nutrition and Adult Day Health Care sometimes provide transportation as part of the service.
• Some communities offer reduced fees for public transportation, special taxi services and MediVan services or run volunteer transportation programs.

Bill Paying Services

Bill-paying services are sometimes offered as part of publicly funded case management programs. Some non-profits offer bill paying or representative payee services for a fee. If a person lacks cognitive capacity, there are both public (i.e.,Office of the Public Guardian) and private conservators.

Legal/Advocacy Services

• Contact CANHR's Lawyer Referral Service for experts throughout the state who specialize in estate planning, resident's rights and personal injury and medical malpractice in nursing homes.
• Senior Legal Programs handle consumer and public benefit issues.
• Contact Adult Protective Services (APS) for alleged abuse, (e.g., physical, neglect, financial, etc.) that occurs in the community, e.g., the elder's home or apartment.  APS is usually located in the county department of social services or in the county office of the Public Guardian.
• If the abuse occurs in a long-term care institution like a Residential Care Facility for the Elderly or a Skilled Nursing Home, contact the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program and CANHR.
• Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP) handles issues regarding Medicare billing, Medicare supplemental insurance policies, Medicare HMOs, and long-term care insurance.

The RCFE Consumer Project is supported, in part, by a grant from the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund.