Last updated May 2021
Focus of the agency the Agency for Health Care Administration
From wikipedia
The Florida Department of Elder Affairs (DOEA) is the Florida government agency focused on senior citizens. As described in the Older Americans Act, it is the state’s unit on aging. It oversees the Office of Public and Professional Guardians.[1]
The department’s creation was approved in a 1988 constitutional amendment under the name Department of Elderly Affairs[2] but did not begin operations until January 1992.[3] Governor Lawton Chiles, who established the department[4], started calling it Elder Affairs since he thought Elderly Affairs was less dignified.[5] The department started with just six employees and some volunteers.[6] E. Bentley Lipscomb was the first secretary for the department.[5]
From the agency
Florida is home to nearly 5.5 million residents age 60 and older and currently ranks first in the nation for the 65+ populations. As our senior population continues to increase, Florida’s future is linked to the financial, health, and physical security of our elder population.The Department provides most direct services through its Division of Statewide Community-Based Services, which works through the state’s eleven Area Agencies on Aging and local service providers to deliver essential services to a vital segment of the population. The Department also directly administers a wide range of programs, ranging from the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, Office of Public and Professional Guardians, and the Livable Florida Initiative to SHINE (Serving Health Insurance Needs of Elders) and CARES (Comprehensive Assessment and Review for Long-Term Care Services).The Department recognizes that individuals age differently, and therefore the state’s residents do not each need the same kind of care or services as others the same age. Some individuals may suffer from chronic conditions that began long before they reached age 60, while others may be able to live their entire lives without ever needing long-term medical or social services. One of the Department’s highest priorities is reducing the need for many elders to be placed in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. Ultimately, the goal is to efficiently use resources to ensure that the greatest number of elders possible get to spend their golden years living healthy, active, and fulfilling lives in their communities.
Mission Statement: To promote the well-being, safety, and independence of Florida’s seniors, their families, and caregivers.
Vision: For all Floridians to live well and age well
http://elderaffairs.state.fl.us/doea/about.php
Major programs operated by the agency
| Program | Description |
|---|---|
| Adult care food program | The goal of this program is to support the provision of nutritious meals and / or snacks served to community-based adults attending adult day care centers. The nutritious meals will support and possibly improve their nutritional status, enabling them to prolong living in their own community. |
| Community Care for the Elderly (CCE) Program | Eligible clients may receive a wide range of goods and services, including: adult day care, adult day health care, case management, case aide, chore, companionship, consumable medical supplies, counseling, escort, emergency alert response, emergency home repair, home-delivered meals, home health aide, homemaker, home nursing, information and referral, legal assistance, material aid, medical therapeutic services, personal care, respite, shopping assistance, transportation, and other community-based services. |
| Comprehensive Assessment and Review for Long-Term Care Services (CARES)* | Comprehensive Assessment and Review for Long-Term Care Services (CARES) is Florida’s federally mandated pre-admission screening program for nursing home applicants. Federal law mandates that the CARES Program perform an assessment or review of each individual who requests Medicaid reimbursement for nursing facility placement, or who seeks to receive home and community-based services through Medicaid waivers like Familial Dysautonomia Waiver, and Statewide Medicaid Managed Care Long-Term Care Program. Any person or family member can initiate a CARES assessment by applying for the Medicaid Institutional Care Program (ICP). Assessments are completed at no cost to the clients. |
| Emergency Home Energy Assistance for the Elderly Program (EHEAP) | The Emergency Home Energy Assistance for the Elderly Program (EHEAP) assists low-income households, with at least one person age 60 and older, when the households are experiencing a home energy emergency. A home energy emergency may result from a delinquent utility bill, lack of fuel or wood, or the receipt of a shut off notice. Payments are for home heating or cooling and other emergency energy-related costs during the heating (October-March) and cooling (April-September) seasons. Eligible households may be provided one benefit per season, up to $600 per season. Payments are made directly to the vendor or by a two-party check to the vendor and client for electricity, natural gas, propane, fuel oil, kerosene, or wood. |
| Program of All-Inclusive Care (PACE)* | The PACE program provides voluntary managed long-term care programs to address the increase in state expenditures for long-term care services and to meet consumer needs. The program is implemented in consultation with the Agency for Health Care Administration. PACE targets individuals eligible for Medicaid nursing home placement, and provides a comprehensive array of home- and community based, long-term care services as well as all Medicare (acute care) services. Services are typically delivered in an adult day health care setting. |
| Statewide Medicaid Managed Care Long-term Care Program (SMMC LTC)* | SMMC LTC is designed to provide home and community-based services to Medicaid recipients who are 65 years of age or older, or age 18 or older and eligible for Medicaid by reason of a disability; and determined to require nursing facility level of care. Created by Florida Legislature in 2011, SMMC LTC is a way to receive long-term care services, including nursing home and in-home care services, in a managed care setting. Managed care is a term for the process of how health care organizations manage the way their enrollees receive health care services. Managed care organizations work with different health care providers to offer quality health care services to ensure enrollees have access to the health care providers they need. |
| Older Americans Act Programs | Multiple programs, including Supportive Services, Congregate Meals, Home-Delivered Meals, Preventive Health, Family Caregiver Support and other programs |
*NOTE: Some programs may be jointly operated with other agencies
