For Release: IMMEDIATE
Date: December 11, 2007

Forums to discuss merits of Aging and Disability Resource Centers

RALEIGH – The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services will host eight community forums across the state beginning in January to introduce an expansion to the Aging and Disability Resource Connections Initiative.

The initiative develops a uniform point-of-entry for people seeking long-term services and supports as they navigate the array of services available to them in the state. The forums are planned in conjunction with the award of nearly $200,000 to DHHS in September to expand the effort beyond pilots operated in Surry and Forsyth counties that have helped shape the way North Carolina will use the funds. North Carolina is among 22 states receiving grant funds from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for Aging and Disability Resource Centers.

“I am pleased with the progress that North Carolina has made over the past three years to simplify access to long-term services and supports for older adults and adults with disabilities through the ADRC Initiative,” said Jackie Sheppard, assistant secretary for long-term care and family services.  “I am particularly excited about the coordination and communication that will be possible through the use of NCcareLINK, which when fully implemented will ensure that consumers are served effectively and efficiently when they are in need of information, services and care. This award will help to increase awareness of those efforts.”

Forums begin with registration at 8:30 a.m. and run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. as follows:

• Jan. 17, Greensboro, Holiday Inn Guilford Convention Center, I-85 at Lee Street.
• Jan. 29, Fayetteville, Kiwanis Recreation Center at Honeycutt Park, 352 Devers St.
• Feb. 7, Jacksonville, Onslow County Government Complex, 4022 Richlands Highway.
• Feb. 12, Concord, Copperfield Room, 270 Copperfield Blvd.
• Feb. 21, Williamston, Macedonia Christian Church, 7640 U.S. Highway 17.
• Feb. 27, Raleigh, North Carolina Association of Educators, 700 S. Salisbury St.
• March 25, Waynesville, Haywood County Administration Building, 81 Elmwood Way.
• March 26, Boone, Northwest AHEC of Watauga Medical Center, 336 Deerfield Road.

The goals of Aging and Disability Resource Connections are:

• Streamlining and simplifying access to long-term services and supports in order to ensure that each individual’s need for services is determined and addressed
• Maximizing consumer choice and providing services in a consumer friendly manner, respecting and ensuring the dignity of all served
• Creating a more balanced system of long-term services and supports to include more home and community-based services

The Office of Long-Term Services and Supports is administering the grant in collaboration with the divisions of DHHS that provide human services to the state’s citizens.

The North Carolina Aging and Disability Resource Connections program was first funded by a federal grant from the Administration on Aging (AoA) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in federal fiscal 2004.

More information about the Aging and Disability Resource Centers Grant Program is available on the AoA website, the CMS website , and the Aging and Disability Resource Center Technical Assistance Exchange. For more information contact Sabrena Lea, 919-855-4428, or email: ADRC.forums@ncmail.net.