Supporting Older Adults and Their Families

The goal of Supporting Older Adults and Their Families is to ensure North Carolinians will have access to services and resources that will enable them to stay in their homes and communities as they age and will support their families in their efforts to provide care when needed.

Working together is critical to help families and caregivers with resources and support they need. These are key priorities, and the Workgroup and Subgroups collaborate to make the plans a reality.

Priority: Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS Priority)

• Align NC policies with the Older Americans Act to better support older adults aging at home.
• Modernize aging program data systems (e.g., replace ARMS) to improve service delivery and program management.

Priority: Caregiving

• Expand support services for family caregivers, including respite.
• Promote consumer-directed caregiving options that give people more control and choice.
• Sustain and improve the NC Caregiver Portal to help families find services quickly and easily.

Priority: Referrals and Access to Care

• Develop a unified, “no wrong door” referral system so caregivers get help no matter where they enter the system.
• Strengthen NC 211 and NCCARE360 to connect older adults and people with disabilities to housing, transportation, health care, and other essential supports.

Interesting in Getting Involved?

Unlike other work groups, this group does not have standalone subgroups. Instead, its work builds on and strengthens existing cross-agency and partner-led efforts that align with the plan’s priorities, particularly around long-term services and supports, caregiving and coordinated systems of care.

You can still participate by:

• Sharing your agency’s referral systems and ideas for integration
• Volunteering to test new tools or co-host caregiver education sessions
• Bringing lived experience as a caregiver into planning
• Collaborating on cross-county or regional pilot efforts

If interested, email Divya.Venkataganesan@dhhs.nc.gov or Caylee.Weaver@dhhs.nc.gov.

Resources

Quarterly Webinar Presentation (July 2025)
No Wrong Door and Multisector Plan for Aging Alignment Presentation (November 2025)