Table of Contents

INDEPENDENT LIVING GRANTS

Introduction 

The 1999 Nevada State Legislature created Independent Living Grants with Tobacco Settlement Funds received from the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement.  Each year, 15 percent of Nevada’s share of settlement revenues is allocated to the Division for Aging Services.  As a result, Independent Living Grants have been awarded every year since 2000; the most recent grant year was completed on September 30, 2007. 

The Division awards this funding in the form of Independent Living Grants (ILGs) to service providers in Nevada, most of which are community based.  In light of flat and diminishing federal funding for aging services, and a skyrocketing senior population, ILGs have been essential for sustaining the Division’s mission: 

To develop, coordinate and deliver a comprehensive support service system in order for Nevada senior citizens to lead independent, meaningful and dignified lives. 

Census data and analysts’ projections clearly depict this unprecedented population growth of senior Nevadans and why the Independent Living Grants are so essential to meeting seniors’ needs.  In the decade 1990 to 2000, the number of seniors in Nevada age 65 and older increased by 72 percent, while the increase nationwide was only 12 percent.  In the same time period, the population of seniors age 85 and older increased 128 percent versus 38 percent nationwide. 

A number of reports suggest that this growth will continue to be significant for many years to come.  USA Today analysts reviewed Census data, and in 2007 reported Nevada will have a 264 percent increase in persons age 65 and older between 2000 and 2030, the highest growth rate in the nation.

Grant Funding Priorities 

NRS 439.630, Section 4 (d) states that the Division for Aging Services will allocate the available Independent Living Grants for: 

These grants are awarded to organizations that promote self-sufficiency to individuals age 60 and older.  For the FY 2007 grant year, October 1, 2006 through September 30, 2007, $5,136,306 was awarded by the Division through a number of grants covering an array of services.

Of this, $684,049 was awarded for Respite Care, $3,819,962 was awarded for Supportive Services, and $632,295 was awarded for the provision of Transportation Services.  As service needs increase in some areas and decrease in others, the Division adjusts allocations accordingly. 

In keeping with Older Americans Act Amendments of 2006, the Division has established the following clients as priorities: 

Grant Dollars at Work

 * Dental Services are included in Geriatric Health & Wellness, serving 838 clients with 4,358 procedures.

Units of Service Provided

In accordance with NRS 439.630 (e), the Division set aside $200,000 of the 2007 Independent Living Grant funds for assisted living facilities that satisfy the criteria set forth in NRS 319.147 and assisted living supportive services that are provided pursuant to the provisions of the Home and Community-Based Waiver Services, amended pursuant to NRS 422.2708.

2008 Grant Cycle Schedule 

Programs funded as a result of the 2008 competitive application process are funded for two years, pending successful programming during the first year and available funding for the second year. 

Activity Dates for the 2008 Competitive Grant Process 

*Outside Reviewers are current and/or former Commissioners of the Nevada Commission on Aging, along with community members, who have an interest or experience in services for seniors.

Service Descriptions

Transportation 

Transportation services are vital to seniors.  An Administration on Aging national study found that 21 percent of all clients using senior transportation services relied on those services for at least half of their transportation needs.  Of those, more than 80 percent were either unable to drive or did not have a vehicle. 

Independent Living Grants (ILGs) have helped alleviate transportation problems for Nevada seniors by funding transportation programs throughout the state.  Senior transportation programs funded with Independent Living Grants and other state and federal funds ensure that basic senior transportation services are provided in all seventeen counties. 

Rides were provided by senior center transportation programs, transit coalitions, volunteers and through taxi-bus voucher programs.  Nevada seniors were transported to local senior centers for nutritious meals, to medical appointments, and to group outings that encompass social activities and shopping. 

Escorted Transportation, which is one volunteer escorting one frail senior to and from appointments, was provided by the Retired Senior Volunteer Programs (RSVP) statewide and by the Helping Hands programs in Las Vegas.  The most vulnerable and frail seniors are able to get to and from medical appointments with the assistance of the many dedicated senior volunteers who donate their time and the use of their automobiles for helping Nevada’s elderly. 

To help ensure the well-being of Nevada seniors using this vital service, transportation programs funded by the Division for Aging Services are required to provide and document annual Elder Abuse Training for all drivers and program staff.  Division grantees are required to report suspicion of elder abuse, neglect, exploitation and/or isolation pursuant to Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) 200.5091 – 200.5099.  Additionally, drivers are required to have driver safety training biannually.

The Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) relays the following two client experiences regarding transportation: 

Respite Care 

Respite Service is an important priority of the Independent Living Grant legislation, because it provides caregivers with a small break from their around-the-clock responsibilities.  This is important, because the non-stop demands of caretaking add considerable stress to the lives of women and men alike.

Much has been written and said about caregivers.  They remain the backbone of the long-term supportive services system in the United States, providing the majority of care for people who need help with activities of daily living – activities that include bathing, eating, paying bills and taking medication.  Most of this caretaking is unpaid.  However, the AARP research center has estimated its value may exceed $257 billion a year. 

Respite Service has an especially important role for employed caregivers, who contend with the challenge of working outside the home while caring for an elderly parent, and often children as well.  Almost half of the “sandwich generation,” the cohort of Americans between age 45 and 55, have children less than age 21, as well as aging parents or aging in-laws. 

As depicted in a PBS production, Living Old, caretakers in their 40s, 50s and 60s are struggling to cope with what has happened to their parents and grandparents.  Producers Navasky and O’Conner add that the elderly themselves are living lives that neither they nor their families ever prepared for or imagined.  Millions are coping with chronic illnesses, increasing frailty and prolonged periods of dementia, which can last for years, even decades. 

They conclude: “For families, the emotional toll of caring for dependent family members can be overwhelming.” To assist Nevada’s caregivers, Independent Living Grants provide vital funding for respite voucher programs in Northern and Southern Nevada.  Families are able to apply for up to $1,000 in respite vouchers to hire individuals who provide in-home respite, pay for adult day care hours or perhaps pay for a short stay in an assisted living or long-term care facility. 

Sometimes such a stay is necessary because the caregiver needs a vacation or may be faced with hospitalization.  In addition, funds have been awarded to companion programs, where volunteer companions provide short periods of respite to a stay-at-home caregiver. 

Regarding respite care, a client writes: 

I used most of the respite care funds to attend our son’s wedding in Dallas.  The airfare plus caregiver costs would have been too much to spend.    I miss going to special family and other events.  Physically, I’m in good health for being 74-years-old, but mentally I need to get away.  Thank you for the grant – I think of the June wedding often.  My husband is still very patient, kind and gentle – I’m very lucky and thankful for that.

Supportive Services 

Supportive services help eliminate or delay the need for seniors to enter assisted living or long term care facilities.  These services described below are essential.  For many seniors, what should be the best time of their lives is not.  They are experiencing deteriorating health, illness and disability.  Many are unable to remain in their own homes, and illness can challenge financial resources, causing some to become indigent. 

Seniors who live with a disability or chronic illness may have out-of-pocket expenses never before anticipated.  Most seniors prefer to remain in their own homes.  However, without supportive services, they are often forced to relocate – to move in with an adult child, move to an assisted living facility and ultimately to move to a nursing home.

Providing seniors with Supportive Services makes it easier for them to remain independent in their homes.  In considering the following service descriptions, it should be noted that many seniors use more than one Supportive Service within a year.  The Division for Aging Services’ records are maintained service-by-service; thus, the actual aggregate, unduplicated number of seniors who benefited from Supportive Services is not yet available.  However, the Division is currently implementing use of a software program that will enable the future provision of this data.

 
Adult Day Care 

Adult Day Care is planned care in a supervised, protective, congregate setting during some portion of a day.  Referencing Adult Day Care, a senior commented, “The staff is very caring.  I’ve seen kindness and helpfulness given to those in need of special care.”  Another senior’s daughter said, “The staff have made a tremendous difference with my mom and helping our family.  We are so thankful.”

 Full information on these service specifications can be found at http://www.nvaging.net/grants/serv_specs/service_specifications.htm