White Paper
Transcript: Practicals of the VCS program VCS volunteers provide many services, but they may include: companionship, grocery shopping, house and yard work, laundry, meal preparation, minor home repair, personal care, and respite. Volunteers usually help a couple of hours weekly or monthly in their neighborhood Program participants typically receiving up to 8 hours per month of in house help. Training, insurance, and mileage reimbursement are provided by the contracting agency, CCS. Changing a light bulb US Census, 2012 Conclusion: The Volunteer Chore Services (VCS) in the state of Washington may be a possible template for Michigan: 1981, Washington was faced with large state and federal budget cuts which left over 4,000 elders without in-home services Washington legislature awarded Catholic Community Services (CCS) of King County a small grant to operate and develop VCS. VCS has grown to serve older adults and the disabled in all 39 counties and on the land of two major Indian Nations. Catholic Community Services, a social service organization, operates the Volunteer Chore Services under each counties auspices. as likely to have been to ER in last 90 days Grocery Shopping Building a ramp WA Volunteers Chore Services helping older adults with.... $1.7 million n=2,000,000 Toni Dunn Dester - SWRK 620 ˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙ Policy in Aging - White Paper Barbara Hebert is a 66 year old retiree living in Washington receiving $700/month in income from SSI. She left the field of human service due to her severe degenerative arthritis. Ms. Hebert spoke glowingly of her VCS volunteer,“She does a beautiful job and she washes and launders everything…” She also spoke highly of another VCS volunteer who grocery shops each week for her since she is unable to shop for without assistance. "It’s just brightened my whole life tremendously,” she said. % Aging in Place in Michigan VCS brought to Michigan may: Reducing wait lists Improving older adults’ access to services Promote older adult independence Create a safe environment for aging in place Save taxpayer/government monies. Decrease negative outcomes of no services/wait list Cleaning still waiting to receive services more likely to be in a Nursing Home Focus in on Target Population: Barriers to Safely Aging in Place % Aging in place is the ability of older adults to live in their own homes, for as long as they are independent and safe (AARP, 2014). (US Census, 2012) n=2,000,000 n=2,000,000 Need for In-Home Services Challenges & Proposed Solution IMPLEMENTING VCS IN MICHIGAN WORK! Aging in Place... died on waiting list Let's Look at the Cost of Program & Cost Savings (US Census, 2012) Two-year Outcomes for 1,471 individuals on in-home service waiting lists; conducted by AAA 1-B in their 6 county region Proposed Solution: Improving Aging in Place Outcomes by Developing a Volunteer Chore Service in Michigan In Michigan, AASA is tasked with helping older adults who are low income but non Medicaid eligible receive in-home services such as: personal care transportation meals-on-wheels adult day care legal assistance homemaker chore Unfortunately despite advocacy efforts, additional funding for in-home services has not been given. And the demand for these services far outweighs the supply. As a result long waiting lists exist. In the first quarter of 2015, there were 4,336 individuals on the wait list for in-home services, which rose to 7,043 by the fourth quarter. (Silver Key Coalition 2013, 2016) Home maintenance (chore) and homemaking tasks are essential to ensure a safe & healthy home... but an older adult’s age-related declines can negatively affect the proper upkeep of their homes..."threatening successful aging in place” (Fisk, Rogers, Charness, Czaja, & Sharit, 2009). Copy Template of WA VCS AASA and AAA's utilize relationships with agencies such as Catholic Social Services. Start Small: Small grant to Washtenaw County for VCS as a pilot program. Data, Data, Data: Collect data and outcomes to present to the current data driven legislature. Age-related decline/illnesses Lack of income to private pay for chore/homemaking services ($20/hr) Non medicaid eligible (too much income) Lack of family/community support