Press Releases

Monday, July 11, 2005
For Immediate Release
Contact: AoA Press Office
202-357-3507

BELLEVUE, WA – During the 30th Annual National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a) Conference, the Administration on Aging (AoA) Assistant Secretary Josefina G. Carbonell today announced $10.5 million to further the development of innovative approaches to provide care for people with Alzheimer’s disease and support for their family caregivers. The award includes $2.6 million to expand three-year systems change demonstration programs in nine states as well as support a one-year capacity building demonstration program in New Jersey. In addition to the ten new awards, approximately $7.9 million in continuation funding was recently awarded to 28 states.

“While there has been significant progress in the understanding and treatment of Alzheimer's disease, unless a cure or prevention is found, it is estimated that 14 million Americans will have Alzheimer's disease by 2050,” said Assistant Secretary of Aging Josefina Carbonell. “These grants will provide training and support to persons with Alzheimer's and their family caregivers to help them cope with their day-to-day challenges until a cure can be found.”

The Alzheimer’s Disease Demonstration Grants to States (ADDGS) Program works to improve the responsiveness of home and community-based services to persons with dementia and their caregivers. With this year’s grant awards, the Administration on Aging (AoA) will strengthen the ADDGS Program by continuing to incorporate:

A greater focus on using the ADDGS Program as a vehicle for advancing changes to a state’s overall system of home and community-based care, including state programs to streamline consumer access to services and family caregiver support programs; and

A requirement that all grantees use findings from research on service models and techniques for supporting persons with Alzheimer’s disease and their family caregivers, including findings from research supported by the National Institute on Aging.

The ADDGS Program supports the goals of President Bush’s New Freedom Initiative, a government-wide framework for helping provide people with disabilities the tools they need to fully access and participate in their communities. Descriptions of the new projects and amounts of each award are listed below.

New ADDGS grants were awarded to:

• State of Colorado, Board of Governors, $290,000
• Illinois State Department of Public Health, $290,000
• Maryland Department of Aging, $290,000
• Michigan State Department of Community Health, $241,597
• Montana Department of Public Health & Human Services, $290,000
• New Jersey State Division on Aging, (1-year) $150,000
• New York State Office for the Aging, $290,000
• Texas State Department of Aging & Disability, $225,000
• Washington State Department of Health & Social Services, $290,000
• West Virginia Bureau of Senior Services, $290,000

For more information on the Alzheimer’s Disease Demonstration Grants to States (ADDGS) program, other information about Alzheimer’s disease and tips for families affected by it, please visit the AoA web site at http://www.aoa.gov/alz.

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The AoA is a Federal agency dedicated to policy development, planning and the delivery of supportive home and community-based services to older persons and their caregivers through the national aging network of state and local agencies on aging, tribal organizations, service providers and volunteers.