Aging Services

Finding services

The Aging Texas Well program does not directly provide services; however, the following websites and agencies have been listed to give an overview of the range of national, state and private agency resources available to individuals throughout Texas.

Help for Texans
This website presents an overview of Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS). The links provided offer information about adult day care, assisted living facilities, home health care, home and community-based programs, nursing homes, and residential care.

2-1-1 Texas 
2-1-1 Texas, a program of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), helps Texas citizens find the services they need. The helpline in Central Texas maintains a comprehensive community resource database of services providing assistance with health care, employment, educational services, legal services, housing, counseling, transportation needs and much more.

Texas area agencies on aging  
The 28 area agencies on aging (AAA) provide services to help individuals age 60 and older, their family members, and caregivers receive information and assistance to locate and access community services. Services are targeted to those with greatest economic and social need. Particular attention is paid to people who belong to minority groups and older people residing in rural areas. Family members and other caregivers may receive information and services on behalf of the older person for whom they are providing care.

Services include:

• Information, referral and assistance
• Benefits counseling and legal assistance
• Care coordination
• Caregiver support services
• In-home support services
• Legal awareness
• Nutrition services
• Ombudsman Program

Community supports

Strength for Caring: A Place for Caregivers
Strength for Caring is a comprehensive website providing family caregivers with a range of expert content and information, an emerging on-line community, daily inspiration, and support. The website includes the following topics: Webs of Connectedness, Power Foods, Talk with Other Caregivers, Caregiver News, and Not Sleeping? In addition you will find featured articles by experts in the field.

Take Time Texas: Respite Care
Take Time Texas provides information, assistance and support for people who care for someone of any age with a chronic medical condition or disability. Help is available through the Texas Lifespan Respite Care Program and the Texas Respite Coordination Center. The Take Time Texas website will provide you with:

• Statewide database of respite providers that caregivers can search to find nonprofit, commercial, faith-based, and governmental respite providers.
• Educational materials and online information and resources to help caregivers and providers resolve issues and find information about caregiving.
• Resources to help respite providers including outreach materials, information on best practices and training tools.

Employment

The Senior Community Service Employment Program
The Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) provides training and employment services to eligible low-income job seekers age 55 and older to enable them to obtain unsubsidized employment. Program participants "earn while they learn," gaining competitive job skills and refining existing skills through paid, part-time, on-the-job training assignments at nonprofit organizations and governmental entities. This website describes SCSEP services, eligibility guideline and job hunting resources for older job seekers.

Financial and legal services

Legal Planning: Questions and Answers
This link will give you information on advance planning, healthcare directives, what you can do to protect your estate, what happens in the event of incapacitation and documents for legal planning.

Texas HHSC Guardianship Initiative
This guardianship website provides a list of local guardianship and money management programs in Texas. These programs appoint either staff or volunteers to serve as guardians for money management when individuals need this assistance.

Legal Hotline for Older Texans
The Texas Legal Hotline provides Texans age 60 and older with legal advice and referrals from attorneys. While the primary focus is to provide legal service to Texans with low incomes who have limited access to legal advice, the Texas Legal Hotline can answer basic legal questions from any older Texan.

Housing

Help for Texans (Housing)
Within this website you will find a list of organizations, searchable by city and county, which may be able to assist with: rent help; buying a home; utility bill help and weatherization addition. To use the new link to find "elderly only" apartments, click here.

Eldercare Locator
The Eldercare Locator is a public service of the U.S. Administration on Aging. It can connect you to services for older adults and their families. This website provides: the ability to search for services by location (either by ZIP code or city) and by topic of interest. Searchable services related to aging include: Alzheimer's disease, caregiver support, elder abuse prevention, legal assistance, transportation and volunteerism. The website also includes tools and resources including fact sheets, brochures and links to federal websites.

U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
This website gives information about homeowners hip, rental help foreclosures, homeless resources and filing a housing discrimination complaint in Texas. Information about funding and grant information is also available.

Long-term services and supports

Long Term Care Quality Reporting System (QRS)
A service of DADS, the information in this website helps to evaluate the quality of long-term care services. You can use QRS to obtain specific information about a particular long-term care provider or to compare providers in a particular area. While QRS provides information that can help you identify providers, it is not meant to serve as the only basis for choosing a particular provider. The information that QRS provides is not a substitute for visiting with prospective providers, talking with their staff and visiting with their clients in order to help you make an informed choice.

Long-term Care Ombudsman Program
The Texas Long-term Ombudsman Program advocates for quality of life and care for residents in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. The program identifies, investigates and resolves complaints made by, or on behalf of, residents and provides services to protect health, safety, welfare and rights. Information and assistance in choosing the most appropriate living residence is also available.

Nutrition

The Meals On Wheels Association of America

The Meals On Wheels Association of America is the oldest and largest national organization composed of and representing local, community-based senior nutrition programs in all 50 U.S. states, as well as the U.S. territories. This national website can direct an individual to Find a Meal through a state and city search drop down website menu.

Meals on Wheels and More (MOW) provides home-delivered meals in Texas and nationwide and also advocates for people who are unable to leave their homes. Through its research and communications programs, this agency informs lawmakers and regulators at local, state and national levels about important issues.

Meals on Wheels and More may offer a range of services including delivery of hot, nutritious meals to people who are aging, disabled and homebound throughout Texas. In addition to the signature meal-delivery program, Meals on Wheels and More offers home repair programs, monthly grocery delivery, transportation to medical appointments, a "phone friend" connection program, a volunteer grocery shopping program, help to individuals with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia, a frozen meal program, free pet vet services and food for pets, congregate meal gathering spaces and more.

Physical and mental health

Alzheimer's Association
The Alzheimer's Association works on a national and local level to enhance care and support for all those affected by Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. This site links directly to services and programs available throughout Texas.  

• Regional programs are found by either of two methods: by ZIP code or by clicking on the state of Texas on the U.S. map provided on their website.
• Currently there are five Alzheimer's Association chapters in Texas: Capital of Texas Chapter in Austin; Greater Dallas Chapter; Houston and Southeast Texas Chapter in Houston; North Central Texas Chapter in Fort Worth; and STAR Chapter in El Paso. Each chapter has its own webpage where you will find local services, resources, etc.

Caring Connections
Caring Connections, a program of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, is a national consumer engagement initiative to improve care at the end of life. The materials shown were revised in 2010. These materials include the Texas Advance Directives and Texas Medical Power of Attorney forms and the Texas Organ Donation Form.

Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS)
This website provides procedures and links to assist with obtaining mental health services needed in an emergency. Included within the Mental Health Services for Adults you will find links to the local mental health authority (LMHA) where services are provided for specific geographic areas. On the searchable links you can find services in particular locations — by county, city and ZIP code. In addition, statewide substance abuse services are described at this link.  Contacts for substance abuse services, known as Outreach, Screening, Assessment and Referral Centers (OSAR), are found at this link.

Protections

DADS Consumer Rights and Services  
Consumer Rights and Services employees take complaints about the treatment of people who receive services in long-term care facilities or in their homes. Click here to learn more. In addition, this service takes incident reports from long-term care service providers.

Adult Protective Services (APS)
Adult Protective Services, Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, is responsible for investigating abuse, neglect and exploitation of adults who are 65 and older or who have disabilities. On this website you can explore the two major components of APS — In-home Investigations and Services and Facility Investigations.  The following topics are also easily found on the website: adult abuse prevention, adult protective service conference, information about how to report abuse and other topics.

Texas Attorney General's Senior Page
The office of the Attorney General works to identify and aggressively prosecute those who cheat or deceive older Texans. On this page you will find information regarding: offers that target seniors, consumer alerts, frauds and scams, telemarketers, junk mail, and many other important topics.

Social engagement and spirituality

Experience Corps
Experience Corps is a national program developed by the nonprofit organization Civic Ventures. This program trains and places volunteer older adults in public elementary schools to improve students' academic achievement. The program targets social engagement and community involvement for older individuals through one-to-one tutoring, small group academic help and assisting teachers.  It has shown to improve academic achievement of the young while benefiting the older adults. Experience Corps has provided programs for 13 years and currently operates in 20 cities, including Beaumont and Port Arthur, Texas.

Transportation and employment

Medical Transportation Program
The Medical Transportation Program (MTP) is part of HHSC. It helps CSHCN Services Program clients get to their doctor's office, drugstore, or any place that they get medical services. If you have no way to get to these places, the Medical Transportation Program can help you. Go to HHSC's Getting a Free Ride to the Doctor, Dentist or Drug Store webpage for more information.

Volunteerism

HandsOnNetwork
This website offers a searchable option for finding a range of volunteer opportunities by keywords (interests) and ZIP code (your location).

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Updated: December 10, 2012