The mission of the Administration for Community Living (ACL), within the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is to maximize the independence, well-being, and health of older adults, people with disabilities across the lifespan, and their families and caregivers. Within ACL, the Administration on Aging (AoA) is the agency designated to carry out the Older Americans Act (OAA). T

Goals 

• Goal 1: Identify what works to serve older adults with behavioral health conditions in the congregate nutrition program setting.
  • Find out what helps and hinders meal delivery in the congregate dining site for the target population. Gather existing research on how behavioral health and nutrition are connected. Talk to key people, including the target population, behavioral health service providers, and caregivers. Create a space for people to work together, share ideas, and innovate. Analyze the information to pinpoint common challenges, like stigma or accessibility, and supportive factors, such as helpful programs or community resources.
• Goal 2: Based on learnings from Goal 1, train staff and subgrantees to create and apply person-centered, trauma-informed, and culturally appropriate best practices to meet the needs of the target population.
  • Based on your learnings from Goal 1, train staff and subgrantees. Develop training materials, guides, and tipsheets that highlight these principles in service delivery. Test, refine and improve these practices, based on participant feedback. Document outcomes and share findings with relevant stakeholders across behavioral health and the aging network to promote wider adoption and support for best practices.
• Goal 3: Evaluate the effectiveness of implemented best practices through measurable outcomes.
  • Develop or administer quantitative and qualitative feedback from implemented best practices using appropriate evaluation methods. Clean and organize the data for analysis. Finally, analyze, interpret, and document results.
• Goal 4: Create and share a minimum of ten (10) Section 508-compliant resources and other materials and disseminate findings to help the Senior Nutrition Program network adopt best practices.
  • Use evaluation findings and collaboration with nutrition experts and program leaders to identify areas for improvement in congregate nutrition program service delivery. Use this information to develop at least ten (10) Section 508-compliant resources that can be shared with the network to enhance program knowledge and sustainability. Share project progress, results, and resources through at least one (1) presentation at a conference or webinar annually. Disseminate materials through other platforms to reach the Senior Nutrition Program network. Gather feedback from users to ensure the needs of the aging network and the target population are met.

Areas of Focus

• Areas of Focus For this project, the areas of focus are:
  • Through a statewide initiative, develop the capacity to increase the number of older adults with behavioral health conditions, which may include those experiencing homelessness, who participate in the Senior Nutrition Program.
  • To develop at least ten (10) Section 508-compliant resources that can be shared with the network to enhance program knowledge and sustainability.

Funding Information

• Estimated Total Program Funding: $ 1,000,000
  • Award Ceiling: $500,000
  • Award Floor: $400,000

Target Population 

• For this project, the target population is older adults (60 years and older), which may include those experiencing homelessness, with one or more of the following behavioral health conditions:
  • Depression
  • Bipolar disorder
  • Anxiety disorders
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Eating disorders

Eligibility Criteria

• Eligible Applicants
  • Domestic public or private non-profit entities including state and local governments, Indian tribal governments and organizations (American Indian/Alaskan Native/Native American), faith-based organizations, community-based organizations, hospitals, and institutions of higher education.

For more information, visit Grants.gov.