Toolkit

Every May, ACL leads the nation’s observance of Older Americans Month (OAM). This year's theme is Aging Unbound, which offers an opportunity to explore diverse aging experiences and discuss how communities can combat stereotypes. ACL is providing resources to help organizations celebrate Older Americans Month in promoting flexible thinking about aging – and how we all benefit when older adults remain engaged, independent, and included.

The National Indian Council on Aging has released a toolkit dedicated to increasing awareness and knowledge of the needs of American Indian and Alaska Native persons living with disabilities. The resource is divided into sections for healthy living, education, independent living, vocational rehabilitation and employment resources, assistive technology, housing and facilities, and transportation. It includes suggestions for improving services, providing protections, and utilizing resources in local tribal communities for people with disabilities. Additional information provides overviews on federal disabilities laws, initiatives, agencies, and organizations that support work with Native individuals with disabilities and communities.

The annual Medicare open enrollment period for Medicare Advantage and Part D plans ends Wednesday, December 7, 2022. To assist individuals who counsel Medicare clients, the National Council on Aging or NCOA developed a “Medicare Open Enrollment Toolkit”. The Toolkit includes many useful resources designed for professionals, advocates, caregivers, and/or older adults, including a fact sheet on changes to Medicare in 2023; information on Medicare Part A and Part B premiums and cost-sharing in 2023; a 2023 Medicare Part D cost-sharing chart; and other helpful information and guidance.

The AHRQ Academy has released a new guide on health equity and behavioral health integration designed to help practices reduce health disparities and advance health equity by promoting belonging, dignity and justice for providers and patients from marginalized groups. The AHRQ Academy aims to support the integration of behavioral health into primary and ambulatory care settings with a focus on providing care for patients using substances, particularly opioids, and for those with mental health conditions. This guide provides tools and resources for addressing economic and social inequities, bias, discrimination and racism.

ANCOR has announced a new campaign, As a DSP It's Up to Me!, designed to increase vaccine acceptance among direct support professionals (DSPs) so they can protect people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. A new COVID-19 Vaccine Toolkit has been designed to reduce vaccine hesitancy among DSPs and offer a range of resources to help community providers engage in conversations with DSPs that encourage them to get vaccinated.

The White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health has released a toolkit allowing partners to provide input into the development and implementation of a national strategy on hunger, nutrition, and health that will be announced in September 2022. The toolkit is designed to faciliate conversations with members about ending hunger, improving nutrition, and increasing physical activity.

Workforce Affinity Group

NCOA has published a resource to help older adults navigate mental health information online. The resource discusses important details to pay attention to when reviewing digital content, including the source, author, and date of publication. The resource also explores how individuals can identify misinformation on the internet.

NCOA has published a resource to help older adults navigate mental health information online. The resource discusses important considerations to pay attention to when reviewing digital content, including the source, author, and date of publication, as well explains how to identitfy misinformation.

NCOA's Boost Your Budget Week is an annual campaign to educate low-income older adults about money-saving benefits. From April 11-15, 2022 NCOA will be encouraging older adults to see if they qualify for benefits programs to help pay for food, medicine, utilities, and more.