FSSA Grant Supports Aging in Place for Adults with Mental Illness

CICOA Aging & In-Home Solutions has received a grant of $1.5 million from the Family and Social Services Administration, Division of Mental Health & Addiction. This funding for Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) will support aging in place by providing home- and community-based services for older adults with mental illness.

CICOA will identify and provide enhanced care and service coordination to help clients 60 years old and older with serious mental illness thrive in their own homes and communities. A behavioral health clinician and community health workers will supplement care beyond what CICOA care managers already provide, under the direction of Erica Seabaugh, director of Flourish Care Management. The program begins July 1, 2023, and funding runs through June 30, 2025.

“This grant provides a great opportunity for CICOA to connect older adults to mental health-related resources or directly provide services and supports,” said CICOA President and CEO Tauhric Brown.

Most older adults in the Central Indiana community are satisfied with their lives, have suitable social and emotional support, and good mental health that leads to healthy aging, according to the 2021 Community Assessment Survey of Older Adults (CASOA). But for older adults with serious mental illness, aging creates challenges.

Older adults with serious mental illness are at-risk for becoming homeless or institutionalized because of many factors beyond their diagnosis. Social isolation, chronic health conditions, and systemic barriers impact the wellbeing of this population.

For those who need home- and community-based services to successfully age in place, CICOA is committed to making wraparound services accessible and tailored to meet their unique needs.

CICOA currently serves 5,151 individuals 60 years of age and older who need mental health programming for diagnoses such as depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety and dementia. This number represents 47 percent of CICOA’s care-managed clients.

About DMHA

The Division of Mental Health and Addiction sets care standards for the provision of mental health and addiction services to Hoosiers. DMHA is committed to ensuring that clients have access to quality services that promote individual, family and community resiliency and recovery. The division also certifies all community mental health centers and addiction treatment services providers. DMHA provides funding support for mental health and addiction services to target populations with financial need and administers federal funds earmarked for substance abuse prevention projects.

DMHA mission:

To champion mental health promotion and substance use disorder prevention, treatment and recovery systems that are high quality, seamlessly integrated and accessible to the people and communities of Indiana.