Community assessment Toolkit

The Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS), through Aging Texas Well (ATW), has a wide array of information, tools and resources to help people and their communities begin the process of aging well. DADS is committed to providing the right information and encouraging the action that will make aging well a reality for all Texans and their communities. The purpose of the ATW initiative is to identify and discuss aging policy issues, guide state government readiness and promote increased community preparedness for an aging Texas.

As outlined in Executive Order RP 42, part of the ATW mandate is to work with public and private community partners to build capacity to serve a growing aging population through community assessment processes. This community assessment toolkit addresses the community capacity building portion of the Executive Order. Communities are invited to begin their self-directed assessments utilizing the toolkit at any time.

As the baby boomers reach retirement, local governments will face even greater challenges in creating physical and social environments that support their needs. ATW encourages communities to identify features that define an aging-friendly community, to assess their communities’ aging friendliness, and to undertake planning and action steps to build an aging- friendly community. If successful, Texas communities, both rural and urban, will have a better understanding of what it means to become “aging-friendly” and the most effective ways to remain that way.

toolkit and related forms

Within the assessment are six sections, and each section has a worksheet. Please click on the links below to access the toolkit and worksheets forms from the DADS website.

Each indicator helps a community determine its strengths and where there are gaps in services and supports. Some of the questions ask for objective, quantitative, measurable, or obtainable information. Others are more subjective or qualitative, designed to reveal a community’s perception of an issue. Responses to these questions demonstrate the unique reality of each community across Texas.

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Updated: November 4, 2009