Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services
Aging Texas Well

We age by nature; we age well by foresight, preparation, and creativity. The Aging Texas Well (ATW) program helps ensure that Texans prepare individually for aging in all aspects of life and that state and local infrastructure— laws, policies, and services — support aging well throughout the lifespan.

For more information about the Aging Texas Well mission statement, click here.  To view the 16 Aging Texas Well domains, click here. 

WHCoA:  A Report to Texas; Follow-up Report to the White House Conference on Aging

DADS Center for Policy and Innovation has just published WHCoA: A Report to Texas; Follow-up Report to the White House Conference on Aging. The report was developed on behalf of the Texas delegates to the White House Conference on Aging (WHCoA) and is based on the collaborative efforts of the Texas Silver-Haired Legislature (TSHL), Area Agencies on Aging (AAA), and DADS. Following the most recent WHCoA, TSHL, DADS and the AAAs worked together to host a series of solutions forums around the state to hear ideas about how to implement the resolutions adopted during WHCoA. This report provides a summary of the input received during these forums, and can be used by stakeholders to identify community-based strategies for improving the lives of older Texans. Text version | Printed Version

2005 White House Conference on Aging Final Report

The Final Report of the 2005 White House Conference on Aging (WHCoA) includes a narrative that contains an Executive Summary, a list of the 50 resolutions adopted by the delegates along with the strongest and strong implementation strategies suggested by the delegates who attended individual implementation strategy sessions on a particular topic at the WHCoA.

2005 Indicators Survey Available

The Aging Texas Well Indicators Survey Results 2005 report is now available on the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services website. The report includes the results of a survey that examined older Texans' perceptions of how well they are aging.

Governor Perry Issues ATW Executive Order

Texas Gov. Rick Perry issued an executive order creating the Aging Texas Well Advisory Committee and Action Plan. The order, which was issued in April 2005, formalizes the Aging Texas Well Initiative and asks the department to continue its work to identify and discuss aging policy issues, guide state government readiness, and promote increased community preparedness for an aging Texas population.

Under the executive order, DADS is directed to form an advisory committee to advise the department and to make recommendations to state leadership on implementation of the Aging Texas Well Initiative. DADS will create and disseminate a comprehensive and effective working plan to identify and discuss aging policy issues, guide state government readiness and promote increased community preparedness for an aging Texas.

DADS will also lead a planning effort to ensure the readiness of all Texas state agencies to serve an aging population by identifying issues, current initiatives, and future needs.

Individuals

How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are? — Satchel Paige

This website includes many subjects related to aging well. While you look through the list of life areas on the left, ask yourself:

  • How am I preparing?
  • What services, programs, and resources are available to me?
  • What do I need?

The site also includes resources to help you:

Communities

We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community... Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs of others, for their sakes and for our own. —Cesar Chavez

Texas has more than 2.7 million residents over the age of 60; within 25 years, there will be an estimated 7.4 million Texans over the age of 60.

If they are to serve this growing population, community leaders have the responsibility to take action now to start creating an infrastructure that supports successful aging. A critical step along this path is to assess the community's social infrastructure.

In addition to an overview of aging, this website includes five steps to becoming an Aging Texas Well community:

  1. Understanding the Key Principles of Community Assessment
  2. Defining Your Community and Areas of Focus
  3. Form the Community Assessment Team
  4. Assess Where You Are Today
  5. Plan for Your Future

 

For more information about the Aging Texas Well Initiative, please contact Michael Wilson, PhD.

 

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Updated: July 24, 2008

 

In the News

Stakeholder Recommendations to Improve Recruitment, Retention, and the Perceived Status of Paraprofessional Direct Service Workers in Texas

Stakeholder Recommendations to Improve Recruitment, Retention, and the Perceived Status of Paraprofessional Direct Service Workers in Texas is the product of the Texas Direct Service Workforce (DSW) Initiative. The report includes background information about the DSW, methods used to collect and analyze stakeholder input and 14 overarching recommendations stakeholders made to improve workforce turnover and the perceived status of the paraprofessional DSW in Texas (June 2008).

Kaiser Commission Releases New Long-term Services and Supports Report

For the foreseeable future, Medicaid will remain the major financing system for long-term services and supports in our nation, and the only one addressing the needs of low-income Americans. Cost concerns drive much of the policy discussion concerning Medicaid’s role as a provider of long-term care, but as in other areas of health care, there is increasing focus on quality and indicators that can be used to evaluate quality of care across providers and settings. Innovations in program design that allow coverage of a broad continuum of services and supports, more consumer involvement, and expansions in access (e.g., buy-in provision for higher income families of disabled children) are currently counterbalanced by a confusing array of eligibility criteria, inequities in access to services across and within states, and financial standards that require impoverishment to qualify. The needs for long-term services and supports that Medicaid addresses will not lessen in coming years; they will likely grow. The challenges for those who finance, design and provide long-term care under the Medicaid program are to align incentives to ensure access, meet needs, and provide cost-effective high quality services and supports to low-income elderly and disabled Americans. Read the report.

A Booklet About Being Diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease or a Related Disorder Available from NIA

A new booklet specifically for people dealing with the beginning stages of dementia is now available from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) Alzheimer's Disease Education and Referral (ADEAR) Center.

What Happens Next? was developed by the members of an early-stage support group at the Northwestern University Alzheimer's Disease Center in Chicago who chose to share their thoughts and feelings because they wanted to help others like themselves. Readers will find firsthand views about diagnosis, what to expect, how to talk with others about the disease and more.

The 12-page booklet also includes a list of helpful organizations that offer written materials about dementia, information about support groups and services, and ways to get involved in research that may help others in the future. To preview or order a copy, the NIA website.