Disability Awareness Training (Aging)

Grantee: New York State Office for the Aging (NYSOFA)

Grant Summary:

In this two-year grant project, New York State Office for the Aging (NYSOFA) will develop and implement a Disability Awareness Training curriculum and a Train-the-Trainer model for the Area Agency on Aging (AAA) network in NYS. NYSOFA currently oversees AAAs and communicates with the entire network regarding emerging needs, directives, and other programmatic and administrative technical support.

The intent of this project is to help prepare NYSOFA for the ever-increasing aging population who have I/DD. NYSOFA will work with a small number of select AAAs to pilot the curriculum and determine how to best implement the project on a larger scale. NYSOFA will also facilitate the hiring of a AAA coordinator who will handle the complex cases. More specifically, the AAA Coordinator will assist clients in obtaining appropriate services and bridge the gap between the aging, disability, and other service systems. NYSOFA will also develop and implement a Train-the-Trainer model to expand the capacity of services provided beyond the grant. The select AAA organizations will collect information for evaluation purposes and NYSOFA will provide technical assistance as needed. NYSOFA will promote any materials developed through toolkits, webinars, information on NYSOFA’s website, etc. to continue the education and availability of resources beyond the grant.

Key Activities:

• Develop and implement a Disability Awareness Training curriculum a Train-the-Trainer model for the NYS AAA network.
• Build AAA and broader systems capacity to support the needs of aging people with I/DD and/or the needs of family caregivers.
• Track the reach of the training and its efficacy and explore modes for sustainability and expansion of the training and material

Project Details:

Total Funding: $300,000

Project Length: 2 Years

Contract Start: January 1, 2020

Geographic Reach: Statewide

Current Status: Complete