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BACKGROUND

Congress created the Alzheimer’s Disease 

Supportive Services Program (ADSSP) in 1992 

to encourage States to: 

• Develop models of assistance for 

persons with Alzheimer’s Disease and 

Related Dementias (ADRD) and their 

family caregivers. 

• Encourage close coordination and 

incorporation of ADRD services into 

the broader home and community-based 

care system. 

In 1998, Congress transferred the administration 

of the program to the Administration on Aging 

(AoA) in an effort to ensure coordination with 

other programs for older Americans.

There is no cure for ADRD; however, there are 

effective strategies to help maintain cognitive 

function, reduce behavioral symptoms, prevent 

acute care crises and excess disability, and 

delay functional decline as well as nursing 

home placement. ADRD exists on a continuum 

that begins before diagnosis and lasts through 

cognitive and functional decline to eventual 

total disability and death.

Although not a normal part of aging, 1 in 7 

persons over 65 and nearly half of those over 85 

may have ADRD. At least 10 million baby 

boomers will develop Alzheimer’s disease in 

their lifetimes—twice as many people as the 

number estimated to have the disease today. An 

additional 4 million baby boomers will develop 

a related dementia. Although ADRD eventually 

results in death, the disease can progress for 

years. A person with ADRD lives an average of 

5 years, but can live as many as 20 years or 

more from the onset of symptoms.

PROGRAM MISSION

The mission of the ADSSP is to expand the 

availability of diagnostic and support services 

for persons with ADRD, their families, and 

their caregivers, as well as to improve the 

responsiveness of the home and communitybased care system to persons with dementia. 

The program focuses on serving hard-to-reach 

and underserved persons with ADRD and their 

family caregivers using proven and innovative 

models.

EVIDENCE-BASED MODELS 

AoA’s evidence-based ADRD programs closely 

replicate specific interventions that have been 

tested through randomized-controlled clinical 

trials with the results published in peerreviewed journals.

As a result of rigorous research and clinical 

trials, there are evidence-based programs that 

improve the health and wellbeing of persons 

with ADRD and/or their caregivers. 

Interventions currently being translated through 

the ADSSP include: Resources for Enhancing 

Alzheimer's Caregiver Health (REACH) II, 

Savvy Caregiver, STAR-Caregiver, Reducing 

Disability in Alzheimer’s Disease (RDAD), the 

New York University Caregiver Intervention 

(NYUCI), Coping with Caregiving, and the 

Cleveland Managed Care Demonstration. 

Information about these and other evidencebased interventions can be found in the ADSSP 

Resource Compendium, available online at: 

Alzheimer’s Disease Support Services Program
http://www.aoa.gov/AoARoot/AoA_Programs/

HPW/Alz_Grants/compendium.aspx

SYSTEMS INTEGRATION PROGRAMS

AoA’s Systems Integration programs focus on 

integration of a statewide set of programs that 

includes a Single Entry Point/No Wrong Door 

access for individuals. These programs also 

promote access to a comprehensive, sustainable 

set of high quality services relevant to the 

population residing in the state’s service area, 

with an emphasis on incorporating dementia 

capability into these services.

FOR

INNOVATIVE PRACTICES

AoA’s innovative Alzheimer’s programs use a 

variety of unique approaches to improving the 

delivery of supportive services at the 

community-level to people with ADRD and 

their family caregivers. These programs aim to: 

1) enable individuals with ADRD to remain 

living in the community longer; 2) provide 

services for those in the early stages of ADRD; 

and 3) reform state systems so that they are 

better equipped to serve persons with dementia 

and their caregivers in efficient and cost 

effective ways. 

AOA GRANT PROGRAM

Between 2008 and 2011, AoA funded 80 

ADSSP projects across the nation. These 

awards continue to advance the ADSSP mission 

by supporting the development of coordinated 

supportive services for persons with ADRD and 

their family caregivers. 

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

The AoA funds a National Resource Center to 

provide technical assistance to ADSSP grantees. 

This assistance includes national meetings, 

monthly conference calls, and individual 

consultation. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

For additional information and for current 

ADSSP funding opportunities, please visit 

http://www.aoa.gov or contact Erin Long at

erin.long@acl.hhs.gov 

For more information about ACL

U.S. Department of Health and Human 

Services, Administration for Community 

Living, Washington DC 20201

Phone: (202) 619 – 0724

Fax: (202) 357 – 3555

Email: ACLinfo@acl.hhs.gov

Web: http://www.aoa.gov