Administration on Aging 

Release of the FY 2011 Budget Request to Congress 

Monday, February 1, 2010

On February 1, 2010, the Administration on Aging’s (AoA) Fiscal Year 2011 budget request to 

Congress of $1.624 billion was released as part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human 

Services (HHS) budget request. The AoA FY 2011 budget request, an increase of 

$108.4 million above the FY 2010 enacted level, will help expand support for AoA’s core 

services programs that focus on keeping seniors healthy and in their communities, 

address and support the needs of caregivers, and protect older Americans from financial 

fraud and all forms of abuse and neglect. 

Of the increase, $102.5 million will be directed to a caregiver initiative -- an initiative 

stemming from the work of the White House Task Force on Middle Class Families -- to 

expand help to families to allow them to better care for their aging relatives and to 

support seniors trying to remain independent in their communities. The Caregiver 

Initiative was announced by President Obama at a meeting of the Task Force on January 

25, 2010 (http://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/video/key-investments-middleclass-families):

“Better support for family caregivers is critical since their availability often determines 

whether an older person can remain in his or her home,” remarked Kathy Greenlee, 

Assistant Secretary for Aging. “The extra funding will support services for nearly 

200,000 additional caregivers and provide 3 million more hours of respite care.”

This initiative does not create new programs, but instead builds on the successful network 

of agencies in local communities across the country -- Area Agencies on Aging and 

Aging and Disability Resource Centers -- that already provide critical help to seniors and 

caregivers. The Caregiver Initiative provides an additional $50 million (including $2 

million for services to Native Americans) for caregiver services and temporary respite 

care -- such as several days at a residential facility, when appropriate -- so that 

caregivers can get a much needed break. The Caregiver Services program also helps 

families retrofit their homes to accommodate the special needs of an aging family 

member, provides a peer support network for caregivers, and helps link caregivers and 

seniors to other supportive services. 

The Caregiver Initiative also provides an additional $50 million for Home and 

Community-Based Supportive Services (including $2 million for related services for 

Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and Hawaiian elders) that relieve both the time and 

financial stress that caring for an aging parent or family member can bring while 

improving the quality of life for seniors. Additional services that the Initiative is 

projected to support include: 

 

an increase of 1.3 million hours of personal care assistance to seniors unable to 

perform daily activities including the services of aides who can help seniors 

bathe, cook meals, clean up the house, and buy groceries, 
 

an increase of three million more rides (and an additional 250,000 rides for Native 

American seniors) for critical daily activities such as visiting the doctor, the 

pharmacy, or grocery stores so that a family member does not have to drive the 

senior to every appointment, and 

an additional one million hours in adult day programs for those who need 

supervised and engaging activities during the day. 

The initiative also would double funding from $2.5 million to $5.0 million for the 

Lifespan Respite Care program, which provides temporary respite services to family 

caregivers of children or adults of any age with special needs. 

The President’s request also includes an additional $8.1 million for AoA nutrition 

services to ensure that millions of older adults continue to have access to a nutritious diet 

needed to stay healthy and decrease their risk of disability. Overall nutrition funding of 

$828 million will support 214 million home-delivered and congregate meals to nearly 

2.3 million elderly individuals in a variety of community settings. 

The budget also requests an additional $1.4 million for AoA programs to protect 

vulnerable elders from abuse and neglect. The increased funding will allow states to 

further develop, coordinate, enhance and carry out comprehensive statewide systems of 

elder justice and elder rights protections. 
FY 2011 Budget Overview 

(Dollars in Thousands) 

Program

FY 2009

Appropriation

FY 2009 

Recovery 

Act

FY 2010 

Appropriation

FY 2010

Recovery 

Act

FY 2011 

President’s 

Budget 

Request

Health and Independence:

Home & Community-Based Supportive Services........... $ 361,348 $ -- $ 368,348 $ -- $ 416,348 

Congregate Nutrition Services.......................................

Services........................................

 434,269 65,000 440,783 -- 445,644 

Home-Delivered Nutrition Services............................... 214,459 32,000 217,676 -- 220,893 

Native American Nutrition & Supportive Services......... 27,208 3,000 27,708 -- 29,708 

Nutrition Services Incentive Program 1/ ........................ 161,015 -- 161,015 -- 161,015 

Preventive Health Services............................................ 21,026 -- 21,026 -- 21,026 

Subtotal, Health and Independence ............................ $ 1,219,325 $ 100,000 $ 1,236,556 $ -- $ 1,294,634 

Caregiver Services:

Family Caregiver Support Services ............................... $ 154,220 $ -- $ 154,220 $ -- $ 202,220 

Native American Caregiver Support Services ................ 6,389 -- 6,389 -- 8,389 

Alzheimer's Disease Supportive Services 

Program............................................................................

 11,464 -- 11,464 -- 11,464 

Lifespan Respite Care 2/ ............................................... 2,500 -- 2,500 -- 5,000 

Subtotal, Caregiver Services...................................... $ 174,573 $ -- $ 174,573 $ -- $ 227,073 

Protection of Vulnerable Older Americans:

Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program......................... $ 16,327 $ -- $ 16,827 $ -- $ 17,783 

Prevention of Elder Abuse & Neglect............................ 5,056 -- 5,056 -- 5,507

Subtotal, Vulnerable Older Americans....................... $ 21,383 $ -- $ 21,883 $ -- $ 23,290 

Network Support and Demonstrations:

Health and Long-Term Care Programs 3/ ...................... $ 28,000 $ -- $ 30,589 $ -- $ 30,485 

Program Innovations..................................................... 18,172 -- 19,023 -- 13,049 

Aging Network Support Activities................................ . 13,694 -- 13,694 -- 13,694 

Subtotal, Network Support and Demonstrations......... $ 59,866 $ -- $ 63,306 $ -- $ 57,228 

Program Administration ..................................................... $ 18,696 $ -- $ 19,979 $ -- $ 22,508 

Total, Discretionary Budget Authority ........................ $ 1,493,843 $ 100,000 $ 1,516,297 $ -- $ 1,624,733 

Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control 4/............................. $ 3,236 $ -- $ 3,289 $ -- $ 3,279 

Chronic Disease Self-Management Programs 5/.................. $ -- $ -- $ -- $ 32,500 $ -- 

Medicare Enrollment Assistance......................................... $ 17,500 $ -- $ -- $ -- $ -- 

Total, Program Level.................................................... $ 1,514,579 $ 100,000 $ 1,519,586 $ 32,500 $ 1,628,012 

 

1/ Includes $2,681,000 in FY 2009 budget authority and $2,544,103 in FY 2010 budget authority appropriated to AoA 

and transferred to the Department of Agriculture for commodities purchases pursuant to Public Law 110-19. 

2/ Funding for the Lifespan Respite Care Act was appropriated in FY 2009 under the General Departmental 

Management Account in the Office of the Secretary. In FY 2010 the funds were directly appropriated to AoA. This 

table is comparatively adjusted. 

3/ Funding for activities under this program was provided under Aging Network Support Activities in FY 2009 and FY 

2010. This table is comparatively adjusted. 

4/ FY 2011 is a placeholder. The Secretary and the Attorney General will determine the final amount. 

5/ $32.5 million is funding transferred from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through an intradepartmental delegation of authority as part of the Recovery Act’s $650 million “Prevention and Wellness Fund.”