NASW Alaska | The Alaska Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers

Alaska has the second-fastest rate of growth of seniors in the nation. In 2030, Alaska’s percent of senior population will be the same as it is in Florida today (15%). Our state isn’t ready for this change. Alaska’s seniors are not poor overall, although some have very low incomes. Women living alone, often widowed, are the lowest-income elders. Seniors in a marriage or in a family household have significantly higher incomes than do their Lower 48 counterparts. They have income from Social Security, their savings, health care benefits, and retirement plans. They represent an economic force the like of which Alaska has not seen before. (ISER, 2006)

Care Providers Need Education

Most care providers are family members; paid care providers are hired by non-profits and for-profits. There is no consistent education for care providers outside of the required 40 hours for Medicaid-reimbursed Personal Care Attendants. NASW Alaska Chapter supports programming that educates family and caretakers as well as paid care providers so that elders are safe in their homes and communities.

In-Home Service Providers are Unregulated

Agencies that bill Medicaid for services or which receive state grants have minimal state oversight. Those that provide services for private pay, mostly out of state franchises, have no state oversight at all. This poses a risk to vulnerable adults paying for services out of pocket. NASW Alaska Chapter supports regulation and monitoring of agencies that provide in-home services to elders.

Mixed Income Programs

Publicly-funded home and community based care programs should be based on mixed-income. Most senior service programs are oriented to the lowest-income elders in the state. While it is appropriate to provide free or Medicaid-reimbursable services to low-income elders, the industry must plan to bill seniors who can write their own checks. Ironically, government focus on low-income elders can pose restrictions for elders who have worked hard to fund their retirements. From Nome to Kodiak, elders have been forced to move out of their home communities because assisted living or independent living programs were restricted to low-income individuals only. NASW Alaska Chapter supports public funding for mixed-income senior programming.

Adult Protective Services is Understaffed & Under-Funded

Adult Protective Services staff receives reports of harm and investigates complaints about abuse and neglect of vulnerable adults aged 18+. The very small staff has one person in Juneau, another in Fairbanks, and a few in Anchorage. They have limited budget for travel and no authority to prosecute abusers of elders and people with disabilities. NASW Alaska Chapter supports increased resources for Adult Protective Services to provide effective, statewide investigation and amelioration of abuse and neglect of elders and disabled persons.

Training on Abuse & Neglect of Elders

State public health licensing regulations do not require training on abuse and neglect of elders. Elders who require personal care or any other type of personal service should have some assurance that these employees of licensed facilities know how to recognize abuse and neglect so that they can report it. The federal government is paying for a demonstration project to train Alaska’s care providers in recognizing abuse and neglect through the Division of Public Health and the UAA School of Social Work. This project ends 9/30/07. NASW Alaska Chapter supports regulations that require that all employees of licensed facilities and providers have training to recognize and report abuse and neglect of elders and vulnerable adults. NASW Alaska Chapter supports the continuation of education of all employees of licensed facilities and providers.