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The Role and Value of Volunteers in Home- and Community-Based and Long-Term Care Programs for Older Adults

March 15, 2022

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Housekeeping

Today’s webinar will be recorded.
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Questions will be held until after the presentations.
Closed captioning is available.

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Disclaimer

This webinar is hosted in support by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), by New Editions Consulting, Inc., under contract number HHSP233201500113I/HHSP23337002T. The contents of this webinar do not necessarily represent the policy of ACL or HHS, and participants should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.

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Webinar Agenda

ACL opening remarks
ACL volunteerism study
ACL volunteerism study products
Grantee presentations
Q&A

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ACL Opening Remarks

Caryn Bruyere, Statistician, Office of Performance and Evaluation, Administration for Community Living, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

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ACL Volunteerism Study

Anne Leopold, Senior Project Manager, Research and Evaluation, New Editions Consulting, Inc.

Dr. Gilbert Gimm, Associate Professor of Health Administration and Policy at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia

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I currently serve as a Senior Project Manager for the Research and Evaluation team at New Editions Consulting, Inc. We are a small women-owned business located in Virginia that focuses, among others, on aging, disability, and health. We provide program evaluation, design and implement research studies, provide training and technical assistance, and product and web development.

In my current role, I lead several projects for the Administration for Community Living. Before that, I served as Deputy Project Director and Project Manager for several projects for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and worked as a research assistant at the NIH.

Dr. Gilbert Gimm is an Associate Professor of Health Administration and Policy at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia His research focuses on access to services for older adults and people with disabilities, program evaluations, and payment reforms. Previously, Dr. Gimm was a senior researcher at Mathematica Policy Research in Washington, DC, where he conducted program evaluations for CMS. Dr. Gimm obtained his PhD in Health Economics and Policy from the University of Pennsylvania.

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Study Context

Volunteers are basically the building block all Older Americans Act programs operate on. I just know that volunteers are essential workers to the network. They make a difference, and we couldn’t survive without volunteers as a national aging network at this time. —ACL Regional Administrator

The use of volunteers for our programs is essential. Across the board with our programs, there just isn’t enough funding to go around to support the work that needs to be done. If we did not have volunteers, we would be reaching only half of what we’re currently reaching. Volunteers are committed individuals that are able to provide services to Medicare beneficiaries at the local level, in their own communities. They are able to bring the local perspective of what’s happening in their communities. —ACL Director of the Office of Health Information Counseling

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Background

Through its programs, ACL supports and enhances efforts that enable older adults and people of all ages with disabilities to live where they choose, with the people they choose, and with the ability to participate fully in their communities. Many of these programs rely on volunteers – uncompensated individuals who provide services or supports on behalf of older individuals and/or individuals with disabilities – to provide essential services to those who need the services to enable them to live independently as long as possible. For instance, supporting Older Americans Act programs, volunteers

Assist at group meal sites and in delivering meals to home-bound seniors;
Escort and transport older persons to health care services;
Repair and weatherize the homes of low-income and frail older persons;
Counsel seniors in a variety of areas including health, nutrition, legal matters, and financial concerns; and
Serve as nursing home ombudsmen to help ensure the safety and well-being of residents in long-term care facilities.

While it is generally known that a large percentage of individuals who provide services funded through ACL programs are volunteers, we don’t know enough much about how ACL program grantees use volunteers, what need(s) they fill, and economic value volunteers provide to ACL programs.

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Study Aim

Examine the role of volunteers in and their contribution to Older Americans Act (OAA) Title III and Title VII Long-term Care Ombudsman Program (LTCOP) and the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP)

Volunteer work: Unpaid noncompulsory work—that is, time individuals give without pay to activities performed through an organization outside their own household (International Labour Office, 2011).

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Study Methods

Qualitative Data

38 interviews with ACL staff, grantees, and volunteers

Quantitative Data

National ACL program-level data for OAA Title III, OAA Title VII LTCOP, and SHIP (aggregate data for all U.S. states and territories)
Local program-level data from OAA and State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) grantees—i.e., area agencies on aging (AAAs) and local service providers (N=6)

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Data Collection

Used qualitative and quantitative data

Qualitative Data

Conducted interviews with 38 participants

21 ACL participants
17 Grantee program participants (including volunteers)

ACL staff discussed the role of volunteers, their economic value, and effective practices for using volunteers.
Grantee program staff shared details about their use of volunteers (e.g., number of volunteers, number of hours contributed, volunteer roles) and share lessons learned for recruiting, screening, training, and retaining volunteers.

Quantitative Data

Exported existing national level aggregate data from ACL related to volunteers
Obtained local level data from grantee programs on their use of volunteers

National level Data

Annual Title III and Title VII LTCOP data from the ACL program data portal (AGID) FY 2015-2019
FY 2019 is October 1, 2018 – September 30/2019
Annual SHIP data from the User Resource Report for GY 2019
SHIPs report data by grant year, which includes the period from April through March of the following year: GY 2019 is April 1, 2019 – March 31, 2020.

Local level Data

Interviewed staff from 9 grantee programs that use volunteers to provide ACL-funded services and supports as part of OAA Title III, OAA Title VII LTCOP, or SHIP.
Staff were asked about the number of volunteers and the total number of hours volunteers contributed in 2019.
Programs that tracked these data provided them either during the interviews or in follow-up emails.
If no data for 2019 were available, program staff were asked to provide their best estimate based on existing data from other years.
Six of the nine interviewed programs were able to provide volunteer data. (One program [Healthy Living for ME] was able to provide data about its own use of volunteers as well as for the AAA it contracts with [Maine AAA]).
They included three OAA Title III programs, one OAA Title VII LTCOP, and two SHIPs.
Interviews were also conducted with 6 volunteers (2 HDM, 2 LTCOP, 2 SHIP).

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Qualitative Analysis

Information and quotes about the role of volunteers, their importance to programs, the benefits they provide, and the benefit they receive (Volunteer Stories Brief)
Effective volunteer practices implemented by grantee programs and recommendations generated (Effective Volunteer Practices guide)

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Quantitative Analysis

Stage 1: Gathered existing data to calculate total volunteer hours and share of labor effort (full-time equivalents, or FTEs)
Stage 2: Based on the results in Stage 1, estimated the total value of volunteers, using a single, standard wage assumption

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Transition to Gil

To estimate the economic value of volunteers, we applied a two-stage analytic approach.

The first stage included an analysis of the data to estimate the average number of hours per month that a volunteer contributes to each program at the national level (i.e., OAA Title III program, OAA Title VIl LTCOP, and SHIP) and the local level.

Due to data gaps (e.g., Title III does not collect data about the number of volunteers) and differences in reporting across the programs, each program-specific data source was assessed separately.
To the extent feasible, based on available data, we then examined the share of the total labor effort (volunteers and paid staff) that was performed by volunteers for each program.
Because the vast majority of volunteers in these programs are likely to work part-time, the unit of analysis was total hours worked or number of FTEs rather than numbers of volunteers.

In the second stage of analysis, we used results from stage one to estimate the economic value of volunteer labor for the programs.

This analysis applied a replacement cost approach (based on observed market proxies of wages) to develop the estimates.
Conceptually, this approach involves the following hypothetical question: If there were no volunteers today, how many paid staff members would need to be hired (or paid staff hours diverted) to replace the work activities performed by volunteers, and what would their wage be to do the same work as volunteers?
Since finding the actual wage for paid workers is not feasible, given the scope and design of this brief study, we used a generalist wage assumption ($27.20) based on existing studies in the literature.
This generalist wage is a national estimate of the value of volunteer time that was established by Independent Sector (Independent Sector, 2020).
It is based on the annual average hourly earnings (not seasonally adjusted) for all production and nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls, plus an increase for the value of fringe benefits (15.7% for 2019) (Independent Sector, 2019). The annual earnings estimate was obtained from the Current Employment Statistics database, which is maintained by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2021).
If we assume that LSPs would continue to provide the same level of services currently provided, which would include all the services being provided by volunteers, then using a replacement wage rate as the average hourly wage rate is appropriate.

Note: We used the Independent Sector value for the economic valuation rather than federal ($7.25) and state minimum wages, which are much lower, as it is a more appropriate wage assumption. According to efficiency wage theory (Campbell, 1993; Katz, 1986), there are productivity and efficiency benefits to paying workers above the market wage. Based on labor economic models, it has been shown that higher wages improve workers’ productivity and deter workers from leaving, thereby reducing turnover rates. At the minimum wage level, workers may be less committed to their jobs and more likely to leave. Essentially, if a company pays market price for wages, then the cost to each worker of losing their job is essentially the cost of finding a new job. If the company pays its workers more than market price, however, then the cost to each worker of losing their job will be substantially higher, so turnover will be lower.

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National Results

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OAA Title III Volunteer Roles

What do OAA Title III volunteers do?

Deliver meals to individuals’ homes
Serve food at congregate meal sites
Teach health promotion and disease prevention classes
Provide legal assistance
Organize activities in senior centers
Support family caregivers
Provide transportation, assistance, and much more …

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OAA Title III Volunteer Contribution

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Supporting the Older Americans Act Title III program in FY 2019 to provide the services were 24,642 Area Agency on Aging (AAA) paid staff FTEs and 31,234 AAA volunteer FTEs.
Volunteers contributed approximately 62,467,200 hours to OAA Title III AAAs in FY 2019.
OAA Title III program services were provided primarily by AAA volunteers: unpaid volunteers represented a greater share (56%) of total FTEs than paid workers (24,642 paid staff FTEs, or 44%).
Based on the estimated hours contributed by OAA Title III volunteers in FY 2019, the economic value of AAA volunteers was equal to approximately $1.7 billion for that fiscal year. This represents a very large economic value, considering that federal funding for OAA Title III was just $1.49 billion in FY 2019. In fact, the value provided by OAA Title III AAA volunteers exceeded federal funding for the program.

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Volunteer and Paid Staff Title III AAA FTE Counts FY 2015–2019, States, DC, and Territories

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Findings

OAA Title III programs increased their reliance on unpaid volunteers between FY 2015 and 2019

With FY 2019 seeing the highest number of volunteer hours donated (an estimated 62,467,200 hours) to provide the services and supports. This represents an almost 45% increase in volunteer hours from FY 2015
AAA volunteer FTE counts were greater than AAA paid staff FTEs for 3 of the 5 years, and the number of AAA volunteer FTEs has been increasing since 2017; while the number of paid staff FTEs remained relatively flat or declined

Data Notes

FTEs provided by AGID
For OAA Title III, staffing data include FTE counts for AAA volunteers and paid staff.
Data on head counts of volunteers and paid staff are not collected.
Total number of volunteer hours = FTE count of volunteers multiplied by 2000 hours.
Full chart description:

2015: Volunteer FTEs (17,727), Total Paid staff FTEs (24,335)
2016: Volunteer FTEs (28, 517), Total Paid staff FTEs (24,675)
2017: Volunteer FTEs (24, 380) Total Paid staff FTEs (26, 207)
2018: Volunteer FTEs (25, 951), Total Paid staff FTEs (25, 943)
2019: Volunteer FTEs (31, 234 (circled)), Total Paid staff FTEs (24,642)

The high AAA volunteer FTE counts are driven by 5 states each year; the volunteer FTE count would be much small compared to the paid staff FTE count if data from these states were removed (for some years [2015; 2017; 2019] volunteer FTE counts would be about half of the paid staff FTE counts if the data from these states were removed)

2015: Arkansas, California, Indiana, Oregon, and Pennsylvania
2016: Arkansas, California, Florida, Indiana, and Pennsylvania
2017: California, Florida, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Utah
2018: California, Florida, Massachusetts, Oregon, and Pennsylvania
2019: California, Florida, Missouri, Nebraska, and Vermont

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OAA Title VII LTCOP Volunteer Roles

What do OAA Title VII LTCOP volunteers do?

Conduct long-term care facility visits
Interact with residents, resident representatives, and staff to help meet residents’ needs
Educate residents about their rights
Help solve problems and address resident complaints

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OAA Title VII LTCOP Volunteer Contribution

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Volunteer and Paid Staff LTCOP FTE Counts FY 2015–2019, States, DC, and Territories

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Findings

OAA Title VII LTCOP has decreased use of unpaid volunteer ombudsmen over time. For example, volunteer ombudsmen FTE counts were smaller than paid staff FTE counts for all 5 federal fiscal years (FY 2015–2019).
These counts steadily decreased from 354 FTEs in FY 2015 to 257 FTEs in FY 2019, a 27% decline in FTEs over 5 years. The number of paid staff FTE counts remained relatively flat over time.

Data Notes

“Ombudsman” refers to the State Ombudsman. All other staff that perform duties of the Office are “designated representatives of the Office” although many use the term “ombudsman” in practice. The National Ombudsman Reporting System uses the term “certified” rather than “designated.” Volunteer data represent data for certified volunteer ombudsmen (not other volunteers).
FTEs: Total hours/2000.
Chart data:

2015: Volunteer FTEs (354) and Paid Staff (1,301)
2016: Volunteer FTEs (305) and Paid Staff (1,320)
2017: Volunteer FTEs (296) and Paid Staff (1,319)
2018: Volunteer FTEs (272) and Paid Staff (1,297)
2019: Volunteer FTEs (257 (circled)) and Paid Staff (1,362)

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SHIP Volunteer Roles

What do SHIP volunteers do?

Conduct outreach to Medicare beneficiaries to provide education, answer questions, troubleshoot, and assist with enrollment
Provide one-on-one assistance to assess client health services needs and match them with health plans
Give public presentations at education or training events
Recruit and train new team members

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SHIP Volunteer Contribution

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Supporting the program in grant year 2019 were 2,651 staff paid through SHIP, 4,495 staff paid in kind (=1,308 paid FTEs), and 6,403 volunteer workers.
Volunteers donated 1,027,358 hours of their time, equating to approximately 514 volunteer FTE workers.
On average, each volunteer contributed 13.4 hours of work per month to the program, or 160.5 hours per year.
Based on SHIP FTE data, volunteers contributed about 28.2% of the total annual labor for the SHIP in grant year 2019.
Based on the hours contributed by SHIP volunteers, the economic value of volunteers was equal to almost $28 million in grant year 2019. This translates into $4,364 per volunteer per year. With an average contribution of 13.4 hours of work per volunteer per month, each volunteer provided an average economic value of $364 per month.

Data Notes

SHIP data is for 2019 only; have data for one year and therefore did not examine data over time
FTEs: Total hours/2000.
“Donated” (In Kind): Anyone working with the program that is paid by a source other than SHIP—e.g., care managers at Housing and Urban Development housing who are doing SHIP work as part of their job with the housing complex.

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OAA Title III AAA Volunteer Hours and Economic Value, FY 2015–2019

Year	Estimated Volunteer Hours	Estimated Economic Value
FY 2015	35,453,400	$ 835,282,104
FY 2016	57,033,400	$1,376,786,276
FY 2017	48,760,600	$1,203,899,214
FY 2018	51,901,400	$1,319,852,602
FY 2019	62,467,200	$1,699,107,840

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OAA Title VII LTCOP Volunteer Hours and Economic Value, FY 2015–2019

Year	Estimated Volunteer Hours	Estimated Economic Value
FY 2015	708,322	$16,688,076
FY 2016	609,844	$14,721,623
FY 2017	591,362	$14,600,735
FY 2018	543,175	$13,812,935
FY 2019	514,095	$13,983,370

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Economic Value Compared to Federal Funding Levels, FY 2019

Year	Estimated Economic Value	Federal Funding	Proportion Econ. Value to Federal Funding
Title III AAA	$1.7 billion	$1.5 billion	113/100 (113%)
Title VII LTCOP	$14 million	$17 million	82/100 (82%)
SHIP	$28 million	$49 million	57/100 (57%)

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Conclusion and Implications

Volunteers play a major role in OAA programs and SHIP, which provide critical services and supports for older adults.
↑ (increase) demand: The U.S. is facing a surge in the aging population, which will increase the demand for services and supports that allow older adults to age independently (including OAA and SHIP services).
↓ (decrease) supply: Providers may face increased budget pressures since program funding has not kept pace with the increase in the aging population, potentially increasing the reliance on volunteers.
A critical question is whether the providers and their volunteer labor force can meet the growing demand for services and supports in the future.
It is more important than ever to reexamine and strengthen policies focused on supporting volunteers and determine new strategies for recruiting and retaining volunteers.

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Volunteers play a critical role in the capacity of OAA Title III programs, the OAA Title VII LTCOP, and SHIP to provide essential services to older adults (i.e., generally age 60 and older).
These programs play a vital role in helping to maintain the health and well-being of millions of seniors age 60 and older, reaching one in five older adults.
Serving these adults would not be possible without the significant and continuous contribution of volunteers, who, according to interviews of program leadership conducted as part of this study, often volunteer for these programs for up to 10–15 years.
The results from this study also indicate that, on average, volunteers for the OAA programs and SHIPs contribute more hours per month than other volunteers.
Importantly, through their commitment, OAA and SHIP volunteers represent a significant invisible labor force for these programs, providing an annual economic value of approximately $1.7 billion to OAA Title III programs, $14 million to OAA Title VII LTCOP, and $28 million to SHIP.
Given FY 2019 federal funding levels for these programs, this contribution is significant, as the value of volunteer labor exceeds the federal funding level for OAA Title III and nearly equals the federal funding level for OAA Title VII LTCOP.
Given these results, it is likely that, without volunteers, these programs at current funding levels would face great challenges in reaching those in need.
The results underscore just how essential volunteers are to these programs.
In addition, they suggest that the programs may face major challenges if they encounter a significant decrease in the volunteer workforce.
Volunteer data from FY 2020–2021 may provide insight about the potential impact of a decreased volunteer workforce because many programs have reported losing a significant number of volunteers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Additional analyses of volunteerism for OAA programs should examine the impact of COVID-19 on the number of volunteers and volunteer hours contributed to OAA programs.

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ACL Volunteerism Study Products

and the Final Study Report

https://acl.gov/programs/program-evaluations-and-reports

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The purpose of the Volunteer Stories Brief is to tell the story of volunteerism in ACL programs in the words of ACL program stakeholders: staff, grantees, and volunteers.

Based on the insights shared in interviews with 38 stakeholders, this brief highlights the role and importance of volunteers for delivering ACL program services to older adults and people with disabilities, the benefits of volunteering to recipients and volunteers, and the experiences of volunteers contributing to ACL-funded programs.

The purpose of the Effective Volunteer Practices guide is to provide examples of effective volunteer practices adopted by OAA program and SHIP grantees. It is intended for use by ACL grantees and providers to enhance the use and retention of volunteers to provide critical OAA services and health insurance counseling and assistance in their communities.

Presents specific strategies implemented and recommended by OAA program and SHIP grantees to recruit, train, engage, and retain volunteers for their programs
Also provides links to other existing volunteer resources, including the ‘SHIP Volunteer Risk and Program Management Policies (ACL, 2016)’ and the ‘National Long-Term Care Ombudsman Resource Center Volunteer Management Network (LTCOP Resource Center)

The purpose of the infographic book titled 'The Economic Value of Volunteers: Key Results from ACL Programs’ is to highlight key findings from the study in a brief format and using visuals

Link to the final study report: https://acl.gov/sites/default/files/programs/2021-08/ACL Volunteerism Study_Final Study Report August 2021.pdf

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Grantee Presentations

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Modern Maturity Center

Carolyn Fredricks, Vice President, Marketing & Development

Modern Maturity Center

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Carolyn is the Executive Director at Modern Maturity Center, a senior center in Delaware. She is a recognized leader in the Delaware non-profit sector as an expert and passionate advocate for older adults. She has been actively involved with the Modern Maturity Center since 1972. During her tenure as executive director, she has overseen three capital campaigns for major building expansions which include the medical arts building, a new adult day services facility, and a kitchen expansion. Even during the recent economic downturn, her leadership helped the Center weather the storm with not only no reduction in services, but also the expansion and development of new programs such as the Early Memory Loss program, the first of its kind in Delaware. Her vision has led to a large number of collaborations with other non-profits and representatives in the aging industry. These collaborations resulted in the passage of the Delaware Senior Trust Fund Bill which will create future funding for programs for older adults and securing additional funding for the Meals on Wheels program.

The Modern Maturity Center has been in operation for more than 51 years. It offers a wide range of recreational, social, educational and fitness opportunities for adults age 50 and above, including Meals on Wheels, adult day services and an early memory loss program. Today, it houses a 60,000+ square foot facility with a fitness center and pool, as well as a 10,000 square foot medical facility that houses an adult day services and caregiver resource center. In addition, the Center has tenants that provide on-site medical care and physical therapy.

Modern Maturity Center link: http://www.modern-maturity.org/

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Volunteers are our LIFELINE

Dover, Delaware

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Meals on Wheel Volunteers

Dover, Delaware

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Pet Food Delivery

Dover, Delaware

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Emergency Food Boxes

Dover, Delaware

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Vaccination Clinics

Dover, Delaware

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Screening & Contact Tracing

Dover, Delaware

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Our Kūpuna intro

Lynn "Vince" Abramo, Strategy and Development Director

Our Kūpuna

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Vince is the Strategy and Development Director at Our Kupuna, a nonprofit organization in Hawaii, that connects Kupuna – or elders – with sponsors who can shop & deliver groceries, medication & other necessary supplies. Vince believes in knowing your strengths, adapting to change and both will create growth. She has over 15 years of experience working in nonprofits. She completed a master’s in Public Administration and has certificates in conflict resolution, nonprofit management, leadership and communication. Volunteering is her passion and is an advisor for several nonprofits to create community and culture in organizations.

Our Kupuna was founded about two years ago as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic to provide essential services and interaction for older adults who are socially isolated. It provides delivery of essentials once every other week through community volunteers, offers a pen-pal program where high school students write to older adults once a month, a phone buddy to check in weekly with older adults, a weekly Zoom exercise classes. Our Kupuna also provides referrals to older adults seeking more support with health, financial, or housing issues.

Our Kūpuna: http://ourkupuna.com/

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Our Kūpuna

We envision a Hawaiʻi where all kūpuna (elders) have food security, access to their essentials, and are kākoʻo (supported) by nui kaiāulu (the greater community).

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Our Kūpuna Program

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Our Services and Eligibility

A 1:1 community volunteer who can provide grocery delivery 2x/month + weekly phone check-ins (kūpuna reimburse their volunteer for grocery costs)
For EBT-cardholding kupuna, we can register the volunteer to be their authorized EBT user
A phone buddy who can provide regular phone conversation
A Hawaii high school student penpal
Weekly online Zoom exercise classes, other classes TBD
Basic case management to encourage insurance-provided services

Referral from a social worker, case manager or medical professional
Lives alone: no family/friends able to offer help
No duplicate agency support
Inability to order/pay for delivery services
Unable to shop for self/mobility issues - or - Need to avoid exposure to public areas
Not bed-bound (groceries delivered to door)
Can communicate reliably with volunteer

OUR SERVICES

ELIGIBILITY

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Services we offer to kūpuna

Grocery Delivery - every 2 weeks, medication as needed

EBT assistance, as needed

Phone Buddy - talk story
Pen pal - with high school student
Online Zoom classes - exercise, starting nutrition, social, etc.
Case Management - basic, encourage insurance-provided services

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Elite Program

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Over 490 kūpuna served since March 2020

Oahu

281

Maui

90

Moloka’i

1

Hawai’i Island

75

Kauai

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Our approach to volunteer management

Fit and interest
Project Creation
Engage in varying demographics
Monthly check-ins and surveys of each volunteer
Easy in and easy out

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Mahalo

Vince Abramo

Strategy and Development Director

Our Kupuna

(808) 215-0073

vince@ourkupuna.com

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Texas Adult Protective Services �

Dr. Jason Burnett, Associate Professor, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston; Co-Director of the Texas Elder Abuse & Maltreatment (TEAM) Institute

Angela Medina, Director of Policy and Performance Management for Adult Protective Services (APS), Texas Department of Family and Protective Services

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Dr. Jason Burnett is an Associate Professor at the UTHealth McGovern Medical School in the Joan and Stanford Alexander Division of Geriatric and Palliative Medicine. He is also the Co-Director of the Texas Elder Abuse and Mistreatment Institute (a joint APS-Medical School collaboration) which engages in assessments, research, community education, and justice regarding elder mistreatment and self-neglect. He also serves as the President of the Texas Partners for Adult Protective Services and the immediate past President of the District 6 local APS board in Houston.

Angela Medina is the Director of Policy and Performance Management for Adult Protective Services (or APS) in Texas. APS investigates allegations of abuse, neglect and financial exploitation of people age 65 or older and adults with disabilities, and provides or arranges for services to alleviate the maltreatment or prevent further harm.

https://www.dfps.state.tx.us/adult_protection/

https://www.uth.edu/aging/centers-of-excellence/team-institute/

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Texas APS and the TEAM Institute

APS Volunteer Boards

Texas Partners APS Board (TXPAPS) – statewide board
25 local APS boards around the state
Educate the public about abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation

APS Resource Rooms

41 Resource Rooms serving 157 counties
Stocked by volunteers through donations, fundraising, and grants

Food, personal care items, clothing, durable medical equipment, etc.

Available 24 hours per day to APS caseworkers

TEAM Institute Study

Paired medical students with APS clients
Weekly calls
Marked decrease in loneliness and depression
Being transitioned to an ongoing program staffed by volunteers

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�Contact Information

Angela Medina, MSSW

APS Director of Policy and Performance Management

Adult Protective Services, Texas Department of Family and Protective Services

512-629-6523

angela.medina@dfps.texas.gov

dfps.state.tx.us/adult_protection

Dr. Jason Burnett

Associate Professor, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

Co-Director of the Texas Elder Abuse & Maltreatment (TEAM) Institute

713-500-3845

jason.burnett@uth.tmc.edu

uth.edu/aging/centers-of-excellence/team-institute

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State of Wisconsin Board on Aging and Long Term Care

State of Wisconsin

Volunteer Ombudsman Program

Kellie Miller, Volunteer Services Supervisor

http://longtermcare.wi.gov/

Kellie Miller is the Volunteer Services Supervisor at the Wisconsin Board on Aging and Long Term Care. Kellie has over 30 years of experience working in long term care and in volunteer management. She has been the Volunteer Services Supervisor for 24 years. As the Volunteer Services Supervisor, Kellie has provided leadership, guidance and expertise in developing and maintaining a comprehensive volunteer program for the Board on Aging and Long Term Care. Kellie is a University of Wisconsin- Madison graduate and currently lives near Madison with her Husband, Tom, and Kitty, Brie.

The Wisconsin Board on Aging and Long Term Care volunteer ombudsman program offers qualified individuals the opportunity to provide advocacy, give their time and make a difference in the lives of residents in long term care facilities in Wisconsin.

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Volunteer Ombudsman Program

Rock-solid, respected and robust State program that began in 1994 to strengthen the Ombudsman Program services
Under the State Ombudsman: All staff and Volunteer Ombudsmen (Representatives of the Office) have specific responsibilities and must strictly adhere to state and federal authority under Wis. Stat. § 16.009, section 712 of the Older Americans Act and the Federal Ombudsman Rule at 45 CFR Parts 1321 and 1324
One Supervisor with five regional Volunteer Coordinators covering 32 of 72 counties
100 Plus volunteers averaged annually serving residents 60 years and over in skilled nursing homes
Volunteer Ombudsmen are often a constant in a sea of change for nursing home residents

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Best Practices: Successfully Staying Connected

Monthly care calls to nursing homes with assigned volunteers
Monthly virtual or in-person resident council meetings & small group resident visits
October Residents Rights including voting materials and letter with photo of their Volunteer Ombudsman sent to residents
Routine care calls to individual volunteers and potential volunteers with updates
Monthly virtual in-service trainings with subject matter experts and follow up small group “coffee klatch” meetings. The 2022 year of continuing education has been planned by the Volunteer Coordinators and approved
Annual agency newsletter with spot-light stories on Volunteer Ombudsmen and their successes
Annual Volunteer Ombudsman Program recognition event and award to Volunteer Ombudsman of the year

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Virtual Impact – The Volunteers did not give up!

Adapted to virtual Resident Council meetings:
Invitations and attendance began in August 2020 via telephone for the Volunteers
Transitioning to Zoom platform
Board on Aging and Long Term Care staff training
Obtaining invites from nursing homes
Training Volunteer Ombudsmen on Zoom and practicing for comfort
“Seeing” residents and residents “seeing” their Volunteer Ombudsmen = Priceless
Residents remembering their Volunteer Ombudsman, asking to talk, and be in-person again
Residents receiving Resident’s Rights cards, seeing Volunteer Ombudsman photo poster and calling the 1-800-815-0015 for help

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Program details

VOLUNTEER OMBUDSMAN PROGRAM

Resident Centered Advocates Improving Lives

One Visit at a Time

Your Volunteer Ombudsman will Listen, Empower, and be

a Voice for You in this Home.

longtermcare.wi.gov

1-800-815-0015

Wisconsin Board on Aging and Long Term Care

Volunteer Ombudsman Program

1402 Pankratz St., Suite 111

Madison, WI 53704-4001

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Contact Information Kellie Miller

Thank you for participating in the session today

Kellie Miller

Volunteer Services Supervisor

State of Wisconsin

Board on Aging and Long Term Care

1402 Pankratz St. Suite 111

Madison, Wisconsin 53704

1-800-815-0015

Kellie.Miller@Wisconsin.gov

BOALTC@Wisconsin.gov

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Washington State Health Insurance Advisors

Sue Shearer, Statewide Health Insurance Benefits Advisors (SHIBA) Volunteer Coordinator, Enhance Wellness Nurse,

Certified Foot Care Nurse, Edmonds Waterfront Center

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Map of USA with Washington State called out

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Edmonds Waterfront Center

www.edmondswaterfrontcenter.org

Committed to providing services and programs to people of all ages.��Highlighting:�SHIBA (Statewide Health Insurance Benefits Advisors)

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Volunteers are the heart of our organization

Throughout our Center, volunteers make it possible for us to provide services we could otherwise not afford. They dedicate 400+ hours a month.

Our Thrift Store, provides a steady stream of revenue to finance programs and general overhead costs. Staffed by 60 volunteers. We were named “2021 Best Thrift Store in Washington”.
Rotating shifts of volunteers, staff our front desk to welcome visitors, answer questions, direct traffic, sell senior lunch tickets and answer calls.
40+ SHIBA volunteers work to meet the Medicare needs of seniors in Snohomish and Skagit counties.

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SHIBA (Statewide Health Insurance Advisors)�FREE and UNBIASED Medicare/Medicaid advice to seniors

Currently, in Washington, SHIBA has 185 unpaid active volunteers.
40 of those advisors work under the sponsorship of the Edmonds Waterfront Center.
Across the state of Washington, for calendar year 2021, SHIBA assisted 38,551 clients.
Volunteers donated a total of 23,156 hours during 2021.

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SHIBA volunteer advisors have provided input, ingenuity, flexibility and adaptation during the pandemic and beyond

In September 2020, SHIBA of Snohomish and Skagit county had: a new sponsor, a new Volunteer Coordinator, a pandemic, and a looming Open Enrollment season.

Snohomish/Skagit formed a “Transition Team” to coordinate plans for adaptation at all levels.
Introduced and trained advisors in Zoom and Teams.
Successfully moved advising from telephone and in-person to telephone and Zoom.
Developed Virtual In-Person (VIP) appointments to meet the needs of low-tech seniors by partnering with senior centers and using their computers for Zoom advising.
In 2022 they will provide mentoring to new advisors from other counties who do not have enough of their own staff to train.
Help other counties with call overflow.

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Q&A

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Contact Information Anne Leopold

For questions, please contact:

Anne Leopold at aleopold@neweditions.net

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Thank you!

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