New Jersey is home to a growing and diverse older adult population that shares the common desire to maintain their independence and live in the community for as long as possible with the assistance of accessible, high-quality long-term services and supports as, and when, necessary.  Helping them along are programs administered by the Department of Human Services and its partners in the aging and disability network.
 
The Division of Aging Services (DoAS) receives federal funding through the Older Americans Act and serves as the focal point for planning services for older adults, developing comprehensive information about New Jersey’s older adult population and its needs, and maintaining information about services available throughout the state.  Their website provides information for:

• Getting Answers, where you will find out whom to contact at the State or in your community to learn about and access senior and caregiver services.
  
  
• Staying Healthy, where you will get information about Medicare options, nutrition, health education and other programs that help you maintain and improve your health.
  
  
• Getting Help at Home, where the division details programs that help people in need of long-term care services get help in their home or a community setting rather than in a nursing home.
  
  
• Staying Safe, where information on how vulnerable adults living at home or in institutions are protected from abuse, neglect and exploitation.

DoAS provides oversight of the home and community-based programs provided by or through New Jersey’s 21 county offices on aging known as the Area Agencies on Aging (AAA).  Services available at AAAs may include information and assistance, outreach, transportation, case management, homemaker, visiting nurse, respite, telephone reassurance, hospice, escorted transportation, adult day care, legal assistance, education, and caregiver support. Meals provided in a group setting and delivered to the home are also available through the AAAs.

Access to some of these programs is through NJ Save, an online application to help low-income seniors and individuals with disabilities save money on Medicare premiums, prescription costs, and other living expenses.

The Aging & Disability Resource Connection (ADRC) website provides information on federal, state and local programs and services.

The State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) provides free help to New Jersey Medicare beneficiaries who have problems with, or questions about their health insurance.

The Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services (DMAHS) administers Medicaid services in New Jersey.  Medicaid provides healthcare coverage for low-income seniors and for individuals needing the level of care typically provided in a nursing home, whether those services are provided in an institutional setting or at home.

The Division of Family Development (DFD) administers the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program which helps seniors with low incomes pay for nutritious food items.