Mission
M4A is a planning board comprised of Area Agency on Aging Directors that advocates on elder issues. M4A is a resource for the Areas on Aging, and a focal point for state and national issues on aging. We exist to provide leadership, statewide unity on aging issues, and to provide planning to meet the needs of Montana’s aging population.
Of the ten Are Agencies on Aging, seven are nonprofit organizations or embedded within a parent nonprofit organization and three are incorporated into county government: Cascade, Flathead, and Hill. Each agency offers services in accordance with the Older Americans Act of 1965 (Currently 42 U.S.C. Chapter 35) using varied revenue sources including federal funding, levies, donations, and private contributions.
History
Montana’s Area Agencies on Aging Association formed in 1974 to strengthen the efforts of individual Agencies. M4A supports the Area Agencies on Aging in their efforts to implement measures required by the Older Americans Act of 1965 and the Montana Older Americans Act of 1987. Today, this important legislation provides an appropriation to states which allocate the funding to Area Agencies on Aging with the expectation that services are provided to older individuals with the greatest economic and social need with particular attention to low-income minority individuals, individuals with limited English proficiency, and individuals residing in rural areas.
The Older Americans Act of 1965 outlined guiding principles for society’s response to an aging population and is still maintained in federal statutes within 42 U.S.C. Chapter 35. Within the Older Americans Act, Congress declared that it is responsibility of the governments to assist our older people to secure equal opportunity to the full and free enjoyment of the following entitlements:
- Retirement in health, honor, dignity—after years of contribution to the economy.
- Adequate retirement income.
- The best possible physical and mental health which science can make available and without regard to economic status.
- Housing that is selected, designed and located with reference to special needs and available at costs which older citizens can afford.
- Full restoration services for those who require institutional care, and a comprehensive array of community-based, long-term care services.
- Support to family members and other persons providing voluntary care to older individuals needing long-term care services.
- Opportunity for employment without age discrimination.
- Participating in and contributing to meaningful activity within the widest range of civic, cultural, education and training and recreational opportunities.
- Efficient community services, including access to low-cost transportation.
- Freedom, independence, and the free exercise of individual initiative in planning and managing their own lives, full participation in the planning and operation of community-based services and programs provided for their benefit, and protection against abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
Accomplishments
- Increased capacity to provide information and assistance to individuals in need of long-term care services
- Developed relationships with Independent Living Centers and Senior Centers for opportunities to train and provide assistance to persons with disabilities
- Expanded outreach and public education on long-term care topics
- Implemented a formal client screening / assessment process for service eligibility
- Supported Medicaid expansion in Montana
- Developed and implemented the Options Counseling program