Community and Home Options to Institutional Care for the Elderly and Disabled (CHOICE) Program

Community and Home Options to Institutional Care for the Elderly and Disabled (CHOICE) Program is sponsored by Indiana Area Agencies on Aging (Administered by the State of Indiana). The CHOICE program provides home- and community-based services to assist individuals aged 60 or older, or those with a disability, in maintaining their independence in their own homes or communities.

Services are for individuals found to be at risk of losing independence.

In-Home Support Services (CHOICE Program) | CICOA In-Home Support Services (CHOICE) Indiana’s Community and Home Options to Institutional Care for the Elderly and Disabled (CHOICE) Program In-Home Support Services (CHOICE Program) Indiana’s Community and Home Options to Institutional Care for the Elderly and Disabled (CHOICE) Program is a resource that eligible individuals are using to receive support services in their homes.

Services provided may include: various therapies provided in the home access to adult day programs in the community and other services necessary to prevent residential placement into nursing homes, group homes, state hospitals and other large group living facilities. The state of Indiana has funded CHOICE for all 92 counties since July 1, 1992, as part of a statewide IN-Home Services Program.

The IN-Home Services Program brings together funding from CHOICE, Title III of the Older Americans Act, Social Services Block Grant, Older Hoosiers Account, Medicaid Waivers and local funding.

The program serves those who are 60 years of age or older and persons with disabilities of all ages who are eligible due to long-term or lifelong limitations such as: dependence on others to bathe, dress, eat, or go to the bathroom; limitations in ability to express personal needs and/or understand the communication of others; limitations in learning and maintaining self care, communication, social and/or domestic skills; limitations in the ability to move purposefully between environments; and limitations in the ability to make decisions, show acceptable judgment, and/or recognize the consequences of one’s actions.

The program is available regardless of income , but there is a basic fee or cost share for services based on a sliding fee scale . The CHOICE program is accessed by contacting the local Area Agency on Aging office for the county in which the applicant resides. Eligibility is based on meeting the conditions listed on the Long-Term Care Services Eligibility Form.

The Eligibility Form first looks at previously determined severe, complex and unstable medical conditions. In addition, other substantial medical conditions are assessed which may limit Activities of Daily Living (ADL). Activities of Daily Living include tasks such as bathing, eating, dressing, using the toilet, taking medication, and ambulation and mobility.

Significant deterioration in the previous six months is also taken into consideration. Beginning in 1995 with the passing of House Act 1382, individuals limited in two Activities of Daily Living are eligible for the CHOICE Program.

If you are interested in more information about and/or applying for CHOICE, or any of the other IN-Home Services (including Medicaid Waivers), please contact the Area Agency on Aging (AAA) office for your county or the state office at 1-800-986-3505. To complete the application process, make an appointment with the appropriate staff at the local AAA.

The actual appointment can take place in your home, at the AAA office, or at any agreed upon community location. Services through the CHOICE Program are only one component in an array of In-Home Services that contributes to the ability of Hoosiers who are elderly and/or disabled to live in their own homes and maintain successful lives in their local communities.

Unfortunately, most of the 16 Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) have waiting lists. The good news is that there are statewide commissions, task forces and other advocacy groups committed to addressing this issue. –Wheeler, M.

(2003). Indiana’s Community and Home Options to Institutional Care for the Elderly and Disabled (CHOICE) program. The Reporter, 8(2), 17.

This article was taken from the website for the Indiana Resource Center for Autism (IRCA). The CHOICE Program in Central Indiana If you live in Boone, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Johnson, Marion, Morgan or Shelby county, contact CICOA's Aging & Disability Resource Center to begin the process of options counseling and determining eligibility for CHOICE.

Call the Aging & Disability Resource Center: (317) 803-6131 or (800) 432-2422 Submit an Online Request Form Schedule an In-Person Options Counseling Appointment If you are seeking information on behalf of someone else, please have them available during the phone appointment to provide consent for screening or services, or notify the individual that you are making this referral and that CICOA will contact them by phone.