Doing for Themselves. An Evaluation Study of Title XX Community Group Services for the Elderly

摘要

This report examines programmatic aspects of adult day care and companionship and therapeutic recreation services for low - income older citizens in South Carolina. Information was collected from interviews with the service agencies' directors, case managers, and a sample of the service recipients. Additional information was obtained from agency records and from statistics on nursing home admissions. Adult day care services were found to improve the elderly clients' quality of life by providing goal - oriented activities and skills improvement. Approximately 20 percent of the clients became able to function more independently as a result of the service. Most clients attended the centers for a period of two to three years; termination statistics indicated that such services succeeded in avoiding or delaying admission to nursing homes. Companionship and therapeutic recreation services received positive ratings from clients interviewed, but effectiveness measures were difficult to establish because of the great variety of programs and ambiguity of goals. Among general recommendations for future improvements were standardization of client eligibility criteria and better integration of State and local programming. County Councils on Aging were found to be the most efficient among types of agencies delivering community group social services to the elderly and should be given priority consideration in developing new adult day care and recreation programs. Appendices include interview guides used in the study.