·State program
Maine ADRC, Area Agency on Aging, and 211 Resource Navigation
Maine caregivers can use Maine's Aging and Disability Resource Centers, Area Agencies on Aging, Maine Access Navigator, Office of Aging and Disability Services, and 211 Maine to find aging, disability, caregiver, long-term services and supports, respite, home care, meals, transportation, housing, food, heating, financial assistance, health care, and community resource referrals.
What it offers
Maine's five Area Agencies on Aging serve as one-stop-shops for older adults, individuals with disabilities, and care partners who have questions about in-home, community-based, and institutional services. Maine DHHS Office of Aging and Disability Services says the five AAAs are also Aging and Disability Resource Centers that provide information and assistance for public or private long-term care resources, serve professionals and individuals planning for future long-term care needs, and act as the entry point to publicly administered long-term supports funded by Medicaid, the Older Americans Act, and state programs. Maine ADRCs serve older adults, people with disabilities, and care partners with long-term care community or program needs. The Maine Access Navigator Tool helps older Mainers, family members, and care partners identify needs in nutrition, safety, money management, transportation, in-home support, and more; users can share results with a local ADRC so a trained specialist can help connect them with services and programs. Maine DHHS lists ADRC services including information and referrals for transportation, housing, home care, assistive technology, food pantries, meals, fall prevention, chronic disease management, Alzheimer's respite, adult day care, legal services, employment training, health insurance counseling, options counseling, advocacy, and care partner support services. 211 Maine supports older adults and people with disabilities by providing referrals and information for services and supports, including employment supports, community meals, respite care, home health care, transportation, homemaker services, housing, heat, food, and other non-emergency services.
Questions that decide eligibility
GiveCare prepares the questions; the program makes the decision. Bring these to the call or the application:
- 01
Does the person receiving care live in Maine?
Residency is usually the first thing a program checks.
- 02
Does your relationship to the person — spouse, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, other relative, or non relative — count for this program?
- 03
Does the VA disability rating meet the program’s minimum (our record lists null%)?
- 04
Do the work hours meet the minimum (our record lists null hours)?
- 05
Is there a caregiver-specific department, coordinator, or support line? Ask for it by name.
Many agencies have one that isn’t advertised on the website.
- 06
What documents do you need from us to start an application?
- 07
Is there a waitlist right now, and how long is it?