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                              Information and Assistance

Western Illinois Area Agency on Aging directly assists older adults (60+), their caregivers and families, grandparents (55+) raising grandchildren, persons with disabilities and others by providing Information and Assistance. Staff is trained to be aware of service options and uses a vast array of available resources including the Internet, the ESP resource data base and more in order to assist persons in locating and linking to information and services in their area. 

Definition:

A service for older individuals that:

A. provides the individuals with current information on opportunities and services available to the individuals within their communities, including information relating to assistive technology; 

B. assesses the problems and capacities of the individuals; 

C. links the individuals to the opportunities and services that are available; 

D. to the maximum extent practicable, ensures that the individuals receive the services needed by the individuals, and are aware of the opportunities available to the individuals, by establishing adequate follow-up procedures. The service may be initiated by an older person, caregiver or service provider. 

Service Activities May Include: 

1. Provision of specific information about appropriate community resources which meet the immediate expressed need, including information relating to assistive technology; 

2. Provision of assistance to older persons (or their caregivers) to identify their needs and to place them in contact with appropriate community resources or service providers; 

3. Assessment of the problems and capacities of the individual; 

4. Follow-up activities conducted with older persons and/or agency(ies) to determine whether services have been received and the identified need has been met following the formal referral; and 

5. Expansion of information and assistance services on a 24 hour (if needed) emergency basis during times of disaster (e.g., flooding, hot weather, tornadoes, severe weather, man made emergencies, etc.) to assure older persons are safe and have access to services to meet their needs.
                     Western Illinois Area Agency on Aging
                                                
729 34th Ave
Rock Island IL 61201
(800) 322-1051