AARP Report Highlights State No Wrong Door Systems and Person-Centered Practices in LTSS

On March 20, the AARP Public Policy Institute released No Wrong Door: Person- and Family-Centered Practices in Long-Term Services and Supports and Checklist at the American Society on Aging conference.

States are transforming their LTSS access functions into Person-Centered No Wrong Door Systems that include an array of organizations, such as, Area Agencies on Aging, Centers for Independent Living, and state agencies such as Medicaid agencies and state units on aging. Older adults, people with disabilities, and their families can access services through these agencies in a variety of ways including in person, by telephone, and online.

The paper provides examples of how seven No Wrong Door Systems — sometimes called Aging and Disability Resource Centers — are promoting person- and family-centered practice. The paper includes a toolkit of resources and contacts for states to learn more and even replicate these practices. A checklist–specifically created for this project–provides a roadmap for states to ensure that No Wrong Door Systems operate in a person- and family-centered way.

This paper is the first in a series of promising practices and emerging innovations reports. This series is a new feature of the upcoming, 3rd Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) Scorecard. The LTSS Scorecard — written by the AARP Public Policy Institute and funded by The SCAN Foundation and The Commonwealth Fund — measures state-level performance of LTSS systems that assist older people, adults with disabilities, and their family caregivers.