STEP Office of Aging
Purpose - STEP Office of Aging, the local Area Agency on Aging, works to advance the well-being of Pennsylvania’s older adults residing in Lycoming and Clinton counties.
Vision – Older adults enjoy an enhanced quality of life through service options and the opportunities afforded by choice.
Program Overview – STEP Office of Aging provides easy access to services for people age sixty and over through eight senior community centers and two social services offices. STEP's eight Centers for Healthy Aging are active gathering places for seniors to stay engaged in their communities. Centers for Healthy Aging provide opportunities for volunteer work, fellowship, games and activities, health screenings and information, various forms of exercise, and healthy meals. The Centers also serve their community through Meals on Wheels deliveries, craft donations, and in many other ways.
STEP Office of Aging works to enable older adults to remain in their own homes and apartments. Information and referral to many federal, state and local programs is available. Caseworkers help older adults to assess their abilities and needs, explore options, develop plans to best utilize their abilities, and arrange for informal and formal supports to meet their needs. Older adults are involved in the planning process and usually have a choice in the provider of service. Caseworkers can assist older adults who want to enter a personal care facility that will meet their needs, and assist those residing in a facility with returning home with supportive services.
STEP Office of Aging prevents, investigates and resolves the abuse, neglect and other situations that may put an older adult or their finances at risk, whether they reside in their own homes, with others, or in a personal care facility.
Benchmarks of Success
- Older adults remain active in their community through their participation in senior centers, volunteer opportunities, and employment activities.
- Eligible homebound older adults receive healthy noon meals on weekdays and have contact with the volunteer.
- Older adults are enabled to stay in their own homes and apartments through supportive services.
- Family and friends caring for older adults are enabled to continue care for the older adult through supportive services
- Older adults find resolution for situations involving abuse, neglect, financial exploitation or abandonment.
STEP Office of Aging provides a variety of online resources from exercise classes to transportation services.
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Customer Impacts
- 2,099 adults age 65+ and 420 individuals with disabilities maintained independent living situations.
- 12 seniors received 14 home modifications and/or assistive devices to maintain independence.
- 863 adults obtained access to health screening services.
- 188 Adult Protective Services investigations from 555 reports of need ensured the health, safety, and financial security of older adults.
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The Pennsylvania Health Law Project
The Pennsylvania Health Law Project is a nationally recognized expert and consultant on access to health care for low-income consumers, the elderly, and persons with disabilities. For more than two decades, PHLP has engaged in direct advocacy on behalf of individual consumers while working on the kinds of health policy changes that promise the most to the Pennsylvanians in greatest need.
