Alert
Close

You could win $50,000! First step — an easy retirement quiz. Try AARP's Perfect Path to Retirement Giveaway now!

Highlights

Open

Reebok

Members save on online purchases
and at Reebok
Outlet Stores

Brain Health & Staying Sharp

Watch AARP Live 6/20 at 10 PM ET

Tickets Icon

Tickets From Live Nation

4 for the price of 3

Technical Icon

Black Community

How to live your best life

Find Your Perfect Path to Retirement

You could
win $50,000

Contests and
Sweeps

You Could Win $50,000!

Plus you’ll get free tips and tools to help you find your perfect path to retirement
See official rules.

PROGRAMS

AARP Foundation Tax-Aide

You can get free, face-to-face tax assistance nationwide.

Money Matters Tip Sheets

Download and print out these PDFs to help with your financial matters.

AARP
Bookstore

Visit the Money Section

Enjoy titles on retirement, Social Security, and becoming debt-free.

webinars

Learn From the Experts

Sign up now for an upcoming Money webinar or find materials from a past session. 

Jobs You Might Like

most popular
articles

Viewed

Recommended

Commented

South Carolina

Budget Cuts Reduce In-Home Services

4,000 older adults waiting for in-home help such as home-delivered meals

  • Text
  • Print
  • Comments
  • Recommend
South Carolina budget cuts may affect free meal delivery to seniors

Home-delivered meals help Dorothy Wiles remain in her Columbia home. The state’s spending on in-home services has been cut in half since 2009, meaning others who could use similar help can’t get it. — Photo by Imke Lass/Redux

Dorothy Wiles enjoyed an active life until progressive arthritis made it difficult for her to get around. These days the 84-year-old Columbia retiree relies on a walker and can't easily shop for groceries and fix her meals. Home-delivered meals have helped Wiles continue to live in her home. "It's really been a blessing," she said.

See also: The health care law and access to home care.

But cuts in the state budget mean other people who need similar help won't get it. The state has not reduced services to people like Wiles who already receive them, but no new recipients are being added to the program, said Tony Kester, director of the Lieutenant Governor's Office on Aging.

The office provides money to a network of nonprofit agencies that help older people remain at home longer. The agencies deliver meals or help get seniors to a community center for communal meals, provide rides to medical appointments and sometimes perform light housekeeping tasks.

The state's spending on such home- and community-based services (HCBS) has been cut in half since 2009, from $2.9 million to less than $1.5 million for the 2011-12 fiscal year that began July 1.

When the legislature meets in January to adopt a 2012-13 budget, Lt. Gov. Ken Ard, R, will propose nearly $6.5 million for HCBS programs, Kester said.

AARP South Carolina endorses Ard's proposal for the $5 million budget increase.

Ard warned that without additional money, "it will be difficult to continue providing the services for a growing number of seniors in need of assistance, and many will have to be institutionalized in expensive facilities using taxpayer-funded Medicaid services."

Although eligibility for services financed by the Office on Aging is not based on income, nearly six in 10 who received home-delivered meals last year lived in poverty, Ard wrote in a justification for the additional HCBS money.

Next: Only three states had higher percentage of over-60 people at risk of hunger. >>

Topic Alerts

You can get weekly email alerts on the topics below. Just click “Follow.”

Manage Alerts

Processing

Please wait...

progress bar, please wait

Tell Us WhatYou Think

Please leave your comment below.

You must be signed in to comment.

Sign In | Register

More comments »

your money

Discounts & Benefits

From companies that meet the high standards of service and quality set by AARP.

Info on saving for education from AARP® College Savings Solutions from TIAA-CREF.

financial products

Member access to financial and insurance products and services at AARPfinancial.com.

Life insurance: you are covered rain or shine

Members convert assets into income with AARP Lifetime Income Program from New York Life.

Member Benefits

Members receive exclusive member benefits & affect social change. Renew Today

Being Social

Featured
Groups

Hand holding credit cards

Pay Down Your Debt Challenge

Join others who are starting their debt-free journey. Discuss

 

savingchalleng

Savings Challenge

Have the gift of thrift? Share your tips.

Discuss