Michigan State Plan on Aging – 2011-2013

Overview

In the state of Michigan, 42 percent of the 65+ age bracket has a disability, with 25 percent of all Michigan residents projected to be 65+ by 2030. In preparation for this aging demographic, the Michigan Office of Services to the Aging created and submitted its state age plan per the requirements of the Older Americans Act.

Key Points

The plan focuses on programs Michigan has in place utilizing logic models for each objective.

Other plan highlights include:

1. Michigan utilizes a single point of entry system that they hope to continue streamlining.
   
2. Michigan supports Senior Project FRESH, a system that provides coupons to older residents in order to purchase produce grown in Michigan. This has the double impact of supporting local farmers and helping older adults from slipping further into poverty.
   
3. Michigan ranks eighth in the nation for the estimated number of caregivers (over 990,000) helping loved ones. Michigan has a variety of programs designed to provide some support and relief to current and future caregivers.
   

Michigan has several outstanding programs related to everything from livable communities, to housing, to employment, as they pertain to age-related services.

How to Use

Michigan’s high percentage of disabled older people may reflect your own locality. Knowing which programs work effectively in the state of Michigan to effectively support local efforts while providing food to older adults on the poverty line (like Senior Project FRESH) may serve as an inspiration for your own local government. Understanding Michigan’s access points and transportation needs with relationship to caregiving for a disabled older population may also be helpful for city planners struggling with similar challenges.

View full report: Michigan State Plan on Aging – 2011-2013 (PDF – 682 KB)