Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability
Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability

Follow-up Report on the Comprehensive Assessment and Review for Long Term Care Services (CARES) Program Administered by the Department of Elder Affairs

Report 97-01, July 1997




Report Summary

  • The Department of Elder Affairs (DOEA) and the Legislature have addressed all of the issues we raised in our prior report.
  • CARES staff have recently developed an improved performance measure to show their impact in diverting clients from nursing homes to less expensive community placements.
  • Legislative actions since 1995 have affected the CARES Program. Located now in DOEA, the Program is better coordinated with community outreach efforts, other long-term care programs, and training needs. Increased staffing support allows staff to verify that Medicaid recipients in nursing homes continue to require that level of care. Staff also now conduct in-person assessments on almost all clients. In a pilot project in two counties, staff meet with hospital discharge planners to assess clients earlier than was formerly the case.
  • These changes have the cumulative effect of allowing CARES staff to assess more clients, assess many of them more thoroughly, and assess many of them earlier in the process. These actions improve the chances of clients being placed in lower-cost community settings.


Related Reports
  1. Progress Report: Other Initiatives to Decrease Long-Term Care Costs Should Accompany Medicaid Waiver Expansion
    Report 99-51 May 2000
  2. Supplemental Analyses of the Pilot Project Authorizing Direct Admission to Extended Congregate Care
    Report 97-74 June 1998
  3. Review of the Pilot Project Authorizing Direct Admission to Extended Congregate Care
    Report 97-26 December 1997
  4. Second Status Report on the Pilot Project Authorizing Direct Admission to Extended Congregate Care
    Report 96-26 December 1996
Copies of this report in print or alternate accessible format may be obtained by email OPPAGA@oppaga.fl.gov, telephone (850) 488-0021, or mail 111 W. Madison St., Room 312 Tallahassee, FL 32399-1475.
Copies of this report in print or alternate accessible format may be obtained by email OPPAGA@oppaga.fl.gov, telephone (850) 488-0021, or mail 111 W. Madison St., Room 312 Tallahassee, FL 32399-1475.
social services, health, long-term care, nursing homes