Your Area Agency on Aging, and What to Ask For
There are more than 600 Area Agencies on Aging in the United States. They are the single most underused resource in family caregiving: most of what they do is free, you do not need to be low income to use much of it, and most families never find out they exist until years in.
This page explains what they actually provide, how to find yours, and what to say when you call so the first conversation is a useful one.
How to find yours
Two official routes, both free, both always current:
- Eldercare Locator — call 1-800-677-1116 or search by ZIP code at eldercare.acl.gov. This is the federal government’s own directory.
- USAging, the national association for the network, has a locator at usaging.org/findyouraaa.
We deliberately do not reproduce the agency list here. It changes, and a stale phone number is worse than no phone number when someone is trying to arrange care this week.
What they actually do
Area Agencies on Aging administer the federal National Family Caregiver Support Program. The Administration for Community Living defines five service types under it, and it is worth knowing them by name, because asking for the right thing gets you further:
| Service | What that means in practice |
|---|---|
| Information | What exists in your county: programs, providers, eligibility. |
| Assistance getting access | Someone who helps you actually enrol, rather than handing you a list. |
| Counselling, support groups, training | Individual counselling, local caregiver groups, and practical training — safe transfers, dementia behaviours, what to do at night. |
| Respite care | Someone else takes over so you can sleep, work, or go to your own appointment. In your home, at an adult day program, or a short facility stay. |
| Supplemental services | Limited extras: home modifications, incontinence supplies, emergency response systems. |
Many agencies also run or route to Meals on Wheels, transport to medical appointments, home-delivered and congregate meals, benefits counselling, and the Long-Term Care Ombudsman who investigates concerns about nursing homes.
Respite is the one to ask about first
It is the service caregivers need most and request least, usually because they assume it is means-tested or expensive. Under the caregiver support program it is frequently free or nominal, and some agencies apply no income test to it at all — though this varies by state and by agency, so ask rather than assume. Typical eligibility is caring for someone over 60, or someone of any age with Alzheimer’s or another dementia.
Ask early even if you do not need it yet. Waiting lists are real, and the moment you need respite urgently is the worst moment to start the paperwork.
What to say when you call
The first call goes better if you lead with your situation rather than a question, because the person on the phone is matching you to programs you have never heard of. Something like:
“I’m caring for my 78-year-old mother. She came home from hospital three weeks ago after a fall. I work full time, I’m managing her medications and appointments, and I’m not coping. What’s available in this county?”
Then ask, specifically:
- What does the National Family Caregiver Support Program cover here, and do I qualify?
- Is respite available, what does it cost, and is there a waiting list?
- Is there a caregiver support group near me?
- Can someone help me check what benefits she is entitled to and is not getting?
- Is there transport to medical appointments?
- Who do I call back if something changes — is there one case manager?
Write the answers down, and get the name of the person you spoke to. Call volumes are high, staff turn over, and having a name shortens the second call considerably.
What they cannot do
Being realistic saves disappointment. An Area Agency on Aging is not an emergency service and cannot provide round-the-clock care. Budgets are finite, so waiting lists exist for the most popular services. Quality varies a great deal between counties — some are superb, some are stretched past breaking. And none of them will coordinate your family for you: they can arrange services, but the medication list, the appointments and the question of which sibling does what remain yours.
For the part that stays with you. RelayNest keeps a parent’s medications, appointments, tasks and warning signs in one shared workspace, and flags what a hospital changed. Free for the whole family, no subscription. Our printable discharge checklist is free to share too.
Create your family workspace → Get the free iPhone app →Take the checklist with you
A free printable checklist for the first 72 hours at home — what to ask before you leave, the numbers to write down, and the warning signs that mean call. We’ll email it to you.
One email with the checklist. We never share your address. Or open it now →
Common questions
How do I find my local Area Agency on Aging?
Call the Eldercare Locator on 1-800-677-1116 or search by ZIP code at eldercare.acl.gov, the federal government’s own directory. USAging also runs a locator at usaging.org/findyouraaa. Both are free and always current, which is why this page points at them rather than reproducing a list that would go stale.
Are Area Agency on Aging services free?
Much of it is. Information, assistance and caregiver support are generally free, and respite under the National Family Caregiver Support Program is frequently free or nominal, with some agencies applying no income test to it. Costs and eligibility vary by state and agency, so ask directly rather than assuming you will not qualify.
What is the National Family Caregiver Support Program?
A federal program delivered locally by Area Agencies on Aging. The Administration for Community Living defines five service types: information, help gaining access to services, counselling and support groups and training, respite care, and limited supplemental services. Typical eligibility is caring for someone over 60, or someone of any age with Alzheimer’s or another dementia.
Do I have to be low income to get help?
Usually not for information, assistance, caregiver support or respite under the caregiver program. Some supplemental services and some state-funded programs do have financial criteria. The agency will tell you what applies, and it costs nothing to ask.