Local resources in metro Atlanta
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In metro Atlanta the first call for an older adult who needs help is the Aging and Disability Resource Connection, run by the Atlanta Regional Commission as the region's Area Agency on Aging. It screens people into Medicaid waiver programs and into non-waiver services such as meals, transportation and senior centers, and it is independent of any provider.
What is in this section
Most families looking for help for an older parent are not looking for one program. They are looking for a meal, a ride, a few hours of relief, and someone who can tell them what exists. Those come from different places, with different rules and different front doors.
These pages explain how the local system is put together and which door to knock on for what. They are not a directory of providers, and they do not recommend one.
The one thing to know first
The Aging and Disability Resource Connection, usually shortened to ADRC, is the front door for older adults and adults with disabilities in Georgia. Each region has one, run by that region’s Area Agency on Aging. In metro Atlanta the Area Agency on Aging is the Atlanta Regional Commission, and its public-facing service is called Empowerline.
They are independent of any provider, including this one. They do not deliver waiver services and they have nothing to gain from where you end up. That independence is the reason to call them first, before any agency, including ours.
Where the waiver fits
Some of what follows is Medicaid. Some of it is not. The Elderly and Disabled Waiver Program pays for ongoing help at home for people who meet a nursing-home level of care and Medicaid’s financial rules, and it takes months to arrange. Meals, senior centers and transportation programs often reach people who do not qualify for the waiver at all, and can start much sooner.
Read what Georgia Medicaid covers at home if the waiver is what you are trying to understand. Use these pages for everything that sits around it.
Everything in this section
- The ARC and the ADRC What the Aging and Disability Resource Connection does, how the Atlanta Regional Commission fits in as the Area Agency on Aging, and what happens when you call. Draft
- Senior transportation How older adults in metro Atlanta get to medical appointments and errands: Medicaid non-emergency transport, county programs and paratransit, explained. Not yet written
- Senior centers What a senior center offers an older adult in metro Atlanta, how it differs from adult day health under the Medicaid waiver, and how to find the one nearby. Not yet written
- Meals: two different programs Community meal programs and home-delivered meals under Georgia's Medicaid waiver are different programs with different rules and different front doors. How to tell them apart. Draft
Questions people ask about this
Who do I call first if my parent needs help and I do not know where to start?
The Aging and Disability Resource Connection for your region. In metro Atlanta that is run by the Atlanta Regional Commission, the Area Agency on Aging, through its Empowerline service. They take the first call, ask what is going on, and point toward the programs that fit.
Do I have to be on Medicaid to use these services?
No. Some programs, such as the Elderly and Disabled Waiver Program, require Medicaid eligibility. Others, including many senior center, meal and transportation programs, do not. The Area Agency on Aging can tell you which is which for your situation.
Is the Area Agency on Aging trying to sell me something?
No. It is a public agency and it does not deliver waiver services itself, which is why it is the right first call. It has no reason to route you to any particular provider.
Does calling a resource line start a Medicaid application?
Not by itself. A call is a conversation and a screening. A Medicaid waiver application involves an assessment and a financial determination, and nobody is enrolled in anything by asking a question.
Related questions
- The ARC and the ADRC What the Aging and Disability Resource Connection does, how the Atlanta Regional Commission fits in as the Area Agency on Aging, and what happens when you call.
- Meals: two different programs Community meal programs and home-delivered meals under Georgia's Medicaid waiver are different programs with different rules and different front doors. How to tell them apart.
- The first phone call What the first call to Georgia's Area Agency on Aging is like: who answers, what they ask, what a screening is, and what happens after you hang up.
- Start here A plain-English starting point for Georgia families looking into Medicaid help at home for an older or disabled adult, in five stages.