If you can’t afford an assisted living facility or full-time home health aides, a possible option is an Adult Day Center. These have evolved to serve two missions: providing individuals with care and supervision and giving family caregivers some time off. Some serve individuals with chronic physical disabilities and cognitive disorders. Others provide specialized programs for groups with particular needs, such as adults with traumatic brain injuries or developmental disabilities. Some provide rehabilitative services including physical, occupational, and speech therapy.
Senior centers are authorized under the Older American Act to offer care services. You can find out what’s available through your local Area Agency on Aging. Traditionally, senior centers were administered on a non-profit basis by city and county governments. More recently, the for-profit sector has entered the adult daycare market, largely to serve the needs of working adult children who care for aging relatives when they’re not at work.
The little I know about adult daycare comes from a Metlife publication on the subject (PDF), made available through MetLife’s Mature Market Institute and the National Adult Day Services Association (NADSA). NADSA is a membership organization developed for the purpose of “advancing the success of its members through advocacy, education, technical assistance, research, and communication services.” In other words, it’s a trade organization for adult daycare service providers.
Al