Long-Term Care in Illinois: Home & Community-Based Services

Illinois is the fifth largest state in the country with 12.4 million people in 2000; the population increased by almost 9% or about one million people in the past decade. About 12% of the state’s population is age 65 and older – 1.5 million people in 2000. By 2025 the Illinois elderly population is expected to increase by over 50% and will be 16.6% of the state’s total population. Illinois is one of the few states in the country that provides older persons and younger adults, who meet the eligibility criteria, with state entitlements to home and community-based long-term care services. Both entitlements resulted from court cases that were brought to eliminate waiting lists for services. The state funds the Community Care Program for older adults and the Home Services Program for persons with physical disabilities with a combination of state general revenue funds and Medicaid Section 1915 © waiver funds. The Community Care Program uses contracted agencies for the provision of homemaker, adult day care services, and case management services. In contrast, the Home Services Program’s relies primarily on personal assistants, whom consumers supervise, to provide services. According to state officials, in 2002 the state had about 3,000 people with developmental disabilities in state-operated development centers (SODCs), 6,500 people in private intermediate care facilities for the mentally retarded (ICFs/MR) and 8,800 people in Section 1915 © Medicaid home and community-based services waivers for the developmentally disabled.