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Benefits Enrollment Center
The AgeOptions Proposal• Service area is suburban Cook County
(area surrounding Chicago)• Capitalize on our strengths
– Red Tape Cutters (RTC)– Make Medicare Work Coalition (MMW)– Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs)
• Partner with local agencies to target underserved populations – Limited English speaking– People with mental illness– People facing new challenges-1st time benefit clients
• Focus on people with disabilities and ethnic populations
Who are the BEC partners?
• Arab American Family Services• Bloom Township Senior Citizen’s
Services• CEDA-Bloom-Rich• CJE SeniorLife• Des Plaines Community Senior Center• Evanston Commission on Aging• Hanul Family Alliance • Illinois Welcoming Center• Progress Center for Independent Living• Solutions for Care• Urhai Community Service Center
Key Messaging
• Money saving programs• Not all programs require very low
income and assets to qualify• The MSPs are a perfect
introduction to benefits. They show an immediate $1200 savings
• “You paid for these programs and are entitled to them”
Effective Outreach Strategies
• Ethnic radio-interviews and PSA’s• Partnerships with faith based
organizations• Meet with the local church leaders• Consumer Advisory Groups• Peer counselors- builds trust• Home Visits• Translated materials
Effective Outreach Strategies (cont.)
• Partnership with Social Security offices
• Partnership with local health care facilities
• Enlist volunteers to assist in outreach
• Meetings with local church leaders
Statistics from March-October
• 198 outreach events with 16,123 attendees
• 3,878 one-on-one counseling sessions
• 2,110 screenings for programs• 1,977 eligible for at least one
program• $5,553,058 in leveraged benefits
Challenges
• Program eligibility based on citizenship requirements
• Keeping clients engaged through the screening process.
• Partnering with state entities who are often overworked and under staffed
• Materials, including BCU are not translated
Challenges (cont.)
• Reporting- keeping track of data• Making sure that all partners have
thorough knowledge about program eligibility and application processes
Lessons Learned
• Train the group on program coverage and eligibility early in the process
• Hold smaller trainings for program application completion
• Faith based organizations are key in finding the underserved
• Translated materials are essential to ethnic populations
• Ethnic radio stations are a key link to homebound
Thank you for your timeMaribeth Stein