PASSPORT Services Help Older Adults

When the CSSMV Northern Counties Office was opened in Sidney in 1976 as a small satellite office serving Auglaize, Darke, Mercer, Miami, and Shelby Counties, we had no idea it was positioned to become home to one of the agency’s largest programs.

In the 1980s, the State of Ohio was searching for a way to effectively use public funding to serve low-income older adults at home as an alternative to placing them in an institutional setting. The result was a Medicaid waiver program called PASSPORT – Pre-Admission Screening Systems Providing Options and Resources Today.

As the state studied the feasibility of the program, Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley applied and was asked to be a pilot site for rural areas. The Area Agency on Aging in Columbus piloted the urban program.

Deemed successful, the program was rolled out in all Ohio counties under the management of Area Agencies on Aging. In partnership with Area Agency 2 based in Dayton, Catholic Social Services retained the counties where it had piloted  the program – Champaign, Darke, Logan, Miami, Preble, and Shelby.

Today, forty years later, much of the work in the Northern Counties Office involves assessment and case management for PASSPORT. Surprisingly, many Ohioans are unaware that this state program for low-income older adults even exists.

PASSPORT is for adults aged 60 and older who may need the level of care provided in a nursing home but hope to stay in their own homes. It is a statewide program funded by Medicaid so participants must be Medicaid-eligible. The first  step is an assessment by a nurse or social worker who determines if the older adult would qualify according to level of care requirements. The local Job and Family Services then determines Medicaid eligibility and approves enrollment.  Once enrolled, an individual is assigned a care manager who develops a care plan with customized services to help the individual remain safely at home. The care manager makes sure that needs are met with quality services and revises the care plan as needs change.

Catholic Social Services contracts with over 100 providers who bring the needed services into the home. Services include personal care, home-delivered meals, emergency response systems, home medical supplies, minor home modification, and transportation to adult day care.

Care managers make periodic visits to assess the delivery of services. Observation of the client helps care managers determine if more services are needed or if there are physical or mental changes to address. They can also assist with placement and transition to a facility if that is the best option.

Care managers at CSSMV work with roughly 1,100 older adults each month across the six counties. It takes a team to manage all facets of the program so the agency employs over 40 care managers and support staff in the Northern Counties office. Quality of services is consistently high; the last Medicaid audit showed no findings.

“PASSPORT is a lifeline for so many older adults,” said Kathy Sell, Northern Counties Director. “We face so many challenges with rule changes to the program, but the joy we experience with our clients makes it all worth it. As our population ages, these services are becoming more needed. We are blessed to provide these services.”