Glossary

ADRC is the Aging Disability Resource Center. These are located in every Family Care County throughout the state of Wisconsin to service the county in which you live. The ADRC is available to address issues surrounding aging and disabilities. The ADRC's offer information and assistance and serve as an entry point to access funding such as Family Care or Partnership. The ADRC welcomes walk-ins, phone calls or e-mail for assistance. See Contact Us.

Information and Assistance

At the ADRC we have Information and Assistance Specialists that can assist you in getting information you may need surrounding issues of aging, or disabilities for those 18 years or age and older. Our specialists are trained to identify community resources and how to connect with them. This may include long-term care related services, living arrangements, health and behavioral health, adult protective services, employment and training for people with disabilities, home maintenance, nutrition, Family Care and Partnership. The ADRC shares information with you based upon a specific inquiry or the identification of need(s) you have shared during a phone conversation or visit to our office. We try to identify which options are best suited to meet a person's need. ADRC staff link people with those services and also help them to apply for SSI, Food Stamps and Medicaid as needed.
The ADRC does not have actual financial means of delivering services or support, however, we are knowledgeable about programs that do offer this assistance and what qualifies you. The ADRC is also the entry point for Racine County's Long Term Care Programs.

Is a staff member who assists people with public and private benefits including Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security related issues. The Disability Benefit Specialist works with disabled individuals who are ages 18 to 59. The Elderly Benefit Specialist works with people who are 60 and older.

A disability is any condition that will effect a person's faculties permanently. A disability could affect a person's cognition (thinking), physical condition or overall health.

Long Term Support is a term used to identify support or funding that may be required to assist a person on a long term basis to remain independent in the community and at home. "Long term" refers to any age related issue or permanent disability that may effect a person's capacity to live without assistance for years to come. This term was formerly in relation to funding source(s) throughout Racine County which is now referred to as Family Care, Partnership, or IRIS.

Options Counseling

Because there are many choices when it comes to services, resources, and programs, the ADRC is available to assist with exploring these options helping you come to the most informed decision. Circumstances are different for each person we speak with. Through personal contacts we are able to assess what your need is and determine how best we can help. Help can be in the form of information, resources, or publicly funded programs.

Public Funding for Long Term Care

There are circumstances that a person may require assistance through publicly funded programs to get their needs met. The ADRC works with any person regardless of their income. However through the options counseling process at the ADRC it may be determined whether or not a person may wish to pursue a publicly funded programs and in turn, qualify for this. When accessing public dollars (programs funded thru federal, state, and local county dollars) there are qualifiers that may vary from program to program and are based upon a person's circumstances.

ADRC of Racine County, Wisconsin