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are provided in a manner which safeguards their dignity and selfrespect. Dr. Jackson, who is a member of the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma, comes to us with a wealth of experience and knowledge. Prior to this appointment she was the Chief of the Nutrition and Dietetics Section, and Acting Chief of the Allied Health Branch of the Indian Health Service, DHHS.

In recent months the intra-State funding formula, used by State Agencies on Aging for distributing Title III funds within the State, has emerged as an increasingly important factor in assuring equitable availability of funds for services to low-income minority elderly.

A report issued by the General Accounting Office in 1990

(GAO/HRD-90-85) indicated that while 44 out of 45 States with intra

State formulas included one or more economic need factors and

thirty-eight contained a social need factor to direct Title III funds to

minorities -- only seven states had a specific combined factor

targeting to elderly low-income minorities.

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Subsequently, in November, 1990, I issued policy guidance to the States relating to this concern in a Program Instruction (Number 9101), urging them to ensure non-discrimination in their funding formulas. AoA's Regional Offices will be watching and following this matter closely and will keep me informed as to how well the Program Instruction is being implemented.

While the intra-State funding formula is a very important means of directing Title III resources toward those parts of the State with larger numbers of older persons in greatest need, the formula is but one method to improve targeting. To be successful, targeting efforts must include a commitment to reaching out to inform older persons in need of the availability of services and assisting them to gain access to the services which they need. There must be a commitment, as well, to locating services in areas which have high concentrations of low income minority older persons. To assure that minority older persons receive appropriate and adequate services, State and Area Agencies on Aging, and service providers must assure that all staff

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have training in, and are culturally sensitive to the unique needs and

values of minority groups.

In furtherance of our commitment to enhance the participation of older persons with greatest need, particularly low-income minority older persons in older Americans programs, the Administration on Aging for a number of years has made significant investments of discretionary funds. AoA supported a variety of other related activities including a Native Americans Leadership Institute for Title VI project directors, a National Aging Resource Center on Minority Populations which provides training and technical assistance to the aging network on targeting and other issues relating to minority elderly, and a cultural diversity training program -- conducted by one of AoA's funded National Aging Resource Centers on Long Term

Care to assist in tailoring community based long term care systems

to the needs of minority elderly.

Additional Title IV resources are being utilized to enhance the

quality of the Information and Referral assistance they receive. One

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such undertaking is a National I&R Initiative which will link older

people and caregivers to the resources, benefits, and services they

need and will enhance the quality of the I&R assistance they receive. The initiative has two complementary components:

o The National I&R Support Center will heighten recognition within the aging network of the critical role of I&R in the

service delivery system. The Center will support qualitative improvements in I&R design, management, operations and staff development.

o The National I&R Locator Service will enhance visibility of I&R services among older people, their caregivers, and the general public. The Locator Service will operate and promote a national 800 number to link consumers to the appropriate State and local I&R service.

Each State Unit on Aging has designated an I&R staff liaison. Similarly, each Area Agency on Aging has been requested to

designate staff to work with the State liaison. Early in the

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implementation of the initiative, the State liaisons participated, with

the assistance from the I&R Support Center, in a three day planning

intensive.

National I&R Support Center

National Association of State Units on Aging will operate the

Center in collaboration with NAAAA and the Alliance of Information and Referral Systems (AIRS). The I&R Support Center will strengthen the capacity of State aging I&R systems to meet the needs of a growing and increasingly diverse older population.

National I&R Locator Service

National Association of Area Agencies on Aging will operate the Locator Service in collaboration with NASUA and Biospherics, Inc.-which currently operates several national hotlines. The locator

service will establish and promote a national 800 number through which calls can be referred to the appropriate State, sub-State, or local I&R source. The locator service will: