By Cindi Andrews
The Cincinnati Enquirer

LEBANON - A waiting list of elderly Warren County residents who need help with day-to-day activities could be erased by mid- to late January, thanks to a levy passed six months ago.

The 1-mill elderly services levy - the first of its kind in the county - takes effect Jan. 1. It is expected to raise $3.7 million in 2003, Community Services Director Larry Sargeant said.

That translates to about $1.5 million more to spend on services than Community Services had in 2002, Mr. Sargeant said, after taking into account funding cuts from the county commissioners and the United Way, and setting aside $500,000 for future needs.

TO GET HELP

To qualify for Warren County's Elderly Services Program, a person must be at least 60 years old and a county resident. Co-payments may be charged on a sliding scale, depending on income. For more information, call 925-2271 or 695-2271.

Community Services currently helps 631 senior citizens with home care, often including meals, and provides meals to another 261 seniors. The new Elderly Services Program - which will operate out of Community Services' building - expects to increase the home-care caseload to 892 clients this year, according to program Director Karen Hill.

As part of the expansion, one call-taker and four case workers are being added, almost doubling the in-house staff that assesses applicants' needs. The actual services are performed by outside agencies that bid on them.

The services offered will include home-delivered meals, help with bathing and other personal care, medical transportation, and housekeeping. The goal is to help the elderly remain independent and support family members who are caring for older relatives.

For the first time, Warren County residents can get help paying for adult day care at Otterbein Retirement Community and elsewhere.

"The change in January is going to be that we can serve the people we need to serve," Ms. Hill said.

Help with adult day care is welcome news to Lebanon resident Tom Clark, 55, who takes his 80-year-old mother, Louise, to Otterbein five days a week.

"It's a critical program," Mr. Clark said. "It allows a person to take care of their parent and still work."

The demand for such services is expected to grow as the baby-boomer generation ages.

E-mail candrews@enquirer.com