The Administration on Aging envisions a State Plan on Aging serving as a comprehensive plan document, articulating:

• The direction in which state long-term care reform efforts are moving.
• Key strategies to address the strong desires of the rapidly growing new generation of long-term care consumers to be served in their homes and communities.
• How the state will address the challenges of America's budgetary constraints and competing priorities in today's society.

Ideally, the State Plan should serve multiple roles or purposes. These include:

• Documenting the tangible results of state long-term care reform efforts.
• Translating activities, data, and outcomes into proven best practices, which can be used to leverage additional funding.
• Providing a blueprint that spells out the ways the state will implement Choices for Independence enacted as part of the Older Americans Act 2006 Amendments.

The key strategic principles and objectives for Choices are:

• Empowering consumers to make informed decisions about their care options.
• Helping those at high risk of nursing home placement, but who are not yet eligible for Medicaid, to remain in their own homes and communities through the use of flexible financing and service models, including consumer-directed models of care.
• Building evidence-based prevention into our community based systems of services, and enabling older people to make behavioral changes that will reduce their risk of disease, disability, and injury.

Elements of a State Plan Narrative
Basic Points to Consider in Writing the State Plan
Executive Summary
Context
Goals & Objectives
Strategies
Outcomes & Performance Measures