Regional Needs Assessment & County Resources

The Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging serves as Ohio’s Planning and Service Area 6 (PSA6) and operates as a Regional Council of Governments consisting of representatives from Delaware, Fairfield, Fayette, Franklin, Licking, Madison, Pickaway, and Union counties. These eight Central Ohio counties correspond to COAAA’s Planning and Service Area.

Overview

COAAA was established in 1974 and operated as a Division of the City of Columbus Recreation and Parks Department until 2025, when the Regional Council of Governments for the Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging was established.

There are 622 Area Agencies on Aging (often called triple-As) in the United States. Every US county is served by an area agency, which were established under the Older Americans Act (OAA) in 1973 to respond to the needs of Americans 60 and over. The Ohio Association of Area Agencies on Aging (o4a) is the statewide network serving as a collective voice for Ohio’s 12 Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs).

2023-2026 Strategic Area Plan Needs Assessment Summary

In 2022, COAAA submitted our 2023-2026 Strategic Area Plan documents to the Ohio Department of Aging. The Needs Assessment document includes a demographic profile of older adults in the region, a summary of economic and social needs in the region, information about the development of Strategic Area Plan proposed strategies, a summary of the region's information and referral (I&R) providers, as well as the goals and objectives for 2023-2026.

The Ohio Department of Aging published its most recent State Plan on Aging; it is available at aging.ohio.gov/about-us/reports-and-data/ohios-state-plan.

In 2021, COAAA partnered with the Age Friendly Innovation Center and Franklin County Office on Aging to conduct the Central Ohio Regional Assessment on Aging. The assessment summary is based on responses from randomly-selected residents over the age of 50 from COAAA's eight counties: Delaware, Fairfield, Fayette, Franklin, Licking, Madison, Pickaway, and Union.

2021 Central Ohio Regional Assessment on Aging

Members of the public can access the regional and county data from the 2021 Central Ohio regional survey at public.tableau.com/views/CORAA2021/Home.

County Focal Point Agencies

COAAA’s county focal point agencies serve as local entry points through which older adults, people with disabilities, family members and caregivers, and others can access information, referral, assessment, and services provided or funded by COAAA. A list of COAAA’s focal point agencies is below; additional county-specific resources can be found on our website on the Adult Protective Services page.