The number of older adults in the United States, and their share of the population, will continue to increase over the next several decades. The increase in the number of older adults with serious mental illness (SMI) will present new challenges to public mental health systems and systems on aging.
This paper begins with a brief description of the shifting demographics of older adults in the United States and older adults served by the public mental health system. It continues with a discussion of ways in which state mental health agencies (SMHAs) can coordinate policy and care with other agencies, such as state units on aging and area agencies on aging. The paper presents several examples—from Colorado, Indiana, New York, Oregon, and Tennessee—of innovative ways to coordinate treatment, improve the workforce serving older adults, and ensure that crisis services are capable of meeting the needs of older adults. See pages 25-26 for OABHI!