Older Adults
DHS Initiatives and Accomplishments
Each year, DHS chooses several Strategic Initiatives: bold, transformative efforts designed to improve the effectiveness of human services for everyone. During 2024, DHS and its partners made significant progress by focusing on a set of Initiatives and in 2024 (see Accomplishments Report). And in 2025, it is working on 12 new Strategic Initiatives (see 2025 Strategic Initiatives Report).
Intimate Partner Violence Reform Initiative: Report on progress
The Intimate Partner Violence Reform Initiative was created in May 2022 to coordinate policy and system-level work across agencies in Allegheny County to improve a complex and fragmented system for […]
An Agile Response to an Unexpected Challenge: How the Older Adult Protective Services Program Reinvented Itself to Respond to Growing Demand
Read about how Allegheny County responded to an 82% increase in reports of need to Older Adult Protective Services. Click here to read more information about older adult protective services […]
Community Need Index
Updated with 2022 data. The Allegheny County Need Index was developed to identify areas of the County that have greater relative need. This report and related materials explore census tracts in need and recent trends.
DHS 2023 Accomplishments
This report highlights the 2023 DHS accomplishments that stood out. There are many, many other achievements. We chose the ones that made the biggest difference.
DHS Annual Plans and Budgets
In its responsibility for administering publicly-funded human services, Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS) plans for the allocation of more than $1B in areas that span behavioral health, children […]
Calls to the SeniorLine: Interactive Dashboard
What is this dashboard about? This dashboard displays information about the SeniorLine, a resource where individuals can receive information about services and programs for older adults in Allegheny County. SeniorLine […]
University of Pittsburgh’s Aging Services Landscape Scan
This report was created by University of Pittsburgh and describes services offered by county Area Agency’s on Aging to help inform local strategies. What is this report about? This report […]
Older Adult Protective Services Program Data: Interactive Dashboard
Data available from 2019 to 2021.
Older Adults’ Perspectives on Home Delivered Meals: A Survey of Participant Satisfaction
In partnership with nine community-based providers, Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS) provides home-delivered meals to older adults in need. In order to learn more about meal recipient satisfaction, […]
Introducing Performance-Based Contracting: A Comparison of Implementation Models
Linking provider payments to performance measures is gaining popularity as a way to improve outcomes, efficiency and innovations. Three performance-based contracting models have been implemented in Allegheny County, targeting: 1) […]
Never Let a Good Crisis Go to Waste: Building a Better Home-Delivered Meals System
When its largest provider of Home -Delivered Meals (HDM) suddenly decided to discontinue its service, the Area Agency on Aging (AAA) had just weeks to ensure that 800 frail and […]
Retooling with Rigor: Upgrading the Area Agency on Aging’s Options Care Management Program
In 2011, the Allegheny County Area Agency on Aging, part of the county’s Department of Human Services, embarked on an effort to improve the quality of its Options Care Management […]
Prevention Programs Across the Department of Human Services
DHS is committed to meeting the human services needs of county residents, particularly the county’s most vulnerable populations, through an extensive range of prevention, early intervention, crises management and after–care […]
The State of Technology in Aging Services in Pennsylvania
Center for Aging Services Technology, American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging Click to read the full report.