Alzheimer’s Disease Program
Mission and Goals
Mission:
The Alzheimer’s Disease Program (ADP) mission is to build awareness of brain health and empower California communities to address Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD).
ADP is funded into three main areas:
- Prevention
- Research
- Clinical
Goals:
Prevention
- To improve the quality of life of aging Californians by promoting awareness of brain health and ADRD risk factors.
- To eliminate health disparities related to ADRD in California and improve health equity.
- To improve the quality of life for Californians living with ADRD.
- To improve the quality of life for caregivers of patients living with ADRD.
- To improve policy, systems, and environmental change interventions that promote brain health and ADRD risk reduction strategies.
Research
- To continue to build on the existing breadth of research to address the multi-faceted nature of ADRD and their disparate impact on communities throughout California.
- To increase the understanding of the causes, prevention, care, and treatment of ADRD through research to drive policy and programmatic changes.
Clinical
- To provide a patient centered care model that instills a strong coordination of care and builds the foundation for providers and caregivers to provide equitable quality healthcare statewide.
- To improve the health status of Californians living with ADRD.
Program Background
In 1984, legislation was enacted that established the Alzheimer’s Disease Program. To meet the legislative mandates of relieving the human burden and economic cost of ADRDs, and to assist in ultimately discovering the cause and treatment of these diseases, the Program established and administers a statewide network of 10 California Alzheimer’s Disease Centers (CADCs) at university medical centers. The CADCs are dedicated to improving the quality of life of persons affected with Alzheimer’s disease and their families by providing diagnostic and treatment services; professional training for medical residents, postdoctoral fellows, nurses, interns, and medical students; and community education, such as caregiver training and support.
In 1987, supplemental
legislation created a tax “check-off” program, allowing taxpayers to
designate a specified amount on their State tax returns (in excess of their tax
liability), to be transferred to the Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias
Research Fund, now known as the California Alzheimer’s Disease and Related
Dementia Research voluntary Tax Contribution Fund. The Program established and administers the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Fund, which awards grants through a competitive process to scientists in California engaged in the study of ADRDs or related areas such as caregiving. For more
information on the California Alzheimer’s Disease and
Related Dementias Research Voluntary Tax Contribution Fund (Tax-Check Off),
please visit the Franchise
Tax Board Voluntary Contribution Funds webpage.
Key Partners include: California Department of Aging, California Department of Health Care Services, California Health and Human Services (CalHHS) Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Advisory Committee, Alzheimer’s Association, Caregiver Resources Centers, Area Agencies on Aging, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
How We Get There
California Master Plan for Aging, January 2021
The California Master Plan for Aging (PDF) outlines five bold goals, 23 strategies, and 100+ action-ready initiatives to build a California for All Ages by 2030. It also includes a Data Dashboard for Aging to measure progress and a Local Playbook to drive partnership that help meet these goals together.
The Master Plan calls on all California communities to build a California for All Ages: for older Californians currently living through the many different stages of the second half of life; for younger generations who can expect to live longer lives than their elders; for communities of all ages—family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, and caregivers—surrounding older adults.
Ten Recommendations for Alzheimer’s Prevention, Preparedness, and the Path Forward, November 2020
In 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom formed the Task Force on Alzheimer’s Disease Prevention, Preparedness and the Path Forward to develop recommendations on how California can prevent and prepare for the growing number of Alzheimer’s cases and forge a path forward for families. Led by Maria Shriver, Former First Lady of California and a longtime advocate for women and people living with Alzheimer’s, the Task Force is made up of a diverse group of consumers, caregivers, neuroscientists, researchers, health care providers, innovators, family members, education systems, private-sector leaders, and media professionals. The final Recommendations for Alzheimer’s Prevention, Preparedness, and the Path Forward (PDF) are a roadmap on how California proposes to address Alzheimer’s disease prevention.