Bureau of Aging and Disability Resources
The Bureau of Aging and Disability Resources (BADR) moves our state forward in safeguarding our right to participate fully in our community as we age or experience disability. BADR partners with an extensive network of experts and advocates to identify the policies, structures, and systems that can unintentionally work against us as we age or experience disability. Together, we chart a healthier path forward for everyone.
BADR administers programs and services in support of this mission including:
- Assistive technology to help us be successful at our job and to live safely in our homes if we are blind, Deaf, DeafBlind, Hard of Hearing, or experiencing a different disability.
- Information, assistance, and counseling about our options to secure support through community-based long-term services, when needed.
- Adult protective services that reinforce our right to self-determination.
- Support for family members and friends when caring for a loved one at home.
BADR works closely with all our partners and other units in the Department of Health Services to develop policies that are responsive to our needs as we age and/or experience disability and effectively promote continued participation and contribution in the community.
Wisconsin Department of Health Services
Bureau of Aging and Disability Resources
201 E. Washington Ave.
PO Box 2659
Madison, WI 53701-2659
BADR consists of the following three sections:
The Office on Aging has responsibility for developing and promoting public policy and planning the delivery of services that enhance the self-sufficiency of older persons of all incomes and conditions. This section has responsibility to administer programs and activities required, authorized, and/or funded by the federal Older Americans Act and the Wisconsin Elders Act. These include information and assistance, the elderly nutrition program, the Elder Benefit Specialist Program (for persons age 60 and older), caregiver support and intergenerational programs and the variety of supportive and preventive services provided through county and tribal aging offices as well as three area agencies.
Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) respond to the needs of Americans aged 60 and over in every local community. Some of the services Wisconsin Area Agencies on Aging provide:
- Assess current needs of older people in their planning and service area
- Assess available services, programs, and institutions
- Develop plans to help address service gaps
- Assure access to services, programs, and institutions
- Advocate for the needs of older people
- Develop leaders and advocates among Wisconsin's older population
- Finance and administer contracts to direct providers of services
- Provide leadership and technical assistance to local aging service providers
- Serve as a focal point for evidence based health promotion and disease prevention activities
The office also administers senior employment funds for the Department of Labor and volunteer programs under the National Corporation for Community Service.
The Office for the Promotion of Independent Living (OPIL) works to ensure that people with disabilities of all ages, abilities, and incomes have equal opportunity and equal access and a high quality of life. OPIL consists of the following three offices:
The Office for the Blind and Visually Impaired is the central point for blind services, representing the interests and needs of the adult blind and visually impaired population in Wisconsin. Through the provision of a wide range of independent living services and technologies, OBVI is committed to assisting in quality of life and quality of care issues of older blind adults.
The Office for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing is the single state authority on quality of life and quality of care issues for people in Wisconsin of all ages who are deaf, Deaf-Blind or hard of hearing. Its mission is to ensure that the quality of life's choices and equal opportunities are available to all deaf, Deaf-Blind and hard of hearing people.
Office for Physical Disabilities and Independent Living (OPDIL)
The Office for Physical Disabilities and Independent Living administers public programs and services that aim to improve the quality of life of Wisconsin’s citizens living with disabilities, with an emphasis on those with physical disabilities.
The Office for Resource Center Development (ORCD) is the state office that partners with ADRCs throughout Wisconsin. ORCD is comprised of staff with expertise in resource center operation, finances, and policy development. ORCD ensures that ADRCs provide services in accordance with federal and state law. The office develops program policies, provides technical assistance, and trains resource center staff. In its work with ADRCs, ORCD directs various programs and services that benefit older adults and individuals with disabilities, including information and assistance counseling, disability benefit specialist services, long term care enrollment counseling, and options counseling.