CICOA Indianapolis & Indiana Area Agencies on Aging: Services, Coverage Areas & How to Get Help

You've been told to "contact your local Area Agency on Aging" — by a hospital social worker, a state website, or a worried sibling. But what does that actually mean? What will they do for you? And if your parent lives in Indianapolis, you keep seeing the name CICOA everywhere without a clear explanation of what they handle.

Here's what Indiana's AAA network does, what CICOA specifically offers in central Indiana, and how to connect with the right office for your parent's county.

What Area Agencies on Aging Do in Indiana

Indiana has 16 Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs), each covering a specific cluster of counties. They are funded through federal Older Americans Act dollars and state appropriations, administered through the FSSA Division of Aging.

AAAs are not care providers. They are navigation hubs — the people who help families figure out which programs exist, whether they qualify, and how to apply. Core services include:

• Options counseling — a free, one-on-one session where a trained counselor reviews your parent's situation and maps out available care options (home care, assisted living, Medicaid waivers, state-funded programs)
• CHOICE program administration — the state-funded Community and Home Options to Institutional Care for the Elderly and Disabled program, which provides in-home services for seniors who don't qualify for Medicaid but can't afford private-pay care (asset limit: $250,000, no income cap)
• Home-delivered meals (Meals on Wheels) and congregate nutrition programs
• Caregiver support — respite care, counseling, and training through the National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP), which has no income or asset test
• Transportation assistance for medical appointments
• Legal assistance referrals for advance directives, power of attorney, and guardianship
• Medicare counseling through the SHIP (State Health Insurance Assistance Program)

AAAs also serve as the local Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs) — the single entry point the state uses to connect older adults and people with disabilities to long-term services and supports.

CICOA: Central Indiana's AAA

CICOA (Central Indiana Council on Aging) is the AAA serving Marion, Boone, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Johnson, Morgan, and Shelby counties — essentially the greater Indianapolis metro area.

CICOA operates an Aging and Disability Resource Center that serves as the primary intake point for seniors in central Indiana. Their main number is (317) 254-5465, and their resource center can be reached at (800) 489-9550.

Key CICOA services beyond standard AAA offerings:

• Care transitions coaching — helping seniors transition safely from hospital to home, reducing readmission risk
• HomeCare services — CICOA directly provides personal care aides, homemaker services, and respite care through its own staff
• Emergency home repair and safety modifications (grab bars, ramps, bathroom modifications)
• Guardian and representative payee services for seniors who lack family support
• Benefits enrollment assistance — help applying for Medicaid, SNAP, LIHEAP, and other programs

If your parent lives in the Indianapolis area and you're not sure where to start, CICOA is the first call to make.

Finding the Right AAA by County

If your parent lives outside central Indiana, you need a different AAA. The fastest way to find the correct one is to call the INconnect Alliance at 1-800-713-9023 — a statewide helpline that routes callers to their regional AAA based on county of residence.

Major AAA offices across Indiana include:

• REAL Services — St. Joseph, Elkhart, Marshall, LaPorte, Starke, Pulaski, Fulton, Kosciusko counties (South Bend/Elkhart area)
• Area 2 Agency on Aging — Wabash, Huntington, Grant, Blackford, Jay, Wells, Adams counties (northeast Indiana)
• Area IV Agency on Aging & Community Action — Tippecanoe, Benton, Carroll, Clinton, Fountain, Montgomery, Warren, White counties (Lafayette area)
• LifeStream Services — Delaware, Henry, Jay, Randolph counties (Muncie area)
• Generations Area 13 AAA — Dubois, Gibson, Perry, Pike, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh, Warrick counties (Evansville area)
• SWIRCA & More — serving southwestern Indiana with meals, transportation, and caregiver support

Each AAA offers the same core menu of federally mandated services, but local programs vary based on available funding and community partnerships.

What AAAs Cannot Do

Understanding the limits saves time and frustration:

• AAAs cannot approve Medicaid eligibility — that is handled by the Division of Family Resources (DFR)
• AAAs no longer perform Level of Care assessments — since July 2025, all nursing facility Level of Care assessments are conducted by Maximus through the LCAR process (call 1-833-597-2777)
• AAAs cannot provide legal advice — they refer to legal aid organizations and elder law attorneys
• AAAs cannot guarantee placement in a specific facility or override waitlists

For Medicaid waiver applications, the AAA can help you understand the process and gather documents, but the formal application goes through DFR and the clinical assessment through Maximus.

Getting the Most Out of Your AAA Contact

Before calling, have this information ready:

1. Your parent's county of residence
2. Their approximate monthly income (Social Security, pension, retirement withdrawals)
3. A brief description of what they need help with (bathing, meals, transportation, medication management)
4. Whether they have existing insurance coverage (Medicare, Medicaid, long-term care insurance)
5. Any recent hospitalizations or changes in cognitive function

The Indiana Elder Care Decision Guide includes a complete intake preparation worksheet that organizes everything the AAA, Maximus, and DFR will ask for — so you're not scrambling for documents across multiple phone calls.

See more Indiana guides →