Hawaii Elderly Affairs Division
What the Elderly Affairs Division Actually Is
The Elderly Affairs Division is Honolulu's county-level Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC), serving seniors and caregivers across Oahu. It operates under the City & County of Honolulu's Department of Community Services — not the state Executive Office on Aging (EOA), which is a separate entity housed in the Department of Health.
That distinction matters because each county has its own ADRC entry point, and if your parent lives on a neighbor island, you need a different office entirely:
- Oahu: Elderly Affairs Division (808-768-7700)
- Maui County: Maui County Office on Aging (808-270-7774)
- Hawaii Island: Hawaii County Office of Aging (808-961-8626)
- Kauai: Kauai Agency on Elderly Affairs (808-241-4470)
The Elderly Affairs Division is the one most people encounter first because roughly 70% of Hawaii's population lives on Oahu.
What Services the Division Connects You To
The Elderly Affairs Division doesn't deliver most services directly — it functions as a gateway, connecting eligible seniors and their caregivers to funded programs. The core referrals include:
Kupuna Care: State-funded in-home support for adults 60 and older who don't qualify for Med-QUEST. Services cover personal care, home-delivered meals, chore assistance, homemaker support, adult day care, and assisted transportation. The recipient must need help with at least two Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), two Instrumental ADLs, or have significant cognitive impairment. Kupuna Care has no hard income or asset cutoff — instead, cost-sharing follows a sliding scale.
Kupuna Caregivers Program (KCGP): Provides up to $210 per week in respite care funding so working family caregivers can stay employed. The caregiver must work at least 30 hours per week. All payments go directly to contracted service providers — no cash to the caregiver. Notably, KCGP has no income or asset limits for either the caregiver or the care recipient.
Caregiver support and training: Information on respite care options, caregiver stress management, and community resources like Project Dana's volunteer companion program.
Benefits screening: Staff can help determine whether your parent might qualify for Med-QUEST (Hawaii's Medicaid managed care), Supplemental Security Income, or other federal programs.
How to Use the ADRC as Your Starting Point
The most practical approach: call or walk in to the Elderly Affairs Division and request a comprehensive assessment. An intake specialist will evaluate your parent's functional limitations, current living situation, and financial picture to determine which programs fit.
Bring documentation if you have it — your parent's income verification, a list of current medications and medical providers, and any existing legal documents (power of attorney, advance directive). If you hold a valid power of attorney or are the court-appointed guardian, bring that paperwork so staff can determine what additional authorization may be needed to discuss your parent's case directly with you.
If your parent hasn't yet established legal documents authorizing you to manage their care, the ADRC can explain what's needed. Hawaii families frequently discover during this intake process that they lack the formal authority to sign applications on a parent's behalf — particularly Form DHS 1121A (the Authorized Representative form required by Med-QUEST).
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The Distinction Between ADRC Services and Legal Authority
The Elderly Affairs Division can connect you to programs, but it cannot grant you legal authority to act on your parent's behalf. Applying for Med-QUEST or discussing a case may require Form DHS 1121A or other authorization; making medical decisions may be covered by an activated AHCD agent or Hawaii's statutory surrogate rules, while financial management may require a POA or conservatorship.
The Hawaii Power of Attorney & Guardianship Kit covers both pathways — establishing legal authority through private documents when your parent can still sign, and the court petition process when they can't — so you can actually use the services the ADRC connects you to.
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