Cincinnati Area Senior Services

CASS delivers essential services for Cincinnati seniors.

CASS is dedicated to meeting the needs and promoting independence for at-risk older adults throughout Hamilton County Ohio. We deliver essential services to over 2,000 senior citizens, often five times a week. Our clients rely on us for…

Nutrition - meals delivered to people's homes or served at one of our Senior Centers.

Protection - Guardian and representative payee services to oversee and coordinate clients' personal and financial matters.

Socialization - programs and activities offered through our Senior Centers (For more information, click on the "Senior Centers" button.)

Transportation -rides to and from Senior Centers, the grocery store, and area shopping centers.

An older man who is active but indigent may lack transportation to the grocery store or medical appointments, putting him at risk; An elderly woman in a wheelchair may need help with meals; Other at-risk or isolated seniors may be able to stay in their homes with bill-paying or other management help.

Nutrition Services

CASS is the largest provider of seniors’ meals-on-wheels in the area, and the only meals provider delivering to the inner city. Depending on the client’s situation, we can provide frozen, chilled or hot meals. Each week CASS delivers over 5,500 nutritious, balanced meals to qualified homebound seniors. Meals are delivered weekdays between 10:30 a.m.-6:00 p.m. All meals are low in fat and salt, and special diabetic meals are available.

For many inner-city seniors, our meals are literally a lifeline. And with the food comes another form of nurture: daily human contact and support. Private-pay meals may be arranged at a fee for non-qaulified seniors. For information on CASS Home-Delivered Meals: Contact the meals program staff at 513-721-0445 for assistance with meals.

Protection Services

CASS offers a range of services include:

Community-Based Case Management

Guardianship Assistance Program (GAP)

Representative Payee Program

Substance Abuse Case Management

Community-Based Case Management: Simple social isolation or infirmity can open the door to exploitation, even from family members or acquaintances. Perhaps a medical condition is going untreated, or a once-healthy bank account is suddenly emptied. Or a declining senior is neglecting himself. Our licensed, experienced social workers assess each referral and provide ongoing case management. We find appropriate community resources, such as locating appropriate household help or securing bank accounts against fraudulent use, to ensure safety and independence.

Substance Abuse Case Management:. Alcohol or chemical dependency will turn aging into an even more desperate struggle. Hamilton County residents age 55 or older can get hands-on help, education, and ongoing case management from CASS social workers in preventing a relapse or maintaining sobriety. CASS also offers older adults sobriety meetings.

Representative Payee Program: CASS is the only organization providing money management right in the home setting, when inability to deal with finances leaves clients vulnerable to loss of housing, utilities, and more. We combine the expertise of social workers with trained staff who pay bills, set up budgets, do grocery shopping and even assist with Medicaid, Medicare, and pre-need funeral planning—all in partnership with the senior, at home.

Guardianship Assistance Program (GAP): The senior who is both very compromised and completely alone is a special, and often desperate, case. Typically a group home or nursing home resident age 60 or older, this client may require a court-appointed Guardian to advocate for his or her interests, make health care decisions, and provide the comfort of human contact. Guardianship is a legally defined process. While it may pertain to the individual, the estate, or both, our program is solely involved in care and management of the person. GAP recruits and trains guardians for this compassionate task, providing legal and social services support. CASS also holds quarterly training sessions to monitor program quality—and assure dignity in the face of decline. To learn more about what it means to be a GAP Guardian, click here.

Transportation Services

CASS buses offer two kinds of vital transport [for those 60 and older]:

Senior Transport from various older adult communities to our senior centers, from those centers to grocery and other shopping, and on regularly scheduled recreational trips and outings—all helping seniors remain independent and actively engaged. Transport to daily activities at the CASS senior centers keeps vital social connections alive for many other seniors who otherwise would be isolated. CASS also provides weekly shopping and recreational trips, without which many seniors would not be able to shop for basic necessities. For participation information and schedules contact the CASS transportation department at 513-721-0375.

Medical Transport in wheelchair-equipped vans to physicians’ offices, outpatient clinics and dialysis units, a crucial link for those confined to home. CASS provides door-to-door medical trips, many for non-ambulatory patients. Seniors must qualify under the PASSPORT or ESP programs. Contact the Council on Aging at 513-721-1025 for qualification information.