Aging in Missouri: An Overview of State Services & Funding

As the number of older Missourians increases, demand for programs serving older adults and people living with disabilities has grown dramatically. However, the availability of and funding for these services has not kept pace. This report, from the Missouri Budget Project, provides an overview of state programs serving older adults and people living with disabilities in Missouri, with a specific focus on the adequacy of state funding to support these programs.  The findings suggest that Missouri does not adequately fund services for older adults and people living with disabilities, particularly critical wrap-around services targeted toward community dwelling Missourians that are designed to prevent and delay the need for much more costly institutional care.

As a supplement to the report, the Missouri Budget Project website also hosts an interactive budget tracker tool to illustrate how Missouri funds programs serving older adults and people with disabilities over time.  Investments in each program are shown in three ways to allow advocates to better understand how the value of appropriations have changed over time given both the rising cost of services and a dramatic increase in the number of older Missourians:

Total funding appropriated by year: the first measure shows the actual appropriation for each program from FY2007-2022.

Total funding by year adjusted for inflation: the second measure shows the appropriation adjusted to today’s dollars to provide a more accurate picture of how the value of the appropriation has changed over time given the rising cost of providing services.

Investment per Missourian over age 60: the final measure shows the per capita investment in each older Missourian adjusted for inflation in order to provide a more accurate picture of how the value of the appropriation has changed given a dramatic increase in the number of eligible Missourians as well as the rising cost of providing services.