Essential Communications for the Aging and Disability Communities
Administration for Community Living
BETAH’s communications experts and the Administration for Community Living have made living in the community a reality for millions of older Americans and individuals with disabilities.
At BETAH, we believe that everyone deserves to live where they choose, and with the people they choose. That’s why we are proud to provide strategic communications services to a federal agency that works to advance independence, integration, and inclusion throughout life. Our approach involves creating a comprehensive plan to connect the agency’s diverse community of stakeholders with the resources they need to promote aging in place, self-direction, and independence.
As communications experts, BETAH helps the Administration for Community Living (ACL) and its many programs and centers to develop and share critical information with and about the aging and disability services networks and the many home- and community-based services and supports they support.
Because each person has unique needs and preferences, it’s critical that ACL and its networks communicate effectively, tailoring content to suit a wide range of experiences. That’s why BETAH uses multiple channels and tactics, including blogs, toolkits, social media, fact and tip sheets, press releases, articles, and more to support ACL’s public affairs.
For people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, peer support can be impactful. To help inform partners, leaders, and others in the community, we developed a fact sheet about the peer-powered support available at the Centers for Independent Living, which work to support community living by providing resources and support that promote inclusion, integration, equal opportunities, and self-determination.
We know that explainer videos, photography, and other graphic materials can educate, explain—and, hopefully, inspire action. So we created a YouTube video showing how beneficiaries and their families can rely on local State Health Insurance Assistance Program offices when navigating the complexities of Medicare.
BETAH is also particularly proud of our contribution to the Senior Medicare Patrol program, an important service to help prevent, detect, and report Medicare fraud. BETAH helped ACL put together a national radio tour for the program consisting of 26 interviews about how to prevent health care fraud. Reporting from just one week of the tour showed 187 airings across 10 markets, notoriously “difficult-to-get” stations such as WTOP (a top all-news radio broadcast station serving the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area).
BETAH’s solve-the-problem, make-things-better approach is one of the key factors that allows ACL to accomplish so much, according to a public affairs specialist at ACL.