Helping seniors and the disabled live in their own homes is the goal of a quadrennial plan that state officials have nearly completed.

The 75-page document has to be completed before the state receives funding from the federal government under the Older Americans Act.

Sheryl Pfliger, program administrator for the aging services division of the Department of Human Services, said the state receives about $5.4 million a year under the act, which helps about 30,000 North Dakotans.

The report is a result of a massive amount of public input gathered from 13 meetings around the state and correspondence from almost 900 people who are homebound, Pfliger said.

"The main thing is that it sets forth a plan to keep people in their homes," Pfliger said.

Those involved with advocacy for the elderly and disabled agree that there is not one single solution to helping peoplen remain living in their homes.

Linda Wurtz, associate state director for advocacy for the AARP, said helping people stay in their homes could be as easy as helping them cook, picking up their prescriptions or providing a pair of helping hands a few times a week, while in other cases, people need a higher level of care.

The plan describes how the state intends to provide senior meals that are home-delivered or served at senior meal sites, health screenings, outreach, family caregiver support services, long-term care ombudsman services, adult protective services, legal services and senior companion services. Some of the goals of the draft plan are to make services more cost-effective and consumer friendly, expand options, increase the number of people who stay active and healthy, and to strengthen the family caregiver support system.

Wurtz said in some areas it is difficult to find in-home care providers or other services.

"We're lacking in every area in some areas of the state," Wurtz said.

The report recommends that the shortage of workers who provide in-home or community-based care should be addressed, and a plan to adequately pay providers should be funded.

The $5.4 million the state receives under the Older Americans Act is a small fraction of what the state spends on in-home care.

According to the report, the funding in the current 2005-07 biennium for home and community-based services is $37.7 million, and the amount spent on long-term care services in the state in the biennium is $343 million.

The draft report is available on the Internet at www.nd.gov/humanservices/info/pubs/docs/oaa-state-plan-on-aging-draft-2007-2010.pdf.

People have until Wednesday to provide comments on the draft.