ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the roles of two systems, the system presently serving the elderly and that dealing with individuals with developmental disabilities, in terms of providing services for elderly individuals with developmental disabilities. Two provider network systems serve this population, the Developmental Disabilities System and the Aging Network. The developmental disabilities network originally targeted those with mental retardation but its scope includes all individuals with developmental disabilities. The aging network is responsible for services to individuals age sixty and older. The focus of this network is to provide community supports and social services to maintain normal functioning in older individuals rather than to impart new learning or develop new skills. There are a number of barriers to cooperation between the fields of developmental disabilities and aging that hinder cooperative programs. These are: attitudinal, financial, programmatic, educational, and informational that caused difficulties when attempts were made to coordinate services.
