Montgomery County Aging and Adult Services is the Area Agency on Aging for families in Norristown, King of Prussia, Abington, Lansdale and Ambler, and its assessment can change what you pay.
By Philly Senior Advisor Care Team — Benefits & Costs Team · October 7, 2026
Families who grew up in Philadelphia often assume the number to call is the same one everywhere in the region. It is not. Philadelphia is a consolidated city-county, so the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging (PCA) covers everyone inside the city line. The moment a parent lives across City Avenue or past the Northeast Philadelphia border, the Area Agency on Aging belongs to a different government. For Montgomery County, that is Montgomery County Aging and Adult Services, which serves residents from Norristown and King of Prussia to Abington, Lansdale and Ambler. If you are weighing Montgomery County Aging and Adult Services against a private placement search, the sensible order is to call the agency first and tour second.
The reason is simple. The agency can open doors that a facility sales office cannot. It can arrange a free assessment of what your parent actually needs, connect you to the Pennsylvania Department of Aging's OPTIONS Program, and tell you honestly whether your parent is likely to qualify for Community HealthChoices (CHC), the Medicaid long-term services program. A sales counselor at an assisted living residence has a reason to steer you toward a room. The agency has no bed to fill, and that neutrality is worth a phone call before you spend a Saturday driving between buildings in Lansdale and Plymouth Meeting.
Area Agencies on Aging in Pennsylvania are funded in large part through the Pennsylvania Lottery, which is why the same programs show up with similar names in every county. In Montgomery County the front end is an intake and assessment function. A caseworker talks with the older adult or a family member, asks about daily activities such as bathing, dressing, meals, medications and mobility, and schedules a home visit if the situation warrants one. This is usually the first time anyone outside the family has written down, in an organized way, what help is really needed.
From that assessment, services can follow. Depending on eligibility and local funding, that may include home-delivered meals, personal care at home, adult day services, caregiver support, protective services for older adults who may be neglected or exploited, and help applying for benefits. Families in Bucks, Delaware and Chester Counties will recognize the pattern, because each has its own agency with a similar mandate. What differs is the waiting time, the local provider network, and how quickly a caseworker can reach your parent's door in a county that stretches from dense Norristown streets to quieter townships further out.
The single most misunderstood piece is the OPTIONS Program. It is run through the Pennsylvania Department of Aging and delivered locally by the county agency, and it is funded by Lottery dollars rather than by Medicaid. That means it does not require the strict financial spend-down that Community HealthChoices does, and many families who assume they earn too much for help find that OPTIONS applies a sliding fee scale instead. A parent with a modest pension and a paid-off home may qualify for a few hours of in-home help a week at a cost that scales with income.
OPTIONS is also separate from LIFE, Pennsylvania's version of the national PACE model, and from PACE and PACENET, which are prescription-drug subsidy programs with no connection to placement. Mixing these up is common, and it leads families to rule out the wrong program. A quick way to keep them straight: OPTIONS is care management and in-home services through the county, CHC is Medicaid-funded long-term care through a managed-care organization, LIFE is an all-inclusive center-based program, and PACENET is about pharmacy costs.
For parents whose resources are limited and whose needs are heavy, the county agency is also a starting point for CHC, which runs through the Department of Human Services' Office of Long-Term Living. CHC can pay for personal care services at home or inside a licensed Personal Care Home or Assisted Living Residence, but it does not pay for room and board. That gap surprises families. A parent in a Montgomery County residence may still need Social Security and a small personal needs allowance to cover housing even when care is covered.
The agency can help you understand where your parent sits before you commit to a facility. If your parent is close to the income and asset limits, a few weeks of planning can protect options that vanish after a private-pay move. Ask the caseworker directly whether a Medicaid-friendly placement is realistic in your price range, because many private residences in the suburbs do not accept CHC at all.
Before dialing, gather four things: your parent's date of birth and address, a short list of medications, the names of any doctors or the hospital that treats them, such as Abington Hospital or Lankenau Medical Center, and a rough sense of monthly income. You do not need documents in hand to start, but having these facts ready shortens the call. Say plainly what is happening: a fall, a hospital discharge, memory changes, a caregiver who is exhausted.
Expect a callback rather than an instant answer, and expect to repeat your story. Write down the name of everyone you speak with. If the situation involves possible abuse, neglect or exploitation, say so immediately, because protective services follow a faster track. Keep touring and calling facilities in the meantime if the need is urgent, but treat the agency's assessment as the document that anchors your decisions about cost, level of care and which programs to pursue.
Free, online, and no pressure — we answer to families here, not to facilities.
Or call (855) 768-7212