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Illinois Initiative: 1

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Initiative Name:
Super Seniors Program and Rules of the Road

Initiative Type:
Community outreach; Public information & awareness

Description:
Illinois' Super Seniors Program goes on the road to libraries, senior centers, and park districts, to prepare seniors to renew their driver licenses in an informative, convenient, and less stressful environment. This mobile program brings a minivan with computers, camera, printers, and the same vision test used at driver licensing offices. Illinois requires a road test at renewal beginning at age 75, and although the road test is not given at the mobile site, Super Seniors Program provides a detailed description of the road test, to help drivers feel better prepared and less anxious.

Rules of the Road can be part of Super Seniors or can be a stand-alone program. The two-hour Rules of the Road course prepares people for the state's written test, with practice questions, discussion of correct answers, and practice identification of road signs.

The Rules of the Road course is free, and the Super Seniors Program is also free except for the standard license renewal fee for those who renew there. About 50-60 Super Senior events are held annually, and about 300-500 Rules of the Road stand-alone events are held annually. The mobile unit also provides state ID cards for people who are unable to drive, including those in nursing facilities who are unable to travel at all. (Illinois provides free ID cards which never expire, to persons over age 65 and persons with disabilities.) All told, approximate 8,000-10,000 people receive either driver's licenses or ID cards through the mobile units annually.

This program employs 8-10 mobile workers in the Chicago metro area, plus about 20 workers in the downstate area. Staff are a mixture of full-time and part-time. A minimum of 8-10 attendees are needed in order to schedule a ROR class. Scheduling is accomplished with a full-time coordinator at Driver Services, interfacing with area agencies on aging, AAA, and AARP, who publicize the events locally.

 Responsible Agency:
Secretary of State Jesse White (overall) and then Driver Services Department (specifically)

Partners:
Area Agencies on Aging; AAA; AARP

Start: This program has been in existence for 15 years, with ongoing improvements.
End: Ongoing

Contact Info

Name:
Felix C Fernandes

Title:
Administrator, Metro Field Events, Driver Services Dept.

Phone:
(312) 814-8937

Website: Yes

Materials and References:
Printed materials are available from the Driver Services Dept at 217-782-8893. These include: llinois Rules of the Road Review Course Workbook; A Guide to Services, Serving Senior Citizens, Persons with Disabilities, and Veterans; Mobile Driver Services Facility Pamphlet.

Evaluation Status:
At every ROR class, evaluation cards are given to all attendees and mailed to Mr. Fernandes at DMV. In addition, Illinois keeps track of the number of people served.

Keys to Success:
High degree of commitment from Secretary of State; Ongoing cooperation between Area Agencies on Aging, AAA, AARP and scheduling coordinator in Driver Services.