Summary of 2008
Community Input Meetings 

Western Illinois Area Agency on Aging (WIAAA) conducted Community Input Meetings on March 5, 6 and 7, 2008. The purpose of these meetings was to gather information and public comment from providers, seniors, caregivers, legislators and the general public which may influence decisions regarding the development of the 2009 amendment to our 2008-2010 Area Plan. The meetings were informal in nature and participants were welcome to discuss any topic they wished. This report summarizes the comments and recommendations from the meetings.

The Older Americans Act says that we are to advocate on behalf of and provide services to "seniors". But the upcoming senior population (baby boomers) is not likely to fit into the old patterns of previous years. How will they "age in place" compared to their parents? Questions raised at the three Community Input meetings revolved around issues such as: Who are the seniors we should be serving? What are the services that will help these and other seniors reach their goals of remaining "as independent as possible for as long as possible"? And how do we attract the younger retiring seniors to our Community Focal Points to receive the information and assistance and social interaction they seek?

With the full funding of Comprehensive Care Coordination (CCC) by IDOA, Title III-B Case Management is no longer funded through WIAAA. This frees up some funding to assist in other service areas. WIAAA asked the Community Input meeting participants these questions: Are there services we currently fund which may need additional funding? What services not currently funded should we consider funding? Do we need to revamp OAA services to make them more relevant in the 21^st Century and if so, how should we go about it?

Service providers, legislator’s representatives, seniors, caregivers and other participants spoke up to express their feelings regarding these questions, making suggestion on how the WIAAA funding should be used to best serve seniors and caregivers.

There was much discussion about attracting the "new" younger seniors to senior centers as baby boomers all over the country begin to retire. What worked in grandmother’s day no longer appeals to the younger senior and senior centers must now think innovatively regarding ways to reach and entice participation at their facilities.

Some suggestions for accomplishing this were:

• New programs which would attract baby boomers (i.e. ham radio operator seminars, computer labs, genealogy classes, work out and strengthening classes, museum and zoo trips, etc.)
• Evening and weekend hours so that still working caregivers and adult children can access information for parents or themselves
• Creating more intriguing volunteer opportunities for the retiring younger seniors
• Coordinating informational events such as the "Living and Learning" series which provide updated, relevant information for both seniors and caregivers
• Providing tangible benefits to the younger senior who becomes a member of their local senior center
• Coordinating with other organizations, entities, county boards to provide services to seniors such as oral health, podiatry health, general health screenings, etc. at their local senior center

Transportation providers stated that transportation continues to be one the most critical services for seniors and remains sorely under funded. Most of transportation providers in the WIAAA planning and service area (PSA) have older, high mileage vehicles which require increased maintenance. While many seniors can make small donations for their rides many cannot and the amount received from those who do donate can never cover the increase in fuel and maintenance costs incurred by the provider. With greater and greater demands for expanded transportation services for trips such as grocery shopping, banking, doctor appointments, social interaction with others, it is impossible to meet the demand without increased funding. Many providers attempt to meet these demands yet stretch their budgets to the limit to do so. Rural areas are particularly hard hit when needing to transport seniors over vast areas to get to doctors, clinics, public aid, etc. In addition, out-of-county transportation to Veteran’s clinics, etc. is nearly impossible to obtain.

While there is no doubt that transportation services could use substantial additional funding, it probably won’t happen any time soon so providers are being urged by WIAAA to participate in a nationwide effort to coordinate with other transportation entities in order to utilize available Federal transportation dollars. It was noted that the draw back to these efforts at collaborated transportation provision is the lack of curb-to-curb, individualized service that seniors tend to need.

Free Legal Assistance for seniors is also in need of increased funding. Prairie State Legal Service currently provides this service throughout the WIAAA Planning and Service Area but is experiencing an increased demand in need. According to the Prairie State Legal services representative, a home visit to advise a senior on legal matters can often mean over an hour drive, raising the cost of the provision of that service now that fuel prices are on the rise again. He also stated that his office is attempting to upgrade services for the homebound by purchasing laptops and wireless internet cards while experiencing an increased need for additional staff to handle the increased demand for services. Many seniors need legal assistance for matters pertaining to their Department of Health and Human Services cases, Social Security and Disability issues, nursing home discharge, advance directives, housing issues, spousal impoverishment and much more.

It was the general consensus at all three community input meetings that Information and Assistance services are critical to keeping seniors in their homes by providing much needed help wading through the mountain of paperwork and information that exists in today’s world. Just the changes to Medicare and Illinois pharmaceutical programs alone are staggering for the average individual, while completely baffling those who are frailer and more vulnerable. Many providers commented on the increased work load undertaken by their Information & Assistance and Outreach staff during the implementation of Medicare D and the changes to Circuit Breaker.

As the baby boomers age they are eager to learn what benefits and resources are available to them. Caregivers, whether long distance or local, need assistance in setting up services for their parents. Communities are always interested in what is available for their citizens. The need for Information and Assistance will not go away and is increasing everyday. More funding is needed for Information and Assistance and Outreach in order to meet this increasing demand. In addition, I&A and OR workers need to be more highly skilled and knowledgeable to be able to interpret and relay to seniors the vast array of information that is available today. Having staff become AIRS certified will enhance and improve the quality of service they give.

With the additional $6,000 in funding that Community Focal Points (CFPs) are getting in FY 2008, they are required to provide additional Information and Assistance (I & A) and secure Alliance of Information and Referral Systems (AIRS) certification for at least one person in their agency. Comments were encouraged on whether or not this was a good use of OAA funding and whether or not people felt it should be continued. The general consensus seemed to be that the CFPs be able to retain these additional funds in the future to enhance and expand their Information and Assistance services in order to meet the growing demand.

Representatives from our Case Coordination Unit (CCU) spoke of needing more funding for Medication Management, Ombudsman, Money Management and Counseling. In addition, they spoke of the need for funding for "self neglect" cases which were supposed to have been funded by the State through Elder Abuse but were not. Requests for increased Respite services were raised by caregivers who attended the meetings, saying that it was the Respite program that made it possible for them to continue to care for their loved one’s at home.

Seniors, legislators, caregivers, providers and the general public will have another opportunity to discuss these and other issues at two upcoming public hearings to be held:

WIAAA will hold Public Hearings in May which will afford the public another opportunity to make comment regarding the development of its 2009 amendment to 2008-2010 Area Plan:

Testimony may be presented verbally or in writing. If you wish to testify at one or more of these meetings, please contact Deb Castillo, Information and Planning Manager at WIAAA. You may call 1-800-322-1051 or 1-309-793-6800 or e-mail: dcastillo@wiaaa.org. For those wishing to testify at the hearings, at least one written copy of your testimony should be available for the hearing panel. Written testimony will be accepted from seniors, providers, legislators and the general public through May 23, 2008.

Copies of the WIAAA Public Information Document (PID) will be available at these Public Hearings.

View pdf version of the Community Input Meeting Summary