Memorandum
From Abby Cox, Aging Services Coordinator
Date: April 29, 2009
Hope you are enjoying the beautiful spring weather! About 100 CO-AGE participants met at the First United Methodist Church in Albany on April 23 for our annual wrap-up of the legislative session. Although we missed seeing you, we want to provide you some information about the meeting. Cheryll Schramm, Chair of the Georgia Council on Aging, welcomed attendees to the quarterly meeting. She also recognized State Representative Ed Rynders and Representative Winfred Dukes, DHR board member, Don Cole, along with the Council members who were in attendance. Cheryll thanked SOWEGA for hosting the meeting and later gave a presentation of the Georgia for a Lifetime Initiative. Melba Paulk-Veazey, CO-AGE Chair, reviewed the meeting’s agenda and introduced Monica Couch, Aging Services Coordinator from Coastal Georgia RDC, who presented a slide show about their local advocates’ experience at this year’s Senior Week at the Capitol. The status of each of our CO-AGE issues was presented. Legislation for the Department of Aging (HB 354) and Parent Protection Act (HB 37) priorities was introduced but stalled before crossing over to the Senate. With the legislature focused on tax cutting proposals and declining revenues, CO-AGE funding priorities of $6.3 million for the Community Care Services Program—CCSP ($3.8 million for maintenance of need and $2.5 million for new clients), $4 million for the Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) program, and $1.5 million for the Support of Children in Grandparent Care were not included in the ’10 budget. However, HCBS was partially restored with $1.5 million and both Houses agreed to use $1,045,000 of stimulus money to go to the Meals on Wheels program to ensure that 138,000 meals will continue for the FY 2010 budget.
Click here for a copy of the agenda from the April 23 meeting.
Click here for a list of the 2009 Advocating for Positive Change award recipients who were honored at the meeting,
and additional information that will help you plan your CO-AGE activities for the coming year. First, mark your calendar for the
remaining CO-AGE meetings for 2009—July 9 at Kennesaw State University and October 8 in Dublin.
We encourage your input in the CO-AGE priorities setting process by filling out the
CO-AGE Issue Summary Framework
with your issue and sending it to us by May 8. We have also included 2 sample issues from last year (Department of Aging and Funding of Licensure of Adult Day Centers) to give you an idea of what you might cover in your presentation.
Next, please take the
CO-AGE Participant Challenge checking those activities that you are prepared to undertake in the coming year. Please complete the Annual CO-AGE Participation Agreement form and return it to us with a voluntary contribution if you so desire. If you haven’t sent your renewal form for 2009 please do so now as you may otherwise be removed from the database! Also if you would like to nominate an advocate for the
Vita R. Ostrander Advocacy Award, please complete and return that form. Thanks for reviewing all this information and especially for completing and mailing the CO-AGE Issue Summary Framework by May 8. See you at Kennesaw State on July 9!
Enjoy photos of the meeting below.
