Rep. Stanley Fights for Increased Funding for Seniors in State Budget
(Boston, MA) – April 8, 2016 – Rep. Stanley, along with 134 of his colleagues in the House, recently sent a letter to House Ways and Means Chairman Brian Dempsey asking for additional support for the state’s local councils on aging. Rep. Stanley worked closely with the letter’s author, Rep. Bruce J. Ayers, and helped garner support for the letter resulting in the large number of cosigners.
The letter requests an increase in funding from $9 to $10 per senior in the formula grant for each city and town in line item 9110-9002 in the state’s budget. By 2020, older adults will comprise 24 percent of the Commonwealth’s population.
“More individuals are stepping through the doors of our local councils on aging each day and they deserve our full support,” said Rep. Stanley. “This particular line item is very important as funding for our Councils on Aging serves a wide population of older adults with many diverse needs. While our population is aging, local Councils on Aging are becoming increasingly strained for resources and personnel to provide adequate care for the seniors they serve.”
The Formula Grant is awarded based on the already outdated United States 2010 Census. The actual state allocation to municipalities of $9 per elder does not address the continued growth of the older adult population that enters the doors of our Commonwealth’s senior centers every day. Since the 2010 Census, the number of individuals over the age of 60 has increased by more than 220,000 older adults, or a 19% to 22% increase of the Commonwealth’s total population.
Councils on Aging are the first stop on the elder care continuum and are currently serving three distinct cohorts of older adults: the WWII generation, the Silent Generation and the Baby Boomers. Their needs are complex and varied, and the demand for Councils on Aging services such as healthy aging and wellness programs, transportation, supportive day programs, and job search programs continues to increase.
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