Tina Gorman, Director, Westfield Council On Aging
There are close to 8,000 older adults living in the City of Westfield. The staff at the Council On Aging/Senior Center is charged with providing services and programs for all of them. As legislators diligently work to balance our local and State budgets, an explanation of who pays for services for our elders is warranted. The two primary funding sources for the Council On Aging are the City of Westfield and the State Formula Grant that is administered through the Executive Office of Elder Affairs.
At the Westfield Council On Aging, the State Formula Grant money is used to partially fund the Dining Program Coordinator and Companionship Program Coordinator positions. For those who are not aware, our Companionship Program provides services to some of the City’s oldest, frailest, and most at-risk older adults. In addition, the Formula Grant fully funds our part-time Wellness Nurse and a part-time Program Associate. Several years ago when State funding to cities and towns was significantly cut, other than certain staff positions, all of the expenses of the Council On Aging were shifted to the State Formula Grant. So additionally, that grant money is used for office, kitchen, janitorial, and wellness supplies; staff and board education and training; the department’s photocopy machine contract; staff transportation for home visits and grocery shopping for the congregate meal program; volunteer recognition; and organizational dues.
The Formula Grant is calculated on a “per elder” basis. The total amount that each city or town is granted is based on the census figures. The “level funding” that Councils On Aging received for fiscal year 2012 was based on the 2000 census figures. In truth, when the 2010 census figures were considered, the actual amount per elder had dropped from $7 in Fiscal Year 2011 to $6.25 in Fiscal Year 2012. When the budget debates began on Beacon Hill for Fiscal Year 2013, the House Ways and Means Committee cut the Formula Grant to $6.05 per elder.
The Massachusetts Association of Councils on Aging supported an amendment to the House Ways and Means proposal that set the Formula Grant at $6.42 per elder. Representative Donald Humason immediately signed on as a co-sponsor of the bill and the full House supported the $6.42 figure. The Senate proposed restoring the Formula Grant to $7 per elder per year. That proposal has been sent to the Budget Conference Committee. Senator Michael Knapik, a staunch supporter of services and programs for older adults, is a member of that Conference Committee. He needs to hear from his constituents who believe that each older adult living in the Commonwealth is worth $7 per year.
The Councils On Aging across the Commonwealth do an amazing job of stretching a dollar as far as it can possibly go. Volunteers log in thousands of hours of free help. And most of these volunteers are older adults themselves. However as older adults live longer, their needs become more complex. So those of us charged with providing services to this demographic population are continually trying to do more with less. Kudos go to Representative Humason for helping to implement the House increase to $6.42 per elder and to Senator Knapik for supporting the Senate’s effort to restore that figure to $7 per elder per year.
