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- Thriving in an Environment
- of Change
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- The Baby Boomers
are turning 60!
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- Comprise 26.8% of the population and number 76.9 Million
- Control 50% of all consumer spending
- Are expected to live longer than any previous generation
- 59% of boomers voted in the 2000 election
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- The fastest growing age group in America today
- 85 – 94
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- Commissioner Tim Lee included a Ten Year Master Plan for Cobb Senior
Services (CSS) in his goals for 2005.
- In February Chairman Olens invited potential committee members to create
CSS’s first Master Plan.
- Seven monthly meetings were held to examine every aspect of CSS mission
and propose recommendations.
- The draft document was available for public review and comment in
October .
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- With a set of core values as
their
- guide, the Committee reviewed:
- Current programs and services
- Demographics and trends in aging
- Recommendations for the future based on predicted growth in Cobb’s
senior population
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- Dignity and respect for elders
- Independence and self-determination
- Health and well-being
- Safe environs
- Continued productivity
- Active lifestyles
- Interaction with other generations
- Learning opportunities
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- Cobb County Government will not be able to address all the future needs
of the senior population
- A cooperative effort with other providers will be necessary
- The Master Plan will address all
areas of need
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- Information & Education
- Volunteerism
- Advocacy
- Facilities
- Services
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- Information is a key component
of all aging programs under the Older American’s Act of 1965. CSS
provides information and education through:
- Outreach
- Information & Referral Hotline
- Classes
- Staff training
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- Resource library in all facilities
- Target adult children as a conduit of information to their parents and
to help them prepare for their own retirement
- Partner with local school systems to develop quality mentoring
- Partner with home improvement stores to provide brochures on products
for home adaptations
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- The need for volunteers will
grow in proportion to Cobb’s senior population and CSS programs.
Measures must be taken to meet that challenge in a climate of high gas
prices, diminished volunteer resources and competition from non-profits.
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- Recruitment
- Meals on Wheels “Adopt a Route”
- Program Recognition
- U.S. Presidential Service Award
- Reimbursements
- Senior Companion Grants
- Risk
- Background checks, training, security
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- Advocacy is an important part of the mission of CSS. Individual needs
and general concerns of seniors require different approaches. The
position of Coordinator of Volunteerism & Advocacy was created in
2004 to elevate advocacy for seniors.
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- Cobb Senior Services
- Senior to Senior Advocacy Team
- Best Practices recognition
programs
- Grandparents raising
grandchildren
- Lobby at the regional, state, and
federal .levels for funding
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- Challenges:
- Senior population growth
- Changing programming demand
- Antiquated facilities
- Lack of parking
- Rising land costs
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- Assess building sites with sustainable living concepts and
transportation accessibility in mind.
- Focus on campus concept with shared parking and compatible amenities.
- Pursue partnerships with cities for land development.
- Investigate potential vacant school adaptations for senior centers
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- Study impact of out-of-county residents on Multipurpose Center
attendance.
- Pursue memorial land donations and living trusts.
- Design senior centers to facilitate health and wellness components.
- Incorporate central fleet accommodations in future development.
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- Many CSS services are in response to both client needs and mandates of
grants. Additionally the growing
Hispanic/Latino community in Cobb may alter the scope of services.
- We will focus on:
- Socialization
- Personal Services
- Health, Wellness & Nutrition
- Transportation
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- Socialization
- Although an essential factor
in successful aging, opportunities for socialization often diminish in
later years. Baby Boomers’
socialization patterns will differ from those of preceding generations.
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- Plan for socialization programs and environments such as coffee shops
and fitness clubs that are appropriate and desired by the evolving
senior population.
- Continue to recognize that families are one of the most important
support systems for seniors.
- Provide alternative services for
those seniors who do not have access to family support.
- Be aware of the needs of the Hispanic/Latino community as it ages and
devise a plan to address those needs.
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- Personal Services
- The need for supportive
personal services such as Personal Care, Homemaker and in-home and
out-of-home respite programs will continue. Areas with higher
concentrations of seniors aging in place will need more personal
services. CSS must reach out to the increasing number of caregivers and
low-income families and recognizes that it alone will not be able to
serve the increasing needs.
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- Encourage a collaboration between CSS, faith based, private sector and
non-profits to ensure Personal Services are available to all in need and
continue to maintain a high level of service standards.
- Ensure that services are affordable for the 25% of the Cobb population
with incomes of $25,000 or less.
- Collaborate with other Out-of-Home Respite programs such as Senior Day
Centers which are being established in Cobb.
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- Health, Wellness & Nutrition
- Good health and wellness are
fundamental to maintaining strong mental functioning as well as a sense
of life satisfaction. Depression in late life is not a normal factor of
aging. Nutrition is an essential component of healthy aging.
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- Continue current health, wellness and nutrition programs.
- Promote a healthy life-style through education and fitness.
- Design facilities to accommodate fitness programs.
- Advocate for seniors with other community based nutrition programs to
provide daily meals.
- Determine the feasibility of a full-service kitchen for preparation of
meals and healthy eating classes.
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- Transportation
- Transportation is the number
one obstacle for seniors in Cobb and the region.
- The lack of available
transportation causes a severe hardship for seniors who cannot get to
essential services such as medical treatment.
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- The inability to move around in the community increases seniors’
isolation from the mainstream of life.
- 19.1% of all seniors 65+ in Cobb County have mobility and/or self-care
limitations.
- CSS cannot meet demand due to increased transportation costs.
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- Create a Transportation Voucher Program for current wait listed clients.
- Explore expanding the voucher program to include all demand response
clients.
- Initiate a collaboration to advocate for more affordable private sector
transportation opportunities.
- Apply for the Senior Companion Grant in 2006.
- Partner with DOT to explore the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient
Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU).
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- The Committee strongly agreed
that we need to raise the level of consciousness of senior needs in
Cobb. Just as the Americans with Disabilities Act changed the way we
plan for the needs of the disabled, awareness of senior issues must be
heightened. Additionally the valuable role that older generations play in
the community should be recognized. Stereotypical images must be
replaced with the reality of a vibrant senior population.
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- Encourage the local print media to develop a weekly column about
seniors and provide assistance to
keep the articles topical.
- Establish a committee to set up intergenerational programs to encourage
younger generations to volunteer in aging programs and to learn how to
age wisely.
- Lobby Girl/Boy Scouts to create a badge for working with seniors.
- Include non-seniors in future CSS committees/boards to generate a new
perspective in planning.
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- This document is a strategy to
succeed as CSS uses their extraordinary history as a basis for the
challenges of the future. Recognizing that government alone cannot
accommodate all the needs of the burgeoning senior population, CSS will
continue to collaborate with Cobb’s cities, the faith based community,
businesses and non-profits to create solutions.
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- “This increase in the life span
and in the number of our senior citizens presents this Nation with
increased opportunities: The opportunity to draw upon their skill and
sagacity-and the opportunity to provide the respect and recognition they
have earned. It is not enough for a great nation merely to have added
new years to life-our objective must also be to add new life to those
years.”
- President John F. Kennedy
- Visionary of the Older Americans Act
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Notes
