10-28-1992 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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Local Officials Identify Needs of Suburban Elders ..access to adequate and affordable transportation, housing, and support services is critical in enabling older suburban residents to remain in the community." — Graying of Suburbia: Policy Implicationsfor Local Officials. 1988 Three questions loomed large over a year ago, when the United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) and the National Associa- tion of Counties (NACo) launched an unprecedented survey about the nation's suburban elderly. ,...- What do municipal and county officials see as priority needs of older people in such areas? What communitywide planning 'l- efforts related to aging are already under way? i What improvements in 3 coordination exist, or should be sought, by local government offi- cials and the network of area agencies on aging? With funding from the U.S. Ad- ministration on Aging, USCM and NACo sent survey forms to selected cities and counties in the nation's 260 metropolitan statisti- cal areas Chief elected officials were asked to have appropriate staff — from offices or area agen- cies on aging. planning units, housing and community develop- ment departments, and human service agencies — to help in fill- ing out the questionalre. Re- sponses came from 104 cities and 167 counties. Survey results reflected the na- tion's changing demographics. Fifty-six percent of cities faced an overall population decline in the prior past ten years while 77 per- cent of counties had population growth. But counties (94 percent) and cities (71 per cent) ex- perienced an increase in the pop- ulation aged 65 or over. Priority concerns USMC/NACo survey responses identified three priority needs of concern, future as well as present. ( Home and community -based care Most frequently identified as a priority need by city and county survey respondents (see accompanying table) was expan- sion of services — including adult day health care, respite care, home health care, group or deliv- ered meals — when required by older persons who need assistance with the tasks of daily living. A NACo/USCM report, "Graying of Suburbia: Policy Implications for Local Officials, elaborated on the survey findings: It stated: "To Insure that such a continuum ofhom ... .o.. .. -.. -. care is easily accessible to the sub - Page 43 urban elderly and their caregivers. eft orts need to be taken to desig- nate a single entry agency in the community which would be respon- sible for (1) informing the public of available services (2) assessing an older person's need for services (3) providing and arranging services (4) coordinating service delivery among provider agencies (5) monitoring the quality of care and service delivery, and (6) developing additional home and community- based care services when needed." With such a comprehensive, coordinated system, the report de- clared, "suburban elderly will be able to 'age in place' with the highest degree o£.independence possible." Expanded housing and sistance programs Housing ranked as the second most frequently cited concern in cities, but only fifth among coun- ties (see table). Most frequently identified needs were Increased availability of congregate care faci- lities and life -care communities; accessory units (incorporated Into an existing single -family home), reverse annuity mortgages, and home repair assistance. The USCM/NACo analysis, reporting that three - quarters of MARCH/APRIL 1989 9