Meeting Minutes April 9, 2018
Strategic Action Planning Group on Aging
April 9, 2018
Participants: Karen Brown (chair), Maureen McDonald, Natalie O’Donnell Wood, John Barry, Ben Moultrie, Jean Nofles, Sarah Elliott, Mindy Kemp, Dale Elliott, Donna Baros, Tony Tapia, Sharron Williams, Jim Riesberg, Josh Laipply, Coral Cosway, Karin Stewart, Gabriel Kaplan, and Jarett Hughes
Not in Attendance: Claire Anderson, Christian Itin, Jayla Sanchez-Warren, John Zabawa (vice chair), Dave Norman, and Steve Child
There were problems with the call-in number and Steve Child could not participate
Public Participants: Ed Shackelford (Colorado Senior Lobby), Bob Brocker (Colorado Senior Lobby), Rich Mauro (DRCOG), Jennifer Chavez (Public Relations Specialist), Wade Buchanan (Senior Advisor on Aging), and Sam Zacher (Office of State Budget and Planning- presenter), Janine Vandenburg (FrameWorks Institute- presenter)
Action Items
- Explore 2019 Appropriation Request
- Coordinate to meet with the Attorney General staff to provide overview of 2016 SAPGA Action Plan and learn of their work in financial literacy, fraud, and abuse
- Revise case for support cover letter and one-page fact sheet to Planning Group members
Meeting Notes
Welcome
- Meeting called to order by chair, Karen Brown at 12:00 pm
- Approval of March minutes with correction to spelling error
- No public comment
Update on Sponsorship, Potential Funding, and Project Support
- Collaborative grant applications with Community Resource Center and Colorado Gerontological Society will be explored in upcoming Next50 Initiative grant cycle
- Karen Brown was approached by the AG’s office to learn more about SAPGA and potentially do a presentation to various member of the AG staff regarding SAPGA’s efforts
- Sens. Kefalas and Martinez Humenik were successful in getting an amendment added to the Long Bill that would provide $55,000 to the Planning Group for administration and research costs
- Joint Budget Committee to vote on amendment – Wednesday, April 11
- Contract for Jarett Hughes to work as project coordinator has been approved by the State
Comprehensive Budget Analysis – Sam Zacher, Budget and Policy Analyst
SAPGA’s initial Action Plan from 2016 outlined various goals and recommendations for state policy makers. The second recommendation from SAPGA was for the Office of State Budget and Planning (OSPB), the Colorado Legislative Council (CLC), and the Joint Budget Committee (JBC) staffs to collaborate in order to compile a comprehensive state budget on aging. The goal is to identify all state expenditures to aging-related programs and services as a means to help policy makers plan and prioritize at the state level. The SAPGA Executive Committee met with OSPB, CLC, and JBC staffers in 2017 to explore how best to move forward.
Zacher’s presentation was the first step in sharing the work done so far by the OSPB in collaboration with the Senior Advisor on Aging to SAPGA members. Zacher provided an overview of major programs such as Medicaid, the Homestead Exemption and six of the other large programs that account for more than two-thirds of total dollars spent on programs and services for older adults. SAPGA members and public participants also offered comments and potential direction for next steps, including:
- Adding more historical data so that the Planning Group may have a broader understanding of funding patterns and trends
- Medicaid spending is presented as a lump sum and it would be helpful to see it broken down by expenses (e.g., LTC, LTSS, waivers, dental program, etc.)
- Can these costs be estimated on an annual per person basis?
- Breaking down data in terms of age cohorts and diagnoses would be helpful for a more specific understanding of costs
- There is interest in what happens to left over monies that are allocated for specific programs (e.g., home care allowance program)
- Concerns over how to put this data into context were raised – for example broader economic context or how state programs use federal dollars or overlap with federal programs
- It was mentioned that categorizing expenses such as: housing, transportation, health care, etc. would be useful in analysis
- Other services, programs, and agencies to potentially include are the Department of Regulatory Agencies, Senior Health Insurance Program (SHIP), elder fraud programs (e.g., SeniorSafe), Property Tax, Heat, Rent (PTC) rebate, and Department of Corrections
Fundraising Overview and Education – Maureen McDonald
SAPGA member, Maureen McDonald, led a discussion and exercise focused on fundraising efforts. In order to carry out its legislative charge, SAPGA needs funding to support its work and is exploring support from a diverse range of funders. This focus was on smaller scale “asks” from potential corporate donors. Ensuring mission alignment and the importance of elaborating on potential benefits for corporate support were among the primary issues covered.
- McDonald began with a brainstorming question - what comes to mind when you think of seeking outside funding or sponsorships?
- Responses included: grant writing, what resources are available and how may they be used most effectively, quid pro quo (what’s in it for me?), objective for funding/deliverables from SAPGA, solicitation, building and utilizing relationships, sponsored events, and what is the ask?
- SAPGA members then partnered with another member to brainstorm/role play a potential conversation between a funder and a SAPGA member seeking funding. The main point being, why should an outside funder sign on? What are the benefits and deliverables?
- The importance of establishing metrics was brought up – goals and objectives, is it increase services, build community relationships, alignment of ideas and actions, sustainability of current project?
- McDonald indicated that baby boomers stand to pass along roughly $30 trillion in assets
- This is an enormous amount of money that can be helpful in selling the benefit and value of supporting organizations that assist and can promote to older adults
- Mission alignment is critical and sometimes this cannot be established until an organization is sought for funding
- If it doesn’t work out it is ok was a point made by McDonald
- Regarding deliverables, Ed Shackelford, president of the Colorado Senior Lobby, pointed out that the Planning Group is well positioned to continue increasing awareness of aging-related issues and establish its place in political discourse
Changing the Narrative Presentation – Janine Vandenburg
One of 12 certified trainers by Frameworks Institute in the US, Vandenburg presented and led a discussion about the importance of language when discussing aging issues and how this language can either redefine aging or reinforce misguided stereotypes society holds. Ageism is pervasive and it is important to educate and increase awareness of society’s misconceptions about aging and later life. The FrameWorks Institute’s “Changing the Narrative” seeks to address these concerns by combating ageism and misconceptions through education on aging issues and how to discuss them. Using words like older adults or older persons instead of seniors or elderly invoke more positive reactions from people and can help redefine how we look at aging. Avoiding negative language such as describing aging as a crisis or threat and more as issues worth addressing and opportunities can alter the conversations had about aging and later life.
- It is important to educate and build momentum to change the narrative and our language related to aging and older adults
- Old thinking versus new thinking- A new narrative is needed to promote aging issues and empower older adults
- Our stories about older adults should have solutions in them and not just outline concerns or problems
- The opportunity and potential for change must be a part of the discussion as well
- Avoid “crisis” language
- Using inclusive language is critical
- We are all aging and these issues are just as important to communicate to young adults as older adults
- How do we use the spirit of innovation in Colorado to address our aging issues?
- Apply innovations to existing programs and policies
- How do we craft an effective social issue narrative?
- Why does it matter? (values)
- How does this work, if it’s not working, why not? (metaphor examples)
- What can we do about it? (solutions)
- Strong solutions must involve intergenerational input and participation
- It is continually important to explain/define ageism
- Crisis stories are what the media thrives on, so, how do we change this trend?
- It is important to include solutions in this conversation, not just the “crisis”
- Policy solutions can be incredibly complicated and some are more conceivable than others, how do we address this?
- Metaphors and examples help familiarize people with issues and policies
- It is important to really focus on the ingenuity and innovative aspects of problem solving, program developments, and policy direction
- With regards to the next update to the Action Plan, Janine suggests using “senior” less, focusing on ageism and the existing barriers to addressing these issues
Meeting adjourn 2:59 pm
Next meeting May 14, 12:00 – 3:00 pm at DRCOG – 1290 S. Broadway