Hear where state, federal funds going for senior services

The Northeastern Illinois Area Agency on Aging will hold a public hearing on funding in DuPage, Kane, Lake, and McHenry counties for the next fiscal year at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, May 27, at its field office in West Chicago.

The Northeastern Illinois Area Agency on Aging Field Office is at 245 W. Roosevelt Road, Building 6, Units 41-43, West Chicago.

For the first time, the agency has prepared two sets of allocations for the coming year. The first, totaling more than $9.4 million, is based on preliminary funding for 2011, including both federal and state funding, as announced by the Illinois Department on Aging. The second set of allocations, totaling more than $8.2 million, is based on the possibility that state funding for several programs for may be substantially less than last year.

"Due to the serious fiscal straits that the state of Illinois is facing, we thought it prudent to prepare for the possibility of substantially reduced state funding for aging services for fiscal year 2011," explained Lucia West Jones, the Agency on Aging's executive director. "More than nine months into the current fiscal year, we have received only about 29 percent of the state funding we are expecting for the entire year, and we have no assurance how much of the remainder we will receive. Given this uncertainty, we prepared for both the allocations we hope to receive and for the allocation levels that may be more likely. The public should be aware of the impact of reduced state funding on the services we provide for seniors, especially frail, poor, or otherwise vulnerable seniors, and service providers should be able to plan and budget for FY '11 with some confidence that the allocation figures are reliable."

These proposed allocations are for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, 2010. These allocations are federal funds supplemented by appropriations of Illinois General Revenue Funds.

Whatever allocation levels may be adopted, the amounts are subject to change due to increases or decreases in federal or state appropriations. The proposed allocations are also subject to change by the agency's board of directors on the basis of public hearing testimony, at the request of a county's service providers, or upon the recommendations of the agency's Advisory Council or the Board's Planning Committee.

Copies of the public hearing document will be available at the hearings, and upon request to the Northeastern Illinois Area Agency on Aging, P.O. Box 809, Kankakee, IL 60901; phone (815) 939-0727 or (800) 528-2000.

Those unable to attend the public hearing may send written comments to the agency at the above address. Written testimony must be received no later than Friday, May 28, in order to be considered.

The Northeastern Illinois Area Agency on Aging is a nonprofit responsible for developing and coordinating a network of services for older persons throughout an eight-county area in northeastern Illinois. For more about the agency and links to other resources see ageguide.org.