The topics for Summer Study are selected each year at the Commission’s Annual May meeting. Members of senior stakeholder organizations are invited to participate in the Commission’s Summer Study committees. In the summer of 2008, the Commission focused on Transportation, Public-Private Partnerships, and Senior Programming at Senior Centers. The following is a summary of the Summer Study Group reports.
Transportation
The Commission on Aging believes it is critical for seniors in Montgomery County to have transportation options in order to maintain a mobile lifestyle and age in place. In an effort to help achieve this, a Summer Study group undertook an extensive analysis of current and potential programs and services available to county residents.
Approximately 68 public and private programs currently provide transportation to seniors. Other services are provided by either private car services for which there is a substantial fee, or faith-based groups that operate on a voluntary basis for members of their community. The actual number of seniors who are served is unclear because of variation in how programs compile their records.
County transportation services include Call-N-Ride (Taxi Vouchers), Connect-a-Ride, Senior Programs Transportation, Escorted Transportation, and Senior Connection. Some of these programs are funded by the Department of Transportation, while others fall under the budgets of the DHHS. Only one program, Connect-A-Ride (CAR), operates a helpline. This is a Jewish Council for the Aging (JCA) program that is largely supported by the county.
In addition to research on existing county services, the Summer Study Work Group also contacted ITNAmerica, a program operated from Portland, Maine, that provides technical assistance to communities that wish to become affiliates. ITN provides rides with door-to-door, arm-through-arm service to thousands of seniors nationwide. It is an innovative solution with unique programs that allow older people to trade their own cars to pay for rides and enable volunteer drivers to store transportation credits for their own future transportation needs.
The Summer Study on Transportation group has identified two overriding concerns: it appears that few seniors know what transportation services are available, and that existing services are fragmented and lack coordination. The Summer Study concluded that additional data are needed about current costs of services and the extent of unmet needs.
With more accurate information about both of these factors, the county would be able to determine the feasibility and cost effectiveness of creating an effective senior transportation program that includes both coordination and provision of services. The question is which of two alternatives—expanding the capacity of the existing programs, including the information and referral component, or creating a new program similar to the ITNAmerica model—would result in an effective program. The group recommended that a study be undertaken to evaluate these two alternatives.
Public-Private Partnerships
The Summer Study Work Group on public-private partnerships explored various concepts designed to promote the interests of seniors through partnerships between the public and private sectors. Discussions focused primarily on opportunities to take advantage of private funding sources for programs benefiting seniors.
The Public-Private Partnership Group heard a presentation by Sally Rudney, Executive Director of the Montgomery County Community Foundation. The Foundation is a private organization with a mission to facilitate philanthropic giving by county residents and businesses. It brings together many small individual and corporate charities in an efficient way to reduce the administrative burdens on any one charity. It provides professional and administrative staffing and advisory services. Most importantly, it provides a bridge between those who want to make charitable contributions and local non-profit organizations seeking grants. It thus provides an important vehicle to channel charitable funds to local non-profits, many of which focus their attention on low-income families. The Foundation’s 140 family and corporate funds distributed $6.8 million in grants during the previous year.
Ms. Rudney, who has appeared on Seniors Today, described various activities of the Foundation. She invited Commission members to participate in the Foundation’s ongoing activities.
The Summer Study Group also discussed opportunities such as job fairs and governmental economic development activities. Montgomery County currently supports a job fair for seniors through a grant that has been administered by the Jewish Council for the Aging. The fair has been a success for the last two years, drawing many prospective employers and applicants. The Summer Study group strongly advocates for its continuation into the future.
Representatives from the Montgomery County Department of Economic Development presented an outline of the Department’s programs and services. Its mission includes creating quality jobs within the county and increasing the county’s economic base through the attraction, retention, and expansion of businesses. The group indicated its interest in promoting higher-quality job opportunities for seniors than those usually featured at existing job fairs. Montgomery County is home to many seniors with substantial skills and talents derived from their positions in government, industry, and academia. The representative encouraged the Commission to support the work of the Department. A highly qualified potential workforce is frequently an important factor in luring high-tech businesses to relocate in Montgomery County.
Senior Programming/Senior Centers
The 2008 Summer Study Group on Senior Programming/Senior Centers heard presentations by: Dianne Smith, who oversees senior neighborhood programs; Patricia Streeter, who has been manager of the therapeutic recreation and senior team and who will be the manager of the new therapeutic recreation team when the therapeutic recreation and senior team is split into two distinct teams; Jeffrey Bourne, who is the Chief of the Division of Management Services Administration; and Gabriel Albornoz, Director of the Department of Recreation.
The Summer Study Work Group made site visits to the Longwood Community Center in Brookeville and to the Glenwood Senior Center in Glenwood (Howard County). The Group was extremely impressed with the Glenwood Center, especially with the dedicated space for seniors. The Group agreed that if the county is going to build Community Centers that serve all of the population, enough space should be dedicated for seniors to ensure that they are not left out in the summer months when summer camp programs for children are underway.
The Group also saw a need for training community center directors and staff on how to effectively communicate with seniors so that they feel welcome in the centers.
Based on its findings, the Summer Study Group recommended that the Commission become involved in the Department’s Capital Improvement Program process, the Department’s Facilities and Services Master Plan for 2010 to 2030, the design and senior programming of new county community centers (e.g., Mid-County and White Oak), and senior programming at existing County Community Centers (e.g., the Gwendolyn Coffield Community Center.)
Finally, the Group urged that the county promote a budget initiative for the Department of Recreation for hiring a consultant to gather and analyze demographics for neighborhood and community centers. This would allow the county to project recreational needs across the county and realign recreational programming as indicated.
Seniors
