KOHL, FEDERAL OFFICIAL HEAR FROM WISCONSIN AGING ADVOCATES AT HEARING IN MILWAUKEE

MILWAUKEE, WI - Today U.S. Senator Herb Kohl held a hearing of the Senate Special Committee on Aging in Milwaukee.  Kohl was joined by U.S. Assistant Secretary for Aging Kathy Greenlee and several Wisconsin aging advocates in a discussion about how next year's reauthorization of the Older Americans Act (OAA) can improve services for Wisconsin's seniors.  Over 386,000 seniors in Wisconsin rely on OAA programs to help them live independently in their communities.  These programs provide assistance in the form of home care, congregate and home-delivered meals, adult protective services, senior transportation, family caregiver support, and other services.

 

"The need for the types of services OAA programs provide has increased during these difficult economic times.  I hope to use my capacity as Aging chairman to make sure the Older Americans Act works better for Wisconsin's seniors," said Kohl.

 

At the hearing, Assistant Secretary Greenlee announced that Wisconsin would be one of twelve states to receive federal funding for the development and enhancement of community-based respite care programs for caregivers. Respite services provide temporary relief to caregivers who face the constant responsibility of caring for loved ones with special needs. Wisconsin will be receiving over $188,000 in federal funding through the Lifespan Respite Care Program, which will provide for improved coordination of existing respite services, identification of service gaps, the creation of new respite services, and the recruitment and training of  paid and volunteer respite providers. 

 

During the 2006 reauthorization of the Older Americans Act, Kohl successfully urged inclusion of several provisions, expanding eligibility standards for the Older American Community Service Employment Program so more low-income seniors could participate in community service and work-based training programs, and establishing a federal Office of Elder Abuse Prevention to assist states with their efforts to protect seniors and put a stop to abuse.  As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Kohl has been an advocate for OAA program funding each year.  Kohl has been a champion for the National Family Caregiver Support Program, which provides needed support and respite services to family members who care for an elderly or disabled relative, as well as the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, which provides an advocate for elderly and disabled patients to help resolve complaints of abuse and neglect in long-term care.

 

Kohl heard testimony from Greenlee, Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Administration on Aging. Ms. Greenlee described her agency's efforts to hear suggestions from seniors and aging network stakeholders on how OAA can be improved during reauthorization.  Kay Brown, from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), discussed the preliminary findings of GAO's examination of the unmet needs by programs that provide nutrition, family caregiver support, and in-home supportive services to seniors. 

 

Also testifying at the hearing was Dorothy Williams, who shared her experience caring for her 101-year-old mother with dementia and described the important respite services she has received through the Family Caregiver Support Program.  Stephanie Sue Stein, Director of the Milwaukee Area Agency on Aging, discussed Milwaukee County's Family Care program, a comprehensive and flexible long-term care service system.  And finally, Heather Bruemmer, a Long-Term Care Ombudsman for the state of Wisconsin, discussed the work of the Ombudsman program.

 

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