Administration on Aging to Host Listening Forums; First Up: Dallas, Feb. 18

The Older American Act (OAA) funds many programs you and/or your caree may use including Meals on Wheels and the National Family Caregiver Support Progam. In 2011 Congress will consider reauthorization and amendments to the Act effective in FY 2012. In anticipation of this process, the Administration on Aging (AoA) is soliciting input concerning the reauthorization through three mechanisms: (1) AoA-Convened Listening Forums; (2) OAA Reauthorization Input Events; and (3) Direct Input via the AoA Website.

AoA-Convened Listening Forums will be held in three cities. The input provided will be recorded, compiled and summarized by Scripps Gerontology Center. The dates and locations of the national listening forums are:

Thursday, February 18, 2010, Dallas, TX
Embassy Suites Hotel Dallas Near the Galleria
14021 Noel Road
Dallas, Texas 75240
(972) 354-3659

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Thursday, February 25, 2010, Washington, DC
The Westin Alexandria-DC, Alexandria, VA
400 Courthouse Square
Alexandria, VA 22314
(703) 253-8628

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Wednesday, March 3, 2010, San Francisco, CA
Hyatt Regency San Francisco
5 Embarcadero Center
San Francisco, CA 94111
(415) 981-3638

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The forums in Dallas and San Francisco will convene at 9:00 a.m. and conclude at 4:30 p.m. They will begin with morning panel sessions organized to focus on a limited number of national topic areas in the following broad categories: (1) Elder Rights and Elder Justice; (2) Prevention & Wellness – Healthy Aging; and (3) Aging Network Infrastructure for Serving Diverse Needs. The Washington DC forum will also convene at 9:00 a.m. and conclude at 4:30 p.m. It will include the 3 categories of topics above, as well as a fourth category, Capacity of the Aging Network.

Following the panel sessions, each forum will host a general session to allow participants to present their views on the reauthorization of the OAA. In order to provide as many people as possible the opportunity to offer input, each participant will be limited to three minutes. If you would like to make a presentation during the general session,  pre-register with Abbe Lackmeyer (866-598-0102, linscoae@muohio.edu) to reserve a time slot. If all slots are not filled through pre-registration, a limited number of on-site time slots may be available.