Commonwealth Council on Aging
Commonwealth Council on Aging honors programs for Best Practices
A collaboration that helps older residents in a rural community in southern Virginia Beach prepare themselves to cope with disasters and emergencies won the top 2012 “Best Practices” award from the Commonwealth Council on Aging. VDA Interim Commissioner Jim Rothrock presented the awards at the Innovations in Aging 2012 conference on May 4, 2012. The year’s top award honored the Senior Resource Center’s Emergency Preparedness Plan for southern Virginia Beach. Click to read more about this year’s winners and honorable mentions.
Commonwealth Council on Aging Announces the 2012 Best Practices Awards Program
The Commonwealth Council on Aging is pleased to announce the 2012 Best Practices Award Program targeted to organizations serving older Virginians and their families. As we struggle to meet the challenges of serving a rapidly aging population during a time of budget cuts and growing demand, we need to share our best practices and applaud our successes.
This is the sixth year of the Best Practices Award Program and we are pleased to offer monetary awards to the top winners. The Council will award three levels of monetary recognition. The first place program will receive $3,000; second place, $2,000; and third place, $1,000.
Click on this link to learn more about the awards and previous winners: Best Practices Awards.
2011 Annual Report Urges Coordinated Preparation for Coming Age Wave
The Commonwealth Council on Aging is pleased to present their 2011 Annual Report to the Governor and Virginia General Assembly, as detailed in this press release (.doc or pdf). The report highlights three recommendations:
- Encourage local and regional planning for Livable Communities
- Restore funding for No Wrong Door
- Protect funding for core services provided by the Virginia Department for the Aging and its network of Area Agencies on Aging, DSS Adult Services and Adult Protective Services, Centers for Independent Living, and Medicaid.
Commonwealth Council on Aging Report on Community Conversations
This year, the Council began a series of listening sessions, entitled “Community Conversations on Aging,” in Roanoke, Charlottesville, Newport News, and Woodbridge (Prince William Area) together attracting over 250 participants. The topics discussed have been used to inform development of the three policy recommendations on the next page. Although there was regional variation, the most frequently discussed topics were housing, services information, and health care. Please click the link for a complete summary of the topics.
- “Housing” topics focused on affordability, but also addressed assisted living and home modifications and repairs.
- “Services Information” topics included access to, eligibility for, and coordination of home and community based services and supports, as well as the related roles of various state agencies.
- “Health Care” topics were most frequently related to Medicare coverage for medications, Medicaid coverage for services, and encouraging healthy living.
About the Commonwealth Council on Aging:
The Commonwealth Council on Aging is composed of citizens from all walks of life and all geographic areas of the Commonwealth. The Council promotes an efficient, coordinated approach by state government to meeting the needs of older Virginians. View here for an overview of the Council.
The Council has 19 appointed members and five ex-officio members. The Governor appoints 11 members, one from each of Virginia’s congressional districts. Of the remaining eight at-large members, four are appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates and four by the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections. View here for a list of Council Members.
The Council meets quarterly and all meetings are open to the public. Meetings of the Council and each of its committees are announced in advance on the Commonwealth Calendar. Minutes of meetings are also available on the Calendar. See links below.
Meetings and Minutes:
(Minutes can be accessed under “Details” of the meeting on the Commonwealth Calendar page)
June 20, 2012 Quarterly Meeting
April 11, 2012 Quarterly Meeting
April 11, 2012 Planning & Devlopment Committee Meeting
March 5, 2012 Best Practices Committee
January 25, 2012 Quarterly Meeting *
December 20, 2011 Legislative Committee
November 9th, 2011 Best Practices Committee
September 7, 2011 Quarterly Meeting
September 7, 2011 Best Practices Committee
June 27, 2011 Quarterly Meeting
June 27, 2011 Legislative Committee
June 8, 2011 Legislative Committee
May 19, 2011 Nominating Committee
April 25, 2011 Best Practices Committee
April 11, 2011 Quarterly Meeting
April 7, 2011 Best Practices Committee
March 16, 2011 Best Practices Committee
February 15, 2011 Best Practices Committee
January 26, 2011 Quarterly Meeting
All meetings are open to the public, and will be held from 10 am to 2pm at the Virginia Department for the Aging, unless otherwise noted. View directions to VDA. (.pdf)
* January 25, 2012 meeting will be at 11:30am at Senior Connections, The Capital Area Agency on Aging, 24 East Cary Street, Richmond.
** January 25, 2012 P&D committee meeting will be at 2:00pm at Senior Connections, The Capital Area Agency on Aging, 24 East Cary Street, Richmond.
Resources and other info:
View or download a copy of Your Rights and Responsibilities Under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (.pdf).
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Note: Links to web sites produced by organizations other than the Virginia Department for the Aging (VDA) are provided for your convenience. When you select one of these links, you will leave VDA's web site. VDA is not responsible for the content of linked web pages, and does not endorse products or services that may be offered on the linked pages. Also, the privacy policies of these sites may differ from the privacy policy followed by the Department for the Aging. Please report incorrect or outdated links to VDA's Web Designer.
