The Afflerbach Group, LLC, Report to PASC Board of Directors, April 24, 2009

It has been a busy quarter since our last report on February 6th. In addition to continuing to meet with legislators in Harrisburg and in their district offices, The Afflerbach Group (TAG) has been attempting to recruit at least one “champion” in each of the four legislative caucuses to lead our effort to obtain a line item of $16 million in capital grant funds for Senior Centers.

To date, we have recruited specific members in the House and Senate Democratic Caucuses and in the Senate Republican Caucus. In the House Republican caucus we have identified many supporters but have not fully identified a champion who will take the lead for us.

On March 18th, we met with Department of Aging Deputy Secretaries Jennifer Burnett (OLTL) and Ray Prushnok (Policy). In that meeting we forged a working relationship for continued exchange of information and discussion. More importantly, we achieved an understanding that if the Legislature placed $16 million into the budget for capital projects the Department of Aging would encourage the Governor and the Budget Secretary to accept that appropriation. It is likely that grants will be tied to achieving goals that are developed as a result of the Senior Center Summit scheduled for this summer.

We also discussed the possibility of applying the additional $2.0 to $2.4 million of federal stimulus nutrition funds to capital projects. Aging Secretary J. Michael Hall has stated his desire to do this during his speaking engagements throughout the Commonwealth.

We are continuing to investigate the possibility of stimulus capital grants through the Department of Community and Economic Development and will be representing PASC at a community leaders meeting scheduled through the office of Senator James Ferlo on May 7th in Pittsburgh to obtain more detailed
information of stimulus funds that may be available. Attendees will include the Secretaries of DCED and DEP as well as Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato and Mayor Luke Ravenstahl. Our goal, in addition to learning about non-traditional funding avenues that may be available, is to position PASC and senior centers as players in economic development planning.

Previously, I mentioned the proposed Senior Center Summit. This summit will be critical to determining the direction the Department will take with respect to the future of centers. Therefore, it is imperative that as many representatives of PASC as can possibly attend actually do so. It is also imperative that each center and its consumers complete the online survey the Department is conducting in preparation for the summit. If you have not received this information from the Department or your AAA, when you return to your office you will find an email from TAG containing the links to access the surveys.

Aging Secretary Hall and Representative Phyllis Mundy, Chair of the House Aging and Older Adults Services Committee, invited the various stakeholders to comment or propose amendments to HB 1152, the legislation to create the Department of Aging and Long Term Living. The Senior Support Coalition, of which PASC is a member, provided a general statement conveying concerns that the focus and advocacy role of the present Department of Aging not be diminished or that lottery funds not be diverted from
programs for seniors as a result of merging additional non-senior programs into the new Department.

The AAA’s provided a much more detailed analysis of their concerns. PASC provided specific amendment language (copy enclosed) to the Committee and the Department. At the suggestion of PASC President Lynn Fields Harris, TAG constructed language to include a definition of a community senior center, borrowing liberally from the one published by the National Council on Aging in 1979. We also included a definition of senior center networks, borrowed from North Carolina. This we believe is necessary to track with the AAA charge/authorization included in both the present Act 70, page 16 lines 9 thru 16; and, HB 1152 page 16 lines 26-27. If our recommendation is accepted, senior centers will have, for the first time, definitive statutory standing.

We continue to visit centers throughout the Commonwealth and remain available to speak with your staff, Boards of Directors, and client consumers. Community contact to our legislators is absolutely necessary for us to achieve the support necessary for this budget cycle – particularly because each budget report continues to track toward a $2.4 billion deficit.

Please continue to try to complete as many petitions as possible in preparation for our June 2nd rally and press conference in Harrisburg. This rally will provide PASC and the SSC the opportunity to make our case for community based services to the major media of the Commonwealth. That should be our collective goal for the next five weeks.

Finally, we are ready to begin regular emails to the entire legislature highlighting senior center services, programs, clients, and needs, in support of our budget request. We have collected some data over the past several months but are in need of more. Photos are also helpful. Please forward whatever you have that you think may be of interest. It is better to have too much from which to choose than not enough.

In sum, we are continuing to make steady progress. We are confident that with the support of a strong “grass roots” contact effort we have an excellent opportunity to achieve our goal of obtaining capital funding. Now is the time to ramp up the letter writing, telephone, and personal visit campaign!

Senator Roy C. Afflerbach, Ret.
The Afflerbach Group, LLC
1449-51 W. Chew Street
Allentown, PA 18102-3658