|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
June 28, 2000Counties, upset with aging agency, won't OK its budgetBy STACEY SMITHRecord-Eagle staff writer TRAVERSE CITY - The Area Agency on Aging was criticized Tuesday by local service providers for competing with local groups for clients, creating what some said appeared to be a regional bus system and a publicity campaign they said would only confuse clients. The multiyear spending plan for the agency, which coordinates services for the aging in a 10-county area, has to be approved by the counties the agency serves. But county officials from across the region were among the most vocal critics Tuesday. The agency is an umbrella group that receives money from the state and then hires local commissions on aging to provide services to clients that run from delivering meals to providing in-home care. The agency's 2000 budget for contracted services is more than $1.2 million and $1.4 million in 2001. At least three counties, Benzie, Grand Traverse and Manistee, have sent letters to the agency saying they will not approve the multiyear plan, based on the agency's proposed marketing initiative and because the agency will directly provide care to some clients, which the counties say is the job of local commissions. "It could have the appearance of being in direct competition with the locals," said Manistee County commissioner David McNeilly, who is an agency board member. "I think one of the concerns is, is this taking money away from the locals?" Services provided can range from housekeeping help to adult daycare to total personal care. In the 10 counties served by the agency, 25 clients receive in-home personal care. This is because the services needed, specifically evening and weekend care, are not provided elsewhere in those counties and those clients require special medical care, said Greg Piaskowski, the agency's executive director. "The problems that the clients have are more severe in terms of their medical condition," he said. But Bonnie Forbes, director of the Wexford County Commission on Aging, said the agency is directly providing services to 11 clients that her own organization could perform. Sue Bergmann, director of the Charlevoix County Commission on Aging, said she sometimes needs the agency to provide specialized services when there are no other options in the county. "It's a nice option to be able to give that client back to the Area Agency on Aging," she said. Robert Schlueter, the agency's manager of internal operations, said the marketing campaign will simply make more people aware of the agency and its services. Many people are confused about where to call for services, Schlueter said, and a good marketing plan can help resolve that. But some agency board members, including Ray Kadlec of Benzie County, said the agency does not need to be more visible because people are already familiar with local commissions on aging and can receive referral services that way. Also at issue is a plan to spend $15,000 on a van to provide transportation to doctor appointments for those who require extra help getting in and out of a vehicle. The agency will use the Bay Area Transportation Authority central dispatch to coordinate routes, said Chris Butler, manager of external operations, but the agency will recruit and train the drivers. The aim is not to develop a regional bus system, she said, but to provide transportation with the needed assistance getting in and out of the vehicle. "What we see is clients who need to be served and there are gaps there," she said. Linda Davis, director of the Benzie County Commission on Aging, said the multiyear plan indicates a much larger busing program than Butler described. "What I'm hearing here today is not what I've been reading in the plan," Davis said. The plan calls for the service to begin in Grand Traverse County, then expand to other counties based on "identified needs, available funding and the possibility of cooperative ventures." Piaskowski said the program is still being developed. "We're trying something new, something different," Piaskowski said. The group will meet again at 1 p.m. Thursday to continue discussion of the multiyear plan. |
|
