Disabled Persons Protection Commission (DPPC)
DPPC'S MISSION: To protect adults with disabilities from abusive acts and omissions of their caregivers through investigation, oversight, public awareness, and revention
Nancy A. Alterio
Executive Director
50 Ross Way
Quincy, MA 02169
PHONE: (617) 727-6465
HOTLINE: (800) 426-9009 V/TTY 7 DAYS A WEEK
Review Revised DPPC Regulations
“Boomer Ready” State
Governor Mitt Romney has told federal officials that “Massachusetts is well on the way to becoming a ‘Boomer Ready’ state.” The Governor’s comments were contained in a 5 page letter sent to the chair of the White House Conference on Aging.
The White House Conference on Aging was held December 11 to 14, 2005 in Washington, DC, hosting approximately 1,200 delegates selected by Governors and Members of Congress. From the Mass Home Care network, Robert Dwyer of the Central Mass Area Agency on Aging, and Charles Sisson of Coastline Elderly Services, were delegates to the conference.
The delegates voted on 50 resolutions they considered as priorities and in a preliminary report to the Governors of all 50 States, asked Governor’s to review of the 50 resolutions adopted by the delegates. Governors were asked to identify resolutions considered as priorities for their constituencies. The 2005 WHCoA is required to produce a Final Report to be presented to the President and Congress. The Report will serve as a blueprint for aging policies for the next decade, with a particular emphasis on the challenges and opportunities presented by 78 million baby boomers.
Mass Home Care, which represents the 23 Area Agencies on Aging in the Commonwealth, also wrote to the Governor, citing the following WHCOA resolutions as especially important to elders:
Develop a coordinated, comprehensive long term care strategy
Strengthen and improve the Medicaid program for seniors
Promote innovative models of non-institutional long term care
Improve recognition, assessment, and treatment of mental illness and depression among Older Americans.
“We urge you to communicate to the WHCOA staff the importance of incorporating the resolutions above into the discussion on reauthorization of the Older Americans Act (OAA), along with the need for increased funding for the OAA services in Massachusetts and across the nation,” wrote Mass Home Care President Sue Temper.
Mass Home Care asked Governor Romney to “work with us to ensure that these four resolutions are turned into specific goals and actions steps for implementation within the purview of the Executive Office of Elder Affairs. For us, that means:
passage of the Equal Choice bill, S. 2273
funding for a geriatric mental health initiative.
submission of an 1115 waiver for expanding community based services
filing of a state plan amendment for community based services under section 6086 of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005
submission of a Money Follows the Person grant under section 6071 of the DRA of 2005
filing of a self-directed personal assistance services (cash & counseling) project under section 6087 of the DRA.”
Mass Home Care said these changes were needed to “modernize” its Medicaid program.
The Governor, in his response to the WHCOA, outlined some of the key components of his Community First policy, in the field of health care, housing with supports, long term care financing, and prevention of elder abuse. The Governor profiled the Senior Care Options (SCO) managed care program which combines Medicare and Medicaid money to serve roughly 4,100 enrollees; the state’s new health care reform law, the proposed new 1115 waiver for community based care, and “a program to bring mental health services to elders in their homes…in collaboration with our statewide network of Aging Services Access Points.”
The Governor also singled out the supportive housing program, and the Caring Homes project, which “offers a modest stipend of $1,800 per month to individuals, including certain family members, who host and care for an elder in their home.”
Romney also mentioned the Senior Circuit Breaker tax bill that provides “relief to senior property taxpayers.” The 30 year old home care program was cited by the Governor, and the Choices program, which serves nearly 41,000 elders who otherwise would be in a nursing home.
The Governor said that Elder Affairs is also researching “a plan for a Massachusetts Long Term Care Financing Collaborative that would create a relationship between individuals, insurers and the Commonwealth in the financing of long term care.” This “Partnership” would “offer outreach and education targeted to middle-income baby boomers on long term care planning.”
Elder Affairs and the Department of Labor and Workforce Development are also working on a plan to reach out to private employers “to educate them on the value of older workers, and the need for developing policies that ensure older workers re supported.”
Finally, the Governor’s letter mentions the Mass Home Care bill that became law, adding “self-neglect”into the definition of elder abuse, which “allows our Protective Services program toprovide support and protection forthis very vulnerable population.”
In the Governor’s words, “Massachusetts is well on the way to becoming a “Boomer Ready” state.”
External Links
- http://www.mass.gov/dppc/
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