Aging & Disability Resource Center seeks input on three-year plan
By Brandi Makuski
The Aging and Disability Resource Center is seeking input from the public regarding the continued programming it provides for elderly and disabled residents in the community.
Two public hearings have been scheduled for the 2022-24 Aging Plan. Maureen Miller, assistant director for the ADRC, said the plan is a requirement for the Center to continue receiving grant funding through the Greater Wisconsin Agency on Aging Resources.
The Center provides aging residents, and adults with disabilities, with resources and activities that help people maintain independence and remain active in the community. The organization is required by the state to provide targeted resources and programming to the expressed needs of the county’s target populations.
The plan needs to be updated every three years, Miller said. It begins with a survey, then moves on to public hearings, before it is given final approval by the Portage Co. Board of Supervisors.
“We want input from the public to hear what’s important to people as they age in Portage County, we want to make sure our plans agree with what they’re looking for,” she said.
Most general areas of service, such as nutrition and dementia care, are required by the state, Miller said, but specific programming within those requirements can be tweaked to serve the interests of the local population.
“We take what [citizens] suggest and we look at each program in our agency and say, ‘Ok, what should we be focused on,'” Miller said.
A draft of the three-year plan will be available at both public hearings, scheduled for later this month. Miller said one item included in the draft plan is to offer a pop-up meal site indoor event, beginning in January and as pandemic conditions allow, and to increase the attendance at the event by 10 percent by the end of 2024. Measuring attendance at this and similar events will help the ADRC measure program success, she said.
If approved, the ADRC’s draft plans would go into effect at the beginning of 2022.
The following public hearings have been scheduled:
Stevens Point
Tuesday, Sept. 21, 1-2 p.m.
Lincoln Center, 1519 Water St., Room C
Rosholt
Wednesday, Sept. 29, 11 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Rosholt Library, 137 N. Main St.
A quorum of the Board of Supervisors, or any of its standing committees, may be present at the meetings.
Anyone with questions or comments should contact the ADRC at 715.346.1401 or 1.866.920.2525. Following the public hearings, comments will be accepted by phone or in writing until Thursday, Sept. 30.