Please call or send an email to the JBC legislators and urge them to fully fund the Area Agencies on Aging!
The Joint Budget Committee (JBC) is meeting on Thursday, February 15, 2024 and will be considering funding for the Colorado Area Agencies on Aging (AAA).
Please call or send an email to the JBC committee and urge them to fully fund the Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) $5 million budget request. Funding for community services to older adults is important to keeping them in independent living, which ultimately saves the state money.
Below we have included contact information for the JBC committee legislators and a sample message. Please send an email or call the JBC legislators no later than Wednesday, February 14.
Thank you for doing this and helping CCA make older adults a priority in 2024.
Call or email the message below to the Joint Budget Committee (JBC) legislators by Wednesday, February 14, 2024.
Representative Shannon Bird, Chair
shannon.bird.house@coleg.gov – 303-866-2843
Senator Rachel Zenzinger, Vice Chair
senatorrachelz@gmail.com – 303-866-4840
Representative Rick Taggart
rick.taggart.house@coleg.gov – 303-866-3068
Senator Jeff Bridges
jeff.bridges.senate@coleg.gov – 303-866-4846
Senator Barbara Kirkmeyer
barbara.kirkmeyer.senate@coleg.gov – 303-866-4876
Representative Emily Sirota
emily.sirota.house@coleg.gov – 303-866-2910
EMAIL DRAFT
Subject Line: Please Fund Area Agency on Aging Budget Request
Salutation: Members of the Joint Budget Committee
My name is ?_______. I live in ?_____City/County. I am writing you today to urge you to fully fund the Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) request for a $5 million base increase. The AAAs have not had a base funding increase since FY 2019-20, even as demand for services and costs have increased during that time. As a result, AAAs around the state face serious budget shortfalls beginning FY2024-25 and their providers face large reductions. This will result in many older adults throughout the state losing access to much needed services.
As immediate and urgent as this need for funding is, I also urge you to consider the long-term sustainability of AAA funding. The state should consider ways to structure AAA funding to ensure its adequacy over time, especially as the state demographer estimates the over 60 population will grow at a significantly faster rate than any other in Colorado.
Finally, please keep in mind that AAA services are cost-effective investments for the state. They help people age in the community and enable older adults to avoid or delay the need for higher level hospital or long term care, which are more expensive and put more pressure on the state budget, particularly Medicaid.
Thank you,
[Your Signature]