The Georgia Council on Aging coordinates a coalition (C0-AGE) of over 450 organizations and individuals interested in advocacy for aging issues at the Georgia legislature. You can see more at www.gcoa.org.The membership voted this summer for the 4 priority issues for the 2015 legislative session.

The meeting will be held Thursday October 9th at the North Georgia Community Center on Industrial Blvd. in Ellijay. The cost of the breakfast portion of the meeting is $20. Our meeting on Thursday brings advocates together to learn more about the issues and how to talk to their legislators about the issues. The meeting starts at 9:30 and breaks into 5 workshops at 11:15. The workshops repeat at 11:45 and we reconvene at 12:15 for final announcements and adjourn at 12:30.

The 4 issues are:
Ending the wait for home and community based services. Currently over 13,000 people are on waiting lists for services to keep them out of a nursing home.

Helping law enforcement fight elder abuse. Prosecutors have identified changes in the law needed to prosecute abusers and those who profit from neglecting or defrauding our elderly.

Repositioning the Division of Aging Services. Currently DAS is housed with DFCS and efforts to address problems with child welfare have kept Aging issues on the back burner. Moving DAS to an attached agency to the Department of Community Health will allow DAS to better respond to the needs of our aging population.