California Association of Senior Service Centers - CASSC
Services
CASSC's Roots
CASSC was founded in 1977 by a group of dedicated senior center directors who believed that a statewide organization could be a stronger advocate for senior citizens than each center acting alone. The aging population -- the fastest growing segment of the population today -- creates many challenges for senior center professionals, including working with people from a wide range of ages, abilities, interests, ethnicities, and cultural values. To attract older adults into senior centers requires providing a myriad of programs, services, and activities which will consider this diversity and offer services that appeal to the very frail elderly as well as to young, vigorous baby boomers. While senior centers have a strong foothold in many communities throughout the state, limited funding demands the creation of partnerships or coalitions so more can be done with fewer resources.
Interagency Relationships and Networking Opportunities
CASSC maintains close ties with local Area Agencies on Aging (AAA), the state council of Area Agencies on Aging (TAC), the National Council on Aging (NCOA), the National Institute of Senior Centers (NISC), the American Society on Aging (ASA), the California Parks and Recreation Society (CPRS) Aging Section, the California Commission on Aging (CCoA), the California Senior Legislature (CSL) and the White House Conference on Aging. CASSC has been involved with the statewide Changing of Aging Paradigms and advocacy for seniors relative to long-term care. In these ways, CASSC keeps its members on the cutting edge of current legistation and interagency relationships. CASSC is a Partner for the 2011 Senior Center Forum set for November 2011 in Los Angeles.As a statewide, professional organziation for senior center leaders, CASSC provides networking and career development training as part of its annual conference held each fall. Initiated in 1987, the CASSC conference is a productive event for senior center directors and has garnered a reputation for targeting the concerns of today's older adults, while planning for those of the future. The annual conference, as well as legislative efforts, help prepare professionals to develop creative and innovative senior center programming that can improve the quality of life for the seniors served.
CASSC produces a quarterly newsletter for its membership, sharing information on issues of concern to those working with older adults, and providing an opportunity to promote programs at the contributing members' centers.
Advocacy Issue
AB96
With Governor Brown's veto of AB96, CASSC urges its membership to contact the Governor's office as well as their congressional representative in support of continued funding for adult day health care programs to protect our most vulnerable seniors. For more information on this topic, see Assemblywoman Yamada's press release.
LOCAL SENIOR COALITION REVIEWS IMPACTS OF STATE AND FEDERAL SAFETY-NET CUTS
According to an article in the California Commission on Aging (CCoA) Age watch newsletter, the Alameda County Senior Services Coalition has compiled a series of summaries on the impact of state and federal budget cuts. The summaries have been distributed by the Insight Center for Community Economic Development. "The damage to California's five life-line programs has happend in a landscape of lost capacity," said Coalition Director Wendy Peterson, noting that four years of reductions have diminished or eliminated all state funding for ADHC, IHSS, SSI/SSP, MSSP and MediCal -- programs that are essential to California's most vulnerable older adults and persons with disabilities.To read more about he coalition and to read the summaries, go to http://seniorservicescoalition.org/urgent
Linkages
CASSC member agencies can submit a Website Link Request Form and be linked to our website.
Dr. Patrick Arbore, Director and Co-founder of the Center for Elderly Suicide Prevention and Grief-Related Services and Director of Education and Professional Training at the Institute on Aging in San Francisco presented sessions at the 2010 CASSC Conference on Clutter Addiction and led a special Fireside Chat on Effective Communication.
