During Older Americans Month in May, the New York State Office for the Aging (NYSOFA) is seeking public input on its proposed Four-Year Plan to the federal government during a series of eight upcoming public information forums outlining NYSOFA's goals and objectives to assist older residents, their families, and caregivers.

The sessions will kick-off with a statewide livestream on May 18, followed by in-person sessions in eight locations from May 22-26: Buffalo, Syracuse, Suffolk, Endwell, New York City, Newburgh, Rochester, and Gouverneur. Each of the sessions will be led by a presenter from NYSOFA’s leadership team and co-hosted locally by community partners.

Livestream

May 18 at 12 p.m.
Facebook Livestream at https://www.facebook.com/NYSAGING/
YouTube Livestream at https://youtube.com/NewYorkStateOfficefortheAging

In-Person Events

Central New York
May 22 at 10 a.m.
Upstate Oasis
6333 State Route 298
East Syracuse, NY 13057

Long Island
May 23 at 11 a.m.
LGBT Network Hauppauge Center
125 Kennedy Drive, Suite 100
Hauppauge, NY 11788

Western New York
May 23 at 1 p.m.
Amherst Senior Center
370 John James Audubon Parkway
Buffalo, NY 14228

Southern Tier
May 24 at 1 p.m.
Broome West Senior Center
2801 Wayne Street
Endwell, NY 13760

Hudson Valley
May 25 at 11 a.m.
Hudson Hall Auditorium 
Mount Saint Mary's College
330 Powell Avenue
Newburgh, NY 12550

Finger Lakes
May 25 at 12:15 p.m.
Monroe Community Hospital
Auditorium A
435 E. Henrietta Road
Rochester, NY 14620
*Parking is in Lot 3, and the Main Visitor Entrance is located on the canal side

New York City
May 25 at 1 p.m.
The Carter Burden/Leonard Covello Older Adult Program
312 East 109th Street
Between 1st and 2nd Ave.
New York, NY 10029

North Country
May 30 at 12 p.m.
Nutrition Center at the Gouverneur Community Center
4673 State Highway 58
Gouverneur, NY 13642

During the programs, NYSOFA will also be sharing the results of its recent Community Assessment Survey of Older Adults – the most comprehensive survey of its kind in New York State, offering responses from over 26,000 older adults. These results, along with input provided at the upcoming community forums, will help inform NYSOFA's final Four-Year Plan due to the federal government later this year.

NYSOFA Director Greg Olsen said, "There is no better time than Older Americans Month to hear directly from older adults about their priorities in alignment with NYSOFA's Four-Year Plan. New York's aging services network serves 1.3 million older adults annually to support aging in place, promote healthy aging, and provide opportunities for older adults to thrive in the community. These upcoming sessions are a chance for the public to learn about some of the ways that NYSOFA is building on this commitment."

More About the Four-Year Plan

As the state's designated unit on aging, NYSOFA is responsible for developing and administering a multi-year State Plan on Aging that provides goals and objectives related to assisting older residents, their families, and caregivers. The federally required Four-Year Plan is submitted to the Administration on Community Living (ACL) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), outlining how NYSOFA and its network will address federal priorities for older adults in several focus areas:

• Long term care reform
• Continuing to address COVID-19
• Targeting and equity – supporting individuals of greatest social and economic need
• Building system capacity
• Caregiving supports 

Public Input

In addition to the upcoming public forums, NYSOFA encourages public input to the Four-Year Plan by writing to our dedicated mailbox at [email protected]. For further details, see https://aging.ny.gov/four-year-plan.

About NYSOFA’s Community Assessment Survey

NYSOFA recently announced a statewide Community Assessment Survey of Older Adults that has received over 26,000 responses. The survey assesses core age-friendly principles, including overall community quality and belonging, availability of information, productive activities, health and wellness, community design and land use, and more. The survey results include over 100 data points. A sample of some preliminary results is posted on NYSOFA’s Four Year Plan webpage at https://aging.ny.gov/four-year-plan. Further details will be presented during NYSOFA’s upcoming public information sessions.