CMSS was honored to present Paula Basta, Director of the Illinois Department on Aging (IDoA), with the 2023 Spirit Award at our Fall Benefit. The Spirit Award is presented each year to a professional in the field of aging services who demonstrates CMSS’ core values – dignity, respect, compassion, equality, and inclusion.
Director Basta is a remarkable leader in the aging services sector. For more than 40 years, she has been an advocate working to improve the lives of older adults. From her non-profit roots to her current government role, Director Basta is an inspiration who leads with expertise and a collaborative spirit. We were excited to talk with Director Basta about recent IDoA accomplishments and current needs and trends in aging services.
CMSS: The IDoA serves and advocates for older Illinoisans and their caregivers by providing programming and partnerships, and encouraging independence, dignity, and quality of life. What accomplishment is the IDoA especially proud of this year?
PB: We’re proud that we were able to advocate for a state budget that invests in the aging network workforce and older adults, including a nearly 20% overall increase compared to last year. To give a few examples, the FY 24 state budget includes an additional $8 million in state funding for home-delivered meals, an additional $1 million on top of last year’s investment of $4 million to enhance support services available to unpaid family caregivers, and another $1 million in additional funding for the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Program.
This new funding will go a long way toward enhancing the quality of life of older Illinoisans and their caregivers.
We’re also proud to be getting very close to launching enhancements to the Emergency Home Response Service, including fall detection technology and GPS monitoring. Participants will soon have the option to add one or both of these features to their existing service, enhancing older adults’ safety in their homes and throughout the community.
PB: We’re proud we were able to advocate for a state budget that invests in the aging network workforce and older adults, including a nearly 20% overall increase compared to last year. To give a few examples, the FY 24 state budget includes an additional $8 million in state funding for home-delivered meals, an additional $1 million on top of last year’s investment of $4 million to enhance support services available to unpaid family caregivers, and another $1 million in additional funding for the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Program.
This new funding will go a long way toward enhancing the quality of life of older Illinoisans and their caregivers.
We’re also proud to be getting very close to launching enhancements to the Emergency Home Response Service, including fall detection technology and GPS monitoring. Participants will soon have the option to add one or both of these features to their existing service, enhancing older adults’ safety in their home and throughout the community.
CMSS: This September, the IDoA highlighted National Senior Center Month. Can you speak to how Senior Centers, like CMSS’ West Suburban, are providing important aging services throughout Illinois?
PB: Today’s senior centers cater to three generations of older adults, offering a vibrant, action-packed combination of educational, arts, and evidence-based health and fitness programming. Other programs and services may include:
- Meal and nutrition programs
- Information and assistance
- Transportation services
- Public benefits counseling
- Employment assistance
- Volunteer and civic engagement opportunities
- Social and recreational activities to combat social isolation and loneliness.
Senior centers are crucial in keeping older adults connected and socially engaged. Many centers also offer regularly scheduled blood pressure and glucose screenings, annual flu shot clinics and other opportunities to help older adults get and stay healthy.
CMSS: As you know, CMSS is dedicated to supporting LGBT+ older adults. This month we are celebrating LGBT+ History Month with a few events related to our LGBT+ programming. What are aging service providers across the field doing to support LGBT+ seniors?
PB: Many of our regional Area Agencies on Aging are implementing programming to support LGBTQ older adults and allies. In central Illinois, PrideLinc hosts weekly lunches for LGBTQ older adults, featuring guest speakers and opportunities for socialization. AgeOptions hosts regular “Thrive with Pride” cafés in suburban Cook County, which similarly include informational presentations and open discussions. I know West Suburban Senior Services is a host site for these events.
At the state level, we have the Illinois Commission on LGBTQ Aging, which meets quarterly to investigate, analyze, and study the health, housing, psychosocial, home and community-based services assisted living, and long-term care needs of LGBTQ older adults and their caregivers. The commission was established as an advisory body to state lawmakers to improve laws and policies to advance equity for LGBTQ elders. Commission meetings are open to the public.
I also want to mention that IDoA received a SAGECare credential indicating that staff have completed SAGECare’s LGBTQ+ aging cultural competency training. We are taking steps to ensure that all of our funded partner organizations complete LGBTQ awareness training as well.
CMSS: CMSS looks to the future to anticipate upcoming needs and priorities for older adults. What needs and trends do you see surfacing that the aging services network and nonprofits need to prepare to address?
PB: As the Baby Boomer generation ages, we expect to see increased demand for aging services. Older adults are living longer, but many have chronic health conditions and/or face institutional barriers to aging well. We must consider how these factors impact older adults’ ability to “age in place” in their own homes and communities.
IDoA is also paying close attention to how we serve an increasingly diverse population of older adults, including translating our brochures into five or more languages, certifying more minority-operated home care providers, and using multilingual, multicultural marketing strategies to outreach into historically underserved communities. Members of the aging network and non-profits serving older adults can assist us by helping identify areas of need in their own communities and participating in the planning process for the State Plan on Aging.
CMSS: What are you looking forward to in 2024 for the IDoA and your priority initiatives?
PB: The end of 2023 marks the 50th anniversary for the Department on Aging. As we embark on our next 50 years, we look forward to enhancing our programs and services to meet the needs of future older adults. We’re also looking forward to deepening interagency partnerships, as we recognize that older adults’ needs extend into areas we don’t directly oversee, such as housing and transportation.
In the immediate future, one priority initiative is to analyze feedback collected during the 20+ caregiver roundtables IDoA is hosting this fall, so we can explore strategies to strengthen support services available to family caregivers. I invite your readers to join us at an upcoming roundtable in Chicago or the surrounding suburbs.
