In January, the Iowa Association of Area Agencies on Aging (i4a) approved its policy agenda for 2025. State funding for Iowa’s Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) has been flat for well over a decade despite significant growth in the number of older Iowans during that same time period. Currently there are over 600,000 Iowans 65 years of age or older. By 2060, it anticipated that older Iowans will represent nearly 21% of Iowa’s population, pushing the total population to over 700,000 Iowans. The federal government’s response to the pandemic provided emergency funds during a time of crisis for older Iowans, but that funding is no longer available. Iowa’s AAAs request an additional $750,000 in elderly services appropriations to help provide congregate and home-delivered meals, elder abuse prevention services, family caregiver support, and services that help keep older Iowans in their communities of choice and off of Medicaid for as long as possible.
I4a’s second policy priority is to support Iowans living with dementia, and their caregivers. An estimated 66,000 Iowans are living with dementia, representing 11% of Iowa’s older adult population. There are over 98,000 caregivers supporting Iowans with dementia. Sixty percent of those caregivers are also living with a chronic health condition. Iowa’s AAAs have assisted in strengthening access to services and supports for individuals living with dementia, as well as informational and educational programs for communities and Iowans through i4a’s collaborative Dementia Friendly Iowa initiative. This work has established a tremendous foundation upon which Iowa’s General Assembly could provide support for Iowans living with dementia, and for their caregivers, by establishing a dementia services program in Iowa’s AAA network. I4a requests an appropriation of $750,000 for Iowa’s AAAs to establish the dementia services program to meet the needs of those living with dementia, their caregivers, as well as the public in assisting fellow Iowans.
Iowa Association of Area Agencies on Aging 