Transportation is a critical component in the array of services provided by the Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) and their local partners in New York State. Many older persons utilize the transportation services offered by the aging network to participate in programs, get to medical appointments, and go grocery shopping, etc., enabling them to gain access to needed services and maintain their dignity, independence, and ties to their communities.
The aging network in New York expends a significant amount of its limited service monies to provide transportation services. In State Fiscal Year 2012-2013, a total of $921,000 in State funding is requested to support the transportation services provided statewide by the aging network in New York State. All AAAs currently expend resources on transportation. Transportation is a pivotal component in the array of services provided by the AAAs and their local partners in New York State. Many older persons utilize the transportation services offered by the Aging Network to participate in programs, get to medical appointments, go grocery shopping, etc., enabling them to gain access to needed services and maintain their dignity, independence, and ties to their communities.
Transportation programs and funding resources struggle to keep pace with the growing need for services that assist the elderly, and innovative approaches to transportation take time to develope. While it may be preferable to shift responsibility for transportation to federal and state transit resources, the aging network still must respond to the current needs of older constituents. To facilitate efforts at the local level, the New York State Office for the Aging (NYSOFA) is engaged in initiatives with other state agencies to expand service capacity through the development of other resources, and thereby reduce the amount of Older Americans Act (Title IIIB) and state funds (Community Services for the Elderly Program, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and State Transportation) used by AAAs for transportation. One such effort is the Most Integrated Setting Coordinating Council (MISCC) Transportation Workgroup initiative.
NYSOFA is committed to a policy of coordinated transportation. Coordination is viewed as a means to expand transportation opportunities for constituents of all ages, and thus efforts at the state and local level to achieve coordination are encouraged. Efforts to implement coordination at the State level are lead by the New York State Department of Transportation (DOT). DOT engages several partner agencies, including NYSOFA, to further this mission. Transportation coordination has received greater emphasis by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). FTA regulations require that any project for funding through Section 5310 be derived for a locally developed, coordinated public transit-human services transportation plan. The plan must be generated through a process that includes representative of public, private, and non-profit transportation and human service providers. As a Section 5310 interagency partner of DOT, NYSOFA plays a role in this initiative by the review and scoring of applications for funding submitted by local agencies throughout New York State. NYSOFA also is committed to developing and testing other transportation models that promote community-building and volunteerism and that are not reliant on public funding.
