White Paper - New York State Office for the Aging

INTRODUCTION
Following publication of the two documents, the State Office for the Aging and
the State Society on Aging held Community Forums across the state to discuss the topics
presented in the Project 2015 articles and briefs.
Very few states have endeavored to accomplish a planning project similar to
the one that New York State has undertaken. Examples include North Carolina and
Minnesota; both have reviewed the projections of an older population, and the State
of Minnesota has undertaken some major changes in the provision of long term care
as a result of its predicted number of older people. Neither state has the double
impact of both an older population and a more culturally diverse population of all
ages. California has developed a Strategic Planning Initiative for Older Californians,
and it used New York State as part of its model. In 1999, the United Nations hosted
an International Year of Older Persons, which focused international attention on an
increasing older population in industrialized nations worldwide. As part of this yearlong
focus, events held in New York City and Washington, D.C. promoted the
economic and cultural value of older people to society. In April 2002, the United
Nations hosted the Second World Assembly on Aging in Madrid in order to discuss
and adopt an International Plan of Action on Aging. The Plan calls for changes in
attitudes, in national and international policies, and in community, corporate and
organizational practices so that the enormous potential of aging in the 21 st century is
fulfilled. The Plan seeks to ensure that people everywhere will be enabled to age with
security and dignity, and continue to participate in their societies as citizens with full
rights.
Current Activities
In February 2002, Governor George E. Pataki charged 36 cabinet-level state
government agencies to review their major policies, programs, and structure in light of
the State’s increasingly older and more diverse population, particularly the aging of the
Baby Boomer generation into the elder cohort. The Governor’s Director of Operations,
James Natoli, likened the forthcoming Elder Boom to that of the Baby Boom when they
were to begin school in the 1950s. Major plans for consolidation and expansion were put
in place for them at that time. It is now time to prepare for their old age. The Governor
titled this initiative “Project 2015: State Agencies Prepare for the Impact of an Aging
New York.”
During 2002, the 36 state agencies, led by the State Office for the Aging,
established a workgroup with representation from senior staff of the agencies. The
Governor’s Office of Employee Relations provided valuable assistance in facilitation and
workgroup and meeting organization, and the Empire State Development State Data
Center contributed significant demographic data to assist the agencies in their
deliberations and planning. The state agencies reviewed their major programs, policies,
and procedures and each developed a policy brief that highlighted critical functions or
issue areas that would be affected by the State’s shifting demographic profile and which
should be addressed within the next ten years. Through a prioritization process, each
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