Central Mass Agency On Aging

In September of 1974, supported by legislation amending the Older Americans Act of 1965, a new organization was formed to plan and allocate funds under Title III of the Act. This organization, at the time named Region II Area Agency on Aging had as its mission to bring services to older Americans in the Worcester County region. With offices in Holden, and with James M. McNamara of Clinton as the first appointed agency coordinator, Region II Area Agency on Aging also began offering an Information and Referral Service to seniors throughout the region's cities and towns.

An eleven member Board of Directors was formed with individuals from throughout the region. Shortly after the Board was in place, they formed an Advisory Council, which consisted of thirty-four people drawn from consumers, providers and Councils on Aging. The original staff consisted of four persons who managed a budget of $450,000, which covered administration and grants for community-based elder support services.

In 1976, the Agency began administering a Title V, Senior Aide program, which places 38 elder enrollees in various community work settings. The affiliation with this program ended in 2002. In 1977, the Agency gained responsibility for three Nutrition Projects; the overall budget had reached $ million. In 1980, the Advisory Council was sub-divided into three sub-area advisory councils (SAAC’s) in North, Central and South County. In 1983, the Board increased to seventeen members, adding two seats from each of the three SAAC’s.

A more enhanced Information and Referral (I&R) service was established at the Agency in 1985. In 1987, the State began supplementing the Agency’s federal funds, which had started leveling off in the early ‘80’s. This State supplement ($100,000) ceased in 1990.

The Board of Directors, now with 17 members, changed the Agency’s name in 1989 to more accurately reflect our planning and service area of sixty-one communities in Central Massachusetts. The Central Massachusetts Agency on Aging (CMAA) moved to its current location in West Boylston in 1990. The annual budget is approximately $ million, granting Older Americans Act funds to as many as 30 programs in various organizations around the plannind and service area. Nutrition programs, legal services, home repair, medication management and transportation are only a few of the programs supported in whole or in part by these allocations. The staff numbers ten, with numerous volunteers and interns assisting in our work. In 1996, the Advisory Council was reestablished as a single body, and now includes up to 45 members representing all three major sections of our region.

In the late 1990's, Central Massachusetts Agency on Aging inaugurated a presence on the World Wide Web with the SeniorConnection website. Filled with information about the Agency and its Title III grants, it also includes an interactive database of over 1800 programs and services throughout central Massachusetts. In 2002, SeniorConnection was enhanced to include the Connection for Caregivers, a fully interactive website providing information in multiple formats, including a 24/7 peer support group, online training, and a monthly live support group.

Today, Central Massachusetts Agency on Aging is the largest, both geographically (1,500 square miles in 61 municipalities) and numerically (approximately 128,000 elders) of the twenty-three area agencies on aging (AAA) in the Commonwealth. Under an expansion of Title III of the Older Americans Act, CMAA also reaches out to caregivers, numbering upwards of 50,000 in the Central Massachusetts area. Central Massachusetts Agency on Aging works with three independent aging services access points (or ASAPs, once known as home care corporations) as well as sixty-one Councils on Aging and Senior Centers, and dozens of human service providers to build the capacity of the entire elder service system. CMAA also works in cooperation with the Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs and the Federal Administration on Aging.