WV Future of Aging and Caregiving Taskforce (WVFACT) Legislative Priorities 2016

WVFACT Coordination and Communication Workgroup Sets Priorities for 2016

Letters Sent to West Virginia's Legislators

Shortly before the holidays the Coordination and Communication workgroup, a sub-group of the West Virginia Future of Aging and Caregiving Taskforce (WVFACT), composed and sent letters to state leaders to seek their support on issues identified as priorities.

The letters informed legislators of the issues that the group felt should be of special concern in the coming year for the care of our ever-growing senior population. These concerns mirror many of the goals and initiatives being addressed by AARP-WV in 2016.

As stated in these letters, WVFACT strongly support and ask for our leaders' attention for:

• Increased availability of respite for caregivers and a caregiver tax credit;
• Work place flexibility laws and regulations that provide more paid and unpaid sick leave; to include state improvements to the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA): covered employers, covered employee eligibility, length of leave, type of leave allowed;
• Post CARE Act Passage- to put a process in place to ensure the provisions passed last year in the CARE Act are occurring;
• Protect against a significant reduction in the numbers of individuals served, or eligible to receive, Medicaid or state-funded home- and community-based services as demonstrated by a budget bill/regulation, state plan amendment, or waiver;
• Increase the number older people who receive home- and community-based services;
• Adopt or improve navigation systems (ADRCs, single points of entry, options counseling, etc.) that facilitate choice of setting, establish conflict-free care coordination, or utilize uniform assessment tools;
• Increase consumer-directed care, home health, and personal care services;
• Adopt or amend state-managed LTSS programs to improve access, coordination, and integration of LTSS and greater involvement of family caregivers;
• Full Implementation of the Home Care Registry passed several years ago.

The West Virginia Future of Aging and Caregiving Taskforce (WVFACT) is a project of the WV Partnership for Elder Living (WVPEL, Inc.) www.wvpel.org; AARP-WV http://states.aarp.org/region/west-virginia/and other partners.