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News Release

Last modified: Friday, March 7, 2008

IU center a partner for planning Indiana’s aging future

Center on Aging and Community conducting statewide study for planning and analysis

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 7, 2008

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration's (FSSA) Division of Aging announced the start of the Indiana Advantage Survey for planning and analysis. The purpose of the study is to collect information from Indiana's senior population in order to evaluate communities and prepare future plans to enhance quality of life for this growing population.

"This survey is a critical component in meeting the needs of our senior population," said Megan Ornellas, director of the FSSA Division of Aging. "The outcomes will help us identify various needs throughout the state and will result in better service for aging Hoosiers."

The project manager is Philip B. Stafford, director of the Center on Aging and Community at the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community, a research, education and service center affiliated with Indiana University Bloomington. He notes that this is likely the most comprehensive survey of older Hoosiers ever conducted. Not a needs assessment so much as a profile of the current status of older adults, the survey also assesses the contributions that older adults are making in Indiana, as volunteers, as caregivers, as active citizens.

Stafford has consulted with the national AdvantAge Initiative project since its inception in 2000. The survey has been conducted in more than 25 U.S. cities and in a national sample. This is the first statewide application of the survey process, part of a federal demonstration of new planning approaches by the U.S. Administration on Aging.

The project is a collaborative effort between FSSA's Division of Aging, Indiana University and the Indiana Association of Area Agencies on Aging. The Center on Aging and Community is conducting the statewide telephone survey of Hoosiers age 60 and over. Approximately 4,500 seniors are being randomly selected to participate in the 25-minute telephone survey, which covers issues ranging from health and housing to mobility. All survey answers are confidential and only group data will be reported for analysis.

Other project funders include the Daniels Foundation in Denver and Lilly Endowment Inc., which is helping support local citizen participation to help utilize the data and move communities toward action in creating livable, lifespan communities throughout Indiana.

The calls will take place through March of this year. Hoosiers may call FSSA's Division of Aging at 1-888-673-0002 during normal business hours (8 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST) if they would like to verify the source of the call and the legitimacy of the survey.

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