Spring is the season of renewal and opportunity. Spring is also the time we plan for the year ahead. We cultivate the ground and, full of expectation and hope, plant seeds of innovation that we anticipate will grow into mature, productive programs.

Recently, I met with aging service professionals and advocates from across the country.  We compared notes, shared details of new projects, and discussed how to obtain the necessary funding to support current and future programming. The one point we all agreed upon there will be no easy, one-size-meets-all-needs solutions for the coming baby boomers. Moreover, there was concurrence that most innovation was occurring at the grassroots level. Additionally, there was agreement that we should not expect major new sources of funding from the federal government for aging service programming even though the growth of America's older adult population will be exploding as Baby Boomers become Medicare recipients and Social Security beneficiaries.

What does this mean for local aging service agencies such as North Shore Elder Services? Quite simply, we must renew our commitment to address the needs of older adults and their families in the least restrictive, most cost-effective manner possible. We must anticipate that we will be asked to do more service for more people in more ways without proportionately more funding. Rather than being disheartened by this challenge, we must rise to the call and become increasingly innovative with our programs and more individualized in approach to client work.