A. The Davis County Area Agency on Aging (AAA)

     The official name of the Davis County AAA is Davis County Aging Services. For simplicity, it will be referred to as the Davis County AAA and it is embedded in the Utah State Aging Services, which, in turn is embedded in the national Administration on Aging (AoA). Funds to operate the agency come from various sources including but not limited to: The Administration on Aging (AoA), The Department of Agriculture, The State Aging Services, and many groups, both companies and individuals, who donate to the effort. The Senior Citizen Centers sponsor various events as fund raisers and they actively ask companies to donate goods and services.

    The web site for the Davis County, Utah, Aging Services (AAA) is found at: www.co.davis.ut.us/aging. Through the Utah Association of Area Agencies on Aging, Davis County aging has an additional aging web site: www.utahagingservices.org/html/davis.html

     The Older Americans Act of 1965 lists the important goals for the older adults of America, as enumerated by Barrow (1996):

1.      Adequate income.

2.      Good physical and mental health.

3.      Suitable housing at reasonable cost.

4.      Full restorative services for those who require institutional care.

5.      Equal employment opportunities.

6.      Retirement with dignity.

7.      A meaningful existence.

8.      Efficient, coordinated community services.

9.       Benefits of knowledge from research.

10.   Freedom, independence, and individual initiative in the planning and management of one’s life (pp.398-399).

   The Davis County AAA is responsible for attainment of those goals for the persons 60 years of age or older. In the case of equal employment opportunities, the age range begins at 55 years of age.

    One of the feedback loops that helps measure the adequacy of the Davis County AAA with regard to the older adult family is the Aging Advisory Board mentioned earlier. According to its charter, the Board is to advise the Davis County Commission in all matters relating to the older adult in Davis County. Members of the Board come from each city in the county and are considered representatives of that city in the coordination of the needs of the older city residents. In the meeting minutes of the Board, it is clearly noted that some cities are more engaged with their seniors than other cities without regard to the three Senior Citizen Centers located throughout the county. Some cities have city-wide senior meetings which may eventually lead to new Senior Citizen Centers in the future.

    Another feedback loop is the new Advisory Boards being put in place at the Senior Citizen Center level. Some of the same people serve on the both the Davis County Aging Advisory Board and on their local Senior Citizen Center Advisory Boards. These new Boards are expected to increase the amount and quality of the feedback from seniors in Davis County. It must be noted that the seniors who actually attend the Centers and fill out surveys are the most frequent source of feedback. Since most older families do not use the Senior Centers, it is acknowledged that the majority of seniors in the county are not regularly included in any type of feedback.

     The Davis County Department of Aging Services (AAA) also reports to the Davis County Commission concerning the older adults in statistical form, such as listing the number of older individuals who are below the poverty line. At the end of 2002, the unpublished report stated that there were 719 people over the age of 65 who were living below the national poverty line. The 2000 U.S. Census was the basis for creating the report. At that time, the total number of adults 60+ was listed as 24,317.