The draft Area Plan Update for 2022–2023 is available online at agingkingcounty.org/area-plan now through August 2. ADS invites public comment via e-mail and/or a public hearing scheduled at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, August 2, 2021. The public comment period will close at the end of the day, August 2.
To sign up for public comment, visit surveymonkey.com/r/August2AreaPlanHearing. To send written comment, e-mail Karen.Winston@seattle.gov. Aging and Disability Services (ADS), a division of the Seattle Human Services Department (HSD) that serves as the Area Agency on Aging for Seattle and King County, monitors trends and issues affecting older people and adults with disabilities in King County. Every four years, ADS and more than 600 other Area Agencies on Aging throughout the United States develop an Area Plan that charts the course each agency will follow to address emerging needs, while also working to create age-friendly communities.
The current Area Plan (2020–2023) describes the function of ADS, presents relevant demographic trends for King County, and outlines major goals and objectives for addressing trends, issues, and needs.
Area Agencies on Aging also prepare a biennial Area Plan Update. It is an opportunity to hear from community members and network providers—mid-cycle—and reflect changing trends impacting older adults and people with disabilities. Existing goals and objectives have been re-examined and new goals and objectives have been developed.
“Two years ago, no one predicted that we would experience a worldwide pandemic,” said Mary Mitchell, interim ADS director. “The draft Area Plan Update includes a summary of how the local Aging Network has worked together to provide services and supports and includes COVID-19 recovery goals and objectives for the next two years, with special emphasis on older people, adults with disabilities, and caregivers in BIPOC communities.”
The draft Area Plan Update for 2022–2023 is available online at agingkingcounty.org/area-plan now through August 2. ADS invites public comment via e-mail and/or a public hearing scheduled at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, August 2, 2021. The public comment period will close at the end of the day, August 2.
To sign up for public comment, visit surveymonkey.com/r/August2AreaPlanHearing. To send written comment, e-mail Karen.Winston@seattle.gov.
Following the public hearing, final edits will be made to the draft Area Plan Update and approved by the ADS Advisory Council and key partners. The Update will be submitted to the State Unit on Aging (part of the DSHS Aging and Long-Term Support Administration) on October 5. Following state approval in early 2022, the final Update will be posted online.
The Seattle Human Services Department’s Aging and Disability Services division has served as the Area Agency on Aging for Seattle and King County since 1973. Through the lens of racial equity, ADS supports programs, initiatives, and policies that promote healthy aging and public health, two of HSD’s six investment impact areas.
Need aging or disability resources? To access local services, call Community Living Connections at (toll-free) 844-348-5464. Calls are confidential and free of charge.