Aging agency hopes its not on chopping block
BY MICHELLE L. START Florida Weekly Correspondent

Leigh Schield is anxiously watching what happens during the next week in Florida's legislative special session.

The executive director of the Area Agency on Aging has been worried since she was initially told that her agency, which has not had a budget increase in some time, was slated for a reduction. A special session is scheduled this week through Oct. 12 as legislators try to slash up to $1 billion in an effort to balance the $71.5 billion state budget.

"We recently got word that the House went ahead and included funding. I feel relatively good about it, but it changes daily," Schield said. "Initially, they had talked about cutting services back, which is really hard when you are one of the ones who have already streamlined as much as you possibly can because this affects the people who need it the most."

While the House has included funds, Schield said she does not know what the Senate has planned and she knows that representatives could change their minds.

Officials who work with Florida's elderly population had planned to introduce some new services this year, but those have been delayed pending future financial matters.

Schield credited new Florida Elder Affairs secretary Douglas Beach with making the cuts less painful.

"He does a good job seeing where it is easier to cut other programs," she said.

Still, officials had hoped to begin holding town hall meetings throughout the seven counties that comprise the Area Aging on Aging of Southwest Florida but funding is limiting some of the options. One is scheduled for Moore Haven on Oct. 11 and another for Arcadia on Nov. 16, but the one planned for Fort Myers has been cancelled because there is already a waiting list for services in Lee County.

The town hall meetings bring services to seniors and tell them what is available within the community.

"We have more 1,000 people waiting for services," Schield said. "We thought if we had a town hall meeting in Fort Myers, it would make the situation worse."