Funding for community-based programs to help Colorado’s older residents receive daily necessities, such as meals and transportation services, is dwindling, and the future looks bleak, advocates said.  

The Colorado Association of Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) provides services to more than 56,000 seniors over 60 annually. The federal Older Americans Act and the Colorado Department of Human Services State Unit on Aging support the program.

Statewide, there is a growing waiting list of older residents in need of services with AAA, which estimated it needs an annual budget of about $29.5 million just to maintain current levels.

The state’s AAA program operated using a $15 million homestead grant between 2019 and 2023, which is now expiring. The American Rescue Plan Act funds that have filled gaps since 2020 will also expire this year.

Knowing the actual need is nearly $30 million, AAA officials said, adding they only asked the state for $5 million in assistance from the general fund.

“I knew if we asked for the full $20 million, we would be laughed out of the room,” said Jayla Sanchez, AAA’s manager for the District 3 region, which includes Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Clear Creek, Denver, Douglas, Gilpin and Jefferson counties.

While District 3 encompasses the most extensive service area, AAA in Colorado has 14 regions serving older residents, a growing population of which nearly 20% are over 60, and 7% are over 70.

“The Colorado population is rapidly aging,” Sanchez said. “The 60-and-over population is going to go up by 25%.”

Schueneman and Sanchez said they are nervously watching the 2024 legislative session march forward. The bill that would at least assure $5 million in funding is sitting in the appropriations panel, and the state’s budget bill does not list a funding item for the program.

Both said they understand this year’s budget is tight but stressed the need to maintain programs that protect and help older people.

Even if the full $5 million is approved through the proposed Senate Bill 040, Sanchez said AAA will operate using budget amounts dating back to 2019.

Sen. Jessie Danielson, a sponsor of the bill remains optimistic. 

“I am confident that my colleagues will do the right thing and pass this bill,” she told Colorado Politics. “If we don’t, the Area Agencies on Aging will have to cut services. That means seniors will go without home delivered meals, transportation to doctor appointments and dialysis treatments, in-home services, retrofitting homes for accessibility, hearing aids, eye glasses, and much more. The legislature must pass this bill to avoid cutting these critical services.”

With the significant funding shortfall, Sanchez said problems filling people’s needs will only grow. Waitlists will get longer, and programs will face cuts, Sanchez said. 

Sanchez said the wait list for transportation is over 700 and growing. AAA helps people get to and from doctors’ appointments and other vital offices to help them manage their lives, Sanchez said, noting it’s not just about taking them to a grocery store and back.

In some cases, Sanchez said AAA is telling caregivers desperate for help that it could take up to two months to get transportation. She added that does not help when an individual needs a ride to the doctor the next day.

Sanchez said Project Angel Heart, which provides medically tailored meals to 5,000 people, has more than 300 on the waitlist.

Sara Schueneman, the AARP state director in Colorado, said AAA’s community-based programs help older residents live independently and avoid being put in a nursing home too soon. She noted that 78% of Colorado’s aging population wants to stay home and in their communities.

Schueneman and Sanchez stressed that a resident should never be forced into a nursing home unless 24-hour care is needed. However, when community services for food and transportation are gone, sometimes a nursing home is the only other option, they said. 

Cost is also an issue, with Schueneman estimating a Colorado nursing home can mean upwards of $72,000 a year.

Schueneman said that when community programs disappear, more older residents will apply for Medicaid, costing the state much more money.