28-05-2025
Illinois agency worries funding cuts may hinder senior meals and transport
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — An Illinois agency that provides meals and transportation to seniors is raising concerns about funding cuts that could limit those services.
The Northwest Illinois Area Agency on Aging partnered with 13 other similar organizations across the state for a 'Day of Advocacy' on Wednesday.
Last year, the agency delivered nearly 800,000 meals to 4,000 people. Now, due to budget resolutions and spending cuts, the program may be restructured within the Department of Health and Human Services.
Executive director Jeffrey Barnes said residents should contact their federal lawmakers if they are concerned about potential cuts to the Older Americans Act (OAA).
The last round of funding, which was approved in 2020, is set to expire in September.
'The importance of these programs is to keep people in their homes for as long as possible. If we lose funding for this program, the chances are high that some individuals, certainly in the most rural of counties and rural areas, will lose their home-delivered meals, their transportation services,' Barnes said.
The Older Americans Act was first signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965.
If federal funding is cut, the federal Health and Human Services will oversee the services of the OAA, food deliveries reassigned to Healthcare and Family, and transportation and caregiver funding will be moved to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid.
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