PRINTER'S NO. 3016
No. 540 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY PETRI, BAKER, BARRAR, CAPPELLI, CLYMER, CREIGHTON,
FAIRCHILD, GINGRICH, GOODMAN, HELM, HERSHEY, MELIO,
R. MILLER, RAPP, REICHLEY, RUBLEY, SAYLOR, SCHRODER, SONNEY,
MURT, MOYER, HENNESSEY, M. KELLER, SWANGER, SIPTROTH AND
MANTZ, DECEMBER 13, 2007
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON AGING AND OLDER ADULT SERVICES,
DECEMBER 13, 2007
A RESOLUTION
1 Directing the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to
2 conduct a performance audit of the Philadelphia Corporation
3 for Aging and to report back to the General Assembly with
4 their findings and recommendations.
5 WHEREAS, Pennsylvania's network of 52 local area agencies on
6 aging were created in order to serve as a focal point in the
7 community for the coordination of services for older persons and
8 for the issues and concerns of aging; and
9 WHEREAS, The 2000 United States Census confirmed that the
10 demand for services for Pennsylvania's older population will
11 continue to grow as the number of individuals who are 75 years
12 of age and older continues to increase and, further, the
13 percentage of individuals who are 85 years of age and older
14 continues to increase by the largest percentage of any
15 population group; and
16 WHEREAS, Services to local area agencies on aging are funded
17 with an aging block grant whereby the formula that is
1 implemented by the Department of Aging to determine the grants
2 currently indicates that eight counties receive more funding
3 than the current formula calls for and that 43 counties are
4 underfunded; and
5 WHEREAS, Area agencies on aging utilize the block grant money
6 they receive to provide a wide array of home-based and
7 community-based services such as in-home services, adult day
8 services and programs provided by senior community centers; and
9 WHEREAS, The Philadelphia Corporation for Aging, one of the
10 eight local area agencies on aging that receive the largest
11 funding allocations, currently receives approximately 193% more
12 than the formula prescribes; and
13 WHEREAS, The estimated extra $22 million received by the
14 Philadelphia Corporation for Aging is partly a result of a
15 harmless provision in the authorizing statute; and
16 WHEREAS, Over the past five years, many local area agencies
17 on aging have either cut back or eliminated programs and
18 services, and waiting lists have grown as a result of a lack of
19 State funding support; and
20 WHEREAS, The funds utilized are PennCare dollars derived from
21 the State Lottery; and
22 WHEREAS, There are currently more than $200 million in
23 reserves in the State Lottery Fund; and
24 WHEREAS, The Department of Aging currently saves $5 million
25 per week as a result of Medicare Part D; and
26 WHEREAS, Every area agency on aging deserves to be funded in
27 accordance with the Department of Aging's formula; and
28 WHEREAS, It is essential that regular performance audits be
29 conducted to ensure that the aging block grant moneys are
30 utilized in the most effective manner possible, especially when
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1 an agency receives an amount that is significantly in excess of
2 the amount prescribed under the formula established by the
3 department; therefore be it
4 RESOLVED, That the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee
5 conduct a performance audit of the Philadelphia Corporation for
6 Aging in order to determine how the aging block grant formula
7 funding is being utilized; and be it further
8 RESOLVED, That the committee complete the performance audit
9 no later than six months after adoption of this resolution and
10 transmit a report with results of the audit to the General
11 Assembly at that time.
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