Pima Council on Aging Honored for Nationally Acclaimed Program
Pima Council on Aging’s Advancing Advocacy program recently received a 2021 Aging Achievement Award from the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, or n4a. This is the highest honor presented by n4a to member agencies.
This award is PCOA’s second recognition of its nationally acclaimed advocacy and public policy program, with the same program receiving a 2019 Aging Achievement Award for Digital Advocacy.
PCOA’s Advancing Advocacy program, which works at the local, state and federal levels of government to advance the rights, interests, and needs of older adults, was among 36 local aging programs to receive honors during the n4a Annual Conference and Tradeshow held this summer:
- The 2021 n4a Aging Innovations and Achievement Awards recognizes Area Agencies on Aging and Title IV Native American Aging Programs that develop and implement cutting-edge approaches to support older adults, people with disabilities, and their family caregivers. Among the selection criteria was the ease with which other agencies around the country could replicate the program in their own communities. PCOA was the only award-winning program in the category of advocacy in 2021.
- For nearly five years, PCOA has worked diligently to support advocacy efforts of older adults, being one of the only Area Agencies on Aging in the nation that dedicates a full-time staff member to advocacy and public policy work.
- Through partnership with the Arizona Association of Area Agencies on Aging and other aging advocacy groups, PCOA leads the state in advocacy and public policy efforts. Their involvement was pivotal in the Area Agencies on Aging’s recent success at the State Legislature where an addition of $3.5 million was appropriated to Area Agencies on Aging to support in-home supportive services and the Long-Term Care Ombudsman program.
