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Planning Process
- Every two years, the Central Massachusetts Agency on Aging (or CMAA) follows a complete allocations process.
- Through a series of public hearings, focus groups, surveys and other sources of information, needs and consequent gaps in services are identified.
- Utilizing this information, staff works with the Planning and Allocations Committee (P&A) and the Advisory Council to establish a list of priorities for services to address the existing needs.
- These needs are forwarded to the Board of Directors. It is the Board that finalizes the list of priorities. These priorities, along with mandated objectives from the Older Americans Act, form the basis not only for allocations, but also for the "Area Plan" which provides direction for Agency work over a 4 year period.
- "Letters of Intent" are requested (advertised in the legal section of the newspaper, posted on the CMAA web site and mailed to current grantees, COA's, and other interested parties).
- These "Letters of Intent" are screened and applications for Title III funding are then issued to appropriate agencies and programs.
- Once the Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs.(EOEA) has estimated the amount of funding CMAA will receive, the Finance Committee works with the Executive Director and the Fiscal Director to establish an Agency budget. This budget will then provide the exact figures available for allocation.
- When applications for funding are received, the Planning and Allocations Committee reviews the proposals. Each is looked at in terms of its individual merits and where the proposed program stands in view of the established priorities and the Area Plan.
- The P&A Committee then chooses programs that best match the unmet needs, looking to fill gaps in services throughout the region. Some programs are funded at amounts less than requested due to a variety of factors, particularly the amount of money available and the history of service.
- Once the P&A Committee has sorted through the applications, their recommendations are brought to the Advisory Council for discussion and for a preliminary vote. The Advisory Council looks at the P&A recommendations, and may offer alternatives. The Advisory Council then votes on the recommendations. The results of this vote and comments made by Council members as part of the discussion are then forwarded to the CMAA Board of Directors.
- The CMAA Board of Directors then discusses the recommendations, possibly making changes. They then vote on the final recommendations. When this vote is over, contracts may be issued to grantees, contingent upon actual allocations from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs in Boston.
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