Transportation
Assistant Secretary Josefina G. Carbonell Announces the Release of Senior Transportation Resources Called the Transportation Toolbox
I am pleased to present you with this toolbox of technical assistance materials, “Seniors Benefit from Transportation Partnerships: Promising Practices from the Aging Network,” to inform your efforts to increase the coordination of transportation services for older Americans. This information is one component of a multi-faceted initiative that I have undertaken to assist State Units on Aging, Area Agencies on Aging, tribal organizations and our many community partners to increase the quantity, quality and efficiency of transportation for seniors. Coordination is the key to making this happen.
This toolbox contains important information that follows through on our promise to the President in his February 2004 Executive Order on Human Services Transportation Coordination. The resources in the toolbox include useful practices in transportation coordination, a handbook for creating door through door transportation programs, a template for communities to build their own transportation resource guide, a comprehensive resource list for transportation coordination and a tailorable presentation on useful practices. AoA is announcing these resources as part of our ongoing commitment and relationship with the United We Ride interagency transportation coordination initiative.
The Administration on Aging and the Federal Transit Administration have a very close partnership begun in January 2003 with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). This partnership developed out of our mutual goal to promote the coordination of transportation services for seniors funded by both organizations. Since the MOU, the formation of the Federal Interagency Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility, and the President’s Executive Order for Human Services Transportation Coordination in February 2004, a tremendous amount of work has occurred.
The Federal Interagency Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility issued their report to the President with recommendations for breaking down federal barriers to transportation for all transportation disadvantaged populations in May of 2005. In this report to the President, are detailed action plans for each of the 11 Federal Agencies who comprise this Council. The release of this toolbox is one of the Department of Health and Human Services Administration on Aging’s contribution to this important effort. Access to supportive services through transportation and choices of transportation services are critical for seniors’ ability to age in place, in their communities.
We are pleased to work with our federal and national partners, especially the Federal Interagency Coordinating Council and the National Consortium on Human Services Transportation. We must all work together to utilize our resources in creative ways to meet the transportation needs of our nation’s seniors. The National Aging Network has a longstanding leadership role in coordinating a full range of home and community-based services for older adults. We can build on our many successes in this arena by playing a leadership role in the coordination of transportation services.
I hope you find the information in this package helpful to you. I encourage you to also use our website (www.aoa.gov) and the United We Ride website (unitedweride.gov) as additional resources for your efforts.
Josefina G. Carbonell
Assistant Secretary for Aging
Transportation Coordination Toolbox:
Developing a Community Transportation Guide:
Door-Through-Door Guide:
Transportation Sub Navigation:
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