81-2202.

Legislative findings.

The Legislature hereby finds and declares:

(1) That in many urban and rural areas of the state numerous older individuals are without access to community aging services which strengthen and support a self-reliant, independent family home life in times of personal crisis or advanced age;

(2) That this deficiency in program coverage causes many older individuals to forfeit their independent living arrangements for more dependent and sometimes inappropriate institutional living;

(3) That this deficiency has resulted in disproportionate expenditures of both private and public funds for institutionally based care for the state's older individuals;

(4) That the known future increase in the number and proportion of the state's older individuals will require increased use of the natural care system of family, friends, and neighbors and of the strengths and experience of older individuals for their own self-sufficiency;

(5) That older individuals are healthier, happier, and better served living in their own homes and neighborhoods; that support and care is best given by family, friends, or neighbors; that community-based aging services through senior centers and local organizations can serve, supplement, and bolster family living; and that greater state and other public expenditures for inappropriate care can be avoided by investment in preventive community aging services;

(6) That older individuals of this state are entitled to the same opportunities as others for full enjoyment of and maximum participation in their communities' civic, social, and employment activities and in the personal choice and management of their own lives; and

(7) That it is in the public interest that community aging services which support the continued independence and self-sufficiency of older individuals be available in all areas of the state.