Orange County to Establish Florida’s First County Office on Aging

To respond to a "burgeoning elderly population" and to link many of Central Florida's "now-separate agencies" that offer assistance to seniors, Orange County on March 6 became the first county in the state to establish an Office on Aging, the Orlando Sentinel reports. Statistics indicate that the county's population of residents over the age of 60 could rise from 125,000 in 2000 to more than 220,000 by 2015. The plan's supporters said the office will act as an "umbrella agency" to increase awareness of available programs for seniors and improve seniors' access to them. Richard Morrison, vice chair of the interim task force that recommended creating the permanent office, said, "It does no good if the services are there and you don't know where they are or how to get them." One of the office's "most tangible" plans is to establish a telephone hotline to serve as a one-call resource for the elderly to obtain information on services. County officials estimate the office's expenses to be about $300,000 per year. The office is expected to open after county commissioners approve the 2001-02 budget this summer (Maxwell, Orlando Sentinel, 3/7).