Dear CCGG Members and Associates,

Please see the communication below from the California Commission on Aging regarding Senate Bill (SB) 1004. This bill could result in a diversion of mental health resources away from vulnerable older adult populations. Please act to ensure that our limited mental health resources are fairly distributed to all of those in need.

Communication from the California Commission on Aging:

Dear Providers and supporters of older adult mental health services:

SB 1004 (Weiner) would give children and youth priority over other age groups for the use of Prop. 63 MHSA Prevention & Early Intervention funds. This bill disregards the extensive work of stakeholders in developing the PEI priorities, as well ignores as the current rates of adult and older adult suicides and unmet mental health needs. There is no argument that more must be done to provide mental health services for the young, but not at the expense of the fastest growing age group with severe mental health needs, or those racial and ethnic minorities that have such limited access to services in the community.

SB 1004 is set for hearing in the Assembly Health Committee on Tuesday, June 19, 2018, so letters voicing your concern need to be received by the Committee this Wednesday, June 13, 2018 at noon!! Please send your letters of concern (updated if you’ve already written) to the Assembly Health Committee Chair at:

Chairman Jim Wood, Assembly Health Committee, State Capitol, Room 6005, Sacramento, CA 95814, FAX: (916) 319-2197

Thank you for your advocacy –

Carol M. Sewell, MAG, Legislative Director, California Commission on Aging, 1300 National Dr., #173, Sacramento, CA 95834, (916) 419-7594

Thank you to everyone who presented and attended the CCGG 2018 annual meeting!  We look forward to seeing you again next year, April 12, 2019 at the University of La Verne for another dynamic and informative annual meeting.

Visit our 2018 CCGG Annual Meeting page to learn more about this year’s annual meeting, register, and submit an abstract for a roundtable or poster presentation.  This year’s theme is Aging in the New Millennium:  Cultivating the Next Generation of Leaders and Innovators.

Professor Emeritus James E. “Jim” Birren, the founding dean of the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and an aging research pioneer considered by many to be the father of modern gerontology, passed away on January 15, 2016 at the age of 97. As the co-founder of the California Council on Gerontology and Geriatrics, we are saddened by this news and appreciate his passion and support of the organization over the years.

For a more complete remembrance please read the USC Davis School of Gerontology’s article.