California Association of Senior Service Centers - CASSC
ph: 805-517-6260
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Services
CASSC's Roots
CASSC was founded in 1977 by a group of dedicated senior center directors who believed that a statewide organization could be a stronger advocate for senior citizens than each center acting alone. The aging population -- the fastest growing segment of the population today -- creates many challenges for senior center professionals, including working with people from a wide range of ages, abilities, interests, ethnicities, and cultural values. To attract older adults into senior centers requires providing a myriad of programs, services, and activities which will consider this diversity and offer services that appeal to the very frail elderly as well as to young, vigorous baby boomers. While senior centers have a strong foothold in many communities throughout the state, limited funding demands the creation of partnerships or coalitions so more can be done with fewer resources.
Interagency Relationships and Networking Opportunities
CASSC maintains close ties with local Area Agencies on Aging (AAA), the state council of Area Agencies on Aging (TAC), the National Council on Aging (NCOA), the National Institute of Senior Centers (NISC), the American Society on Aging (ASA), the California Parks and Recreation Society (CPRS) Aging Section, the California Senior Legislature (CSL) and the White House Conference on Aging. CASSC has been involved with the statewide Changing of Aging Paradigms and advocacy for seniors relative to long-term care. In these ways, CASSC keeps its members on the cutting edge of current legistation and interagency relationships.As a statewide, professional organziation for senior center leaders, CASSC provides networking and career development training as part of its annual conference held each fall at Asilomar in Pacific Grove, California. Initiated in 1987, the CASSC conference is a productive event for senior center directors and has garnered a reputation for targeting the concerns of today's older adults, while planning for those of the future. The annual conference, as well as legislative efforts, help prepare professionals to develop creative and innovative senior center programming that can improve the quality of life for the seniors served.
CASSC produces a quarterly newsletter for its membership, sharing information on issues of concern to those working with older adults, and providing an opportunity to promote programs at the contributing members' centers.
Linkages
CASSC member agencies can submit a Website Link Request Form and be linked to our website.
Dr. Patrick Arbore, Director and Co-founder of the Center for Elderly Suicide Prevention and Grief-Related Services and Director of Education and Professional Training at the Institute on Aging in San Francisco presented sessions on "I'm Not the Person I Used to Be: Managing Life Transitions" and "Storytelling as a Therapeutic Tool" at the 2009 CASSC Conference. Back by popular demand for the 2010 conference, Dr. Arbore will be presenting on Clutter Addiction and leading a Fireside Chat on Effective Communication.
At the 2009 annual CASSC conference, Dr. Manoj Pardasani, Professor of Social Work at Fordham University, presented his groundbreaking research on the influence of senior centers on participants’ health, innovative models of senior centers, policy issues related to senior centers and characteristics of senior center participants.
ph: 805-517-6260
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