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Senior Corps is a network of programs that tap the experience, skills, and talents of citizens, age 55+ to meet community needs.
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What is MASCD?
MASCD
Montana Association of Senior Corps Directors
The MASCD Mission is to:
Provide support for members through communication, education, representation and to ensure continued excellence and growth in senior corps projects.
The MASCD Standing Committees are:
Public Relations Committee: Promote volunteerism through increased visibility and awareness of senior corps activities.
Membership/Education Committee: Enhance programs and improve (or promote) professionalism though training, education and sharing ideas and information.
Resource Development Committee: Develop and improve funding sources.
Annual Dues are currently $30
And due by July 1.
Benefits of Membership
- Support system made up of experienced directors who are always willing to answer questions.
- Unified voice with all senior corps projects in Montana to bring our concerns to state decision makers.
- Participation in projects that will leverage our resources to help increase the number of volunteers in each program.
- The power of partnerships to increase funding to our projects by the state and non-federal grantors.
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History of Senior Corps
Let's look at a brief description of the development of the three Senior Corps Programs including the Foster Grandparent, Senior Companion and the RSVP Programs.
The Foster Grandparent Program was a concept that began with Sargent Shriver under President Kennedy's Administration in the early 1960's. They saw a need to look at the future population and realize the number of seniors our society would have and what role they could play. Previous to this time many retirees took the word "retire" literally which in Latin means "withdraw". Seniors reached the age of 65 became eligible for Social Security and withdrew from society. President Kennedy, followed by President Johnson, realized we needed to make a change in our thinking and look forward to how we could keep retirees engaged in our communities.
The Foster Grandparent Program was established and became one of the war on poverty programs. It began as a labor program in 1965 providing a minimum wage to low income seniors who provided a one on one service to children with disabilities in the state hospital system. It didn't take long to realize the impact these seniors were having on the children. As a result, the program expanded rapidly in the early years. The poverty rate among seniors at that time was approximately 35%, so there was a significant pool of applicants to fill the Foster Grandparent positions.
In 1971 under President Nixon a major change took place. The Nixon administration established the new Federal Volunteer Agency called ACTION. When the program changed from an employment program to a volunteer program, the change in the hourly wage to a non-taxable stipend, concerned the participants and grantees of the Foster Grandparent Program about the future of financial reimbursement offered. The decision was made to maintain the sick and vacation earned leave benefits under the new non-taxable stipend benefits system. From 1971 until 1993, ACTION administered all the federal volunteer programs such as Peace Corps, Vista and the newly formed RSVP Program. Over the years several smaller initiatives were created under ACTION. These included such programs as the Vietnam Veterans Leadership Program. A few years later the Administration again analyzed the aging demographics and realized that in the future, more and more seniors would need one to one support. The Senior Companion Program was developed and modeled after the FGP program. Eighteen programs in 18 different states were funded beginning July 1, 1974. The Senior Companion Program began as a residential program serving older adults in Nursing Homes and State facilities. A few years later the Medicare Home Care Act passed and the development and expansion of in home services began to grow significantly. The ACTION agency decided the Senior Companion Program was a very limited resource and had to narrow its focus. The decision was made to emphasize "in-home" placements for future expansion. Program expansion occurred over the first few years. In 1985 there was a doubling of Senior Companion Program appropriations from $12 million to $24 million under a bill sponsored by Senators Edward Kennedy and Orrin Hatch.
The program remained under ACTION until 1993. At that time President Clinton established the Corporation for National and Community Service under a new law, the National and Community Service Trust Act. This Act also created a new program for young volunteers called "AmeriCorps". To help strengthen this new found organization, the administration was able to incorporate the ACTION agency and the programs authorized under the original Domestic Volunteer Service Act and all of the programs into the new Corporation for National and Community Service structure. Thus the title "Senior Corps" was adopted as one of the major streams of service in the new CNCS organization.
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