Governance and Management Structures for Community Partnerships: Experiences From the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Community Partnerships for Older Adults Program

Abstract

Community partnerships for older adults can become influential positive forces but must invest in adequate governance and management structures early on.

Aging in Place or Relocation: Perceived Awareness of Community-Based Long-Term Care and Services

“…To address issues of accessibility, availability, affordability, and quality of community-based long-term care and services, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has initiated the program Community Partnerships for Older Adults with the focus on improving local service-delivery infrastructure. One of the strategies of local community partnerships is to increase awareness about long-term care and services within the community, specifically awareness of resources, access points, eligibility, and insurance coverage (Bolda et al, 2006). This study also indicated that perceived awareness of availability of various community services was associated with the likelihood of agingin-place and relocation anticipations.…”

“…As an initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the CPFOA was aimed at improving long-term care and supportive service systems for older adults through sustaining local community-based partnerships. The local community was composed of older adults, health and social service providers, Area Agencies on Aging, government and business leaders, and local funders (Bolda et al, 2006). The survey was part of the evaluation of the CPFOA program, which was designed to identify older adults at risk of needing long-term care and assess gaps in their knowledge about the options available (Black & Brown, 2004 Households in these communities were selected using list-assisted random digit-dialing, and one respondent from each eligible household was randomly selected (Black & Brown, 2004).…”

“…Recent policy and service initiatives have endeavored to address the desires to age in place and improve the quality of life among an expanding older population (Rowles, 1993;Summer, 2005). One strategy is to expand home-and communitybased services by improving local service infrastructures and community partnerships (Bolda, Saucier, Maddox, Wetle, & Lowe, 2006). The provision of a variety of flexible services under innovative delivery systems will help meet the changing needs of older adults and facilitate aging in place.…”

Social Support Networks and Expectations for Aging in Place and Moving

“…Therefore, efforts are needed to strengthen and modernize the current education and information networks with the emphasis on targeting older adults, their caregivers, and professionals; establishing linkage to resources; and developing communication infrastructure (Lawler and Berger 2009). Since people are likely to turn to a variety of sources for information, efficient community partnerships will ensure the reliability of information and easy access to community services (Bolda et al 2006). Various social support resources will promote aging in…”

More than Just a Talkfest: The Process of Developing Collaborations in Ageing across Two Different Community Types

“…Examples include terms such as community partnerships (Bolda et al, 2006), community coalitions (Foster-Fishman et al, 2001), policy communities (Rhodes, 1997) and collaborative governance (Huxham, 2000). These terms include a range of relationships and modes of inter-dependence, and incorporate a continuum of relationships (Lawson et al, 2006; for a review, see Warburton et al, 2008).…”