For a Healthy Aging Workforce Policy, Look to Colorado

The state of Colorado is a perfect embodiment of how to adjust workforce policy to reflect the changing demographics of the older adult population and labor pool, reports the Strategic Action Planning Group on Aging's (SAPGA) Workforce Development Committee Co-Chair Tony Tapia in The Hill . He cites the state legislature's 2015 approval of the establishment of the SAPGA to formulate a state policy blueprint to address the population of burgeoning older adults that will be increasing through 2030 and after. "One of our first recommendations . . . was the creation of a Senior Advisor on Aging," Tapia writes. From this originated the Lifelong Colorado Initiative, which made Colorado the third state in the nation to participate in the AARP Network of the Age-Friendly States and Communities. "In Colorado, the policy advances are being paralleled with an effort called Changing Narrative Colorado," Tapia adds. "This initiative is based on national research by the FrameWorks Institute, a nonprofit that works to shift perceptions and increase public understanding around social issues."