Alaska aging commission's new committee starts work on senior services plan Nov. 2

The Alaska Commission on Aging's new State Plan Advisory Committee will hold its first meeting Monday, Nov. 2, to begin guiding the state's next four-year plan for programs serving older Alaskans.

The committee is made up of agencies that serve Alaska seniors and includes every sitting commissioner.

The commission writes a State Plan for Senior Services every four years as a roadmap for addressing issues that affect Alaska seniors. The current plan covers federal fiscal years 2024 through 2027 and took effect Oct. 1, 2023. The meeting notice calls the next one the FFY 2027-2031 plan, while the state's consultant solicitation calls it the FFY 2028-2031 plan.

The online meeting runs from 1:30 to 3 pm. The public may watch, but "public comment will not be taken at this meeting," the notice says. Comment opportunities are planned when the draft plan is released in April 2027. The final plan is due to the federal Administration on Community Living by Aug. 1, 2027, under the solicitation.

The commission is also gathering input from older Alaskans. As Alaska News reported Oct. 22, it will hold a listening session in Juneau on Thursday, Oct. 29, from 1 to 2:30 pm at the Mendenhall Valley Public Library. Alaskans 55 and older are invited, and the notice says their feedback will be used to set the plan's priorities.

Alaska had the fastest growing senior population per capita in the country over the past decade, according to the commission's annual report for state fiscal year 2025. The state counted 162,175 Alaskans 60 and older in 2025, about 22% of the population and up 78% from 2010, according to the commission's senior snapshot.