From the Director

The Florida Policy Exchange Center on Aging was created in 1992, with a legislatively mandated mission to conduct research and policy analysis projects designed to provide policy makers and program administrators with the information they need to make effective decisions regarding the economic, healthcare and housing needs of older people. The Center carries a Type I designation from the State Board of Education, which means the Center has a responsibility to work closely with faculty and students from all Florida universities who are involved in aging-related research activities.

Since its inception, the Center has undertaken several initiatives designed to achieve its fundamental mission. These initiatives include the following:

■ Providing logistical and analytical support to two legislatively established commissions (1995 and 2001) on long-term care, which addressed the need for more home- and community-based alternatives to institutional care; improving the quality of all long-term care programs; and the litigation and liability insurance crisis. Many of the recommendations prepared for both commissions by Center faculty have been adopted in legislation.

■ Numerous research and policy analysis projects have been completed by Center faculty and graduate students over the last several years. Several of these projects have been conducted under contract with state agencies or with the support of grant funding from federal agencies and private foundations. Most of the reports from these projects may be found on the Center's website (www.fpeca.cas.usf.edu).

■ Summaries of these reports and policy essays are included in the Center's annual publication, Aging Research & Policy Report (ARPR), which is published annually and widely disseminated. The ARPR focuses on the policy implications of the research summarized in each article and is written in a fashion that we hope makes the material accessible to a broad range of readers. Each of the ten issues of the ARPR may be found on our website.

■ Policy Center faculty often initiate discussions with or respond to inquiries from members of the media about a wide range of policy issues and the policy implications of findings from their research and work conducted by others.

■ Graduate students, including several in the Aging Studies Ph.D. program, participate in many of the research projects directed by Policy Center faculty. This participation has generated dissertation research and opportunities for the publication of articles.

The number of Policy Center faculty has grown from one in 1995 to four in 2004. The Policy Center now consists of four units, which have been created over the last six years. The State Data Center on Aging began in 1998 and now produces annual reports and research studies under contracts with the state aging and healthcare agencies. The USF Training Academy on Aging also began in 1998 and now provides a number of research-based training programs for health, housing and long-term care providers. The Center for Housing and Long-Term Care was created in 2003 in order to better organize the many Policy Center projects related to this broad topic. The Florida Center for Creative Aging also began in 2003 with a state grant designed to support efforts to expand access to the arts and humanities among retirees.

The Policy Center joined the USF Department of Gerontology in 2003 to create the School of Aging Studies. We anticipate that this merger will enhance the resources of both programs and expand the Policy Center's capacity to achieve its mission in the years ahead by conducting more policy-related research and evaluation projects, while contributing to the educational mission of the School of Aging Studies. As a part of the School, the Policy Center will be better able to help policy makers develop cost-effective health, housing and long-term care programs for Florida's large and growing population of older persons whose contribution to Florida's economy and culture far outweigh the expense of providing care and services when they need them.

Larry Polivka, Ph.D.
Associate Director, USF School of Aging Studies
& Director, Florida Policy Exchange Center on Aging

Aging Research and Policy Report FPECA publishes this cutting-edge report containing articles that summarize major findings of Florida-based research projects, the activities of major policy initiatives, and the operations of successful or innovative programs.

The Harold L. Sheppard and Wayne Vasey Library Dedicated in memory of Dr. Wayne Vasey and Dr. Harold Sheppard, lifelong advocates for older Americans. The library holds books, reports, and journals to be used in-house.