SIMULATING THE EFFECTS ON NONMETROPOLITAN PLANNING AND SERVICE AREAS OF CHANGES IN THE GUIDELINES FOR INTRASTATE FUNDING FORMULAS - A STUDYOF 2 STATES

The 1992 reauthorization of the Older Americans Act (OAA) requires the Assistant Secretary on Aging to produce a set of guidelines to aid st ates in the development of their Intrastate Funding Formula (IFF). The purpose of this investigation was to examine, using two states as cas e studies, the effects of a preliminary set of guidelines on planning and service areas (PSAs) that vary in the degree to which older adults (60+) in their catchment area live in nonmetropolitan versus metropol itan settings. Dollar amounts allocated to four categories of PSAs wer e compared with simulations of allocations under three alternative fun ding strategies. The data from these simulations illustrate that chang es in IFF regulations have the potential to cause significant shifts i n the distribution of OAA funds. Indeed, given the magnitude of the ch anges that could occur, there is likely to be considerable controversy within some states as lawmakers and state officials attempt to bring current IFFs into conformity with new federal regulations.