About the Technical Assistance Support Center (TASC) Planning Zone

State and Local Planning in an Age of Transformation

Planning is necessary if States and Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) are to succeed in developing comprehensive and coordinated systems of long-term supports for older Americans and persons with disabilities and their families. The TASC Planning Zone is a one-stop source for state and local planning, designed specifically to support the development of comprehensive State and Area Plans on Aging. We hope that you will find it helpful to your planning needs. The focus of the site is to stimulate thinking on:

The state’s vision and mission
AoA's strategic vision and initiatives
Local, state and federal priorities
New challenges and priorities
Demographic and program data
Quality assurance and improvement efforts

Using This Resource

The TASC Planning Zone is geared towards planners at all professional levels, and is designed to be used by all State and Area Agencies on Aging in their planning activities. Intended to serve as a quick-reference source, this online planning resource site represents the current state of thinking on developing strategically-focused State and Area Plans on Aging.
Navigation links with drop down menus are placed at the top. Additionally, all the pages in each section include right column navigation links. Although portions of this site are arranged sequentially to walk you through the steps of creating a State or Area Plan on Aging, each section is a self-contained ready reference.

This Web site is divided into three main parts. Areas in the site outline elements to be included in a State Plan narrative, describe the techniques of comprehensive planning, and examine various planning methods.
The three main parts of the site include:

The Planning Process: This section identifies 10 Key Decision Points in State and Area Aging Plan development. Each entry includes methods and approaches that SUAs or AAAs might use to address: Mission and Values; Environment (Internal/External Assessment); Issues; Needs; Assets; Barriers; Goals and Objectives; Strategies; Outcomes; and Plan Monitoring.
The State Plan: Although not intended to serve as a template, this section offers an in-depth look at writing the State Plan on Aging.
Resource Links: The site also has a virtual library, which includes links to the sources referenced in this Web site and numerous additional links related to issues of planning.

State Technical Assistance Support Center

To assist state and local efforts in developing comprehensive State and Area Plans, the U.S. Administration on Aging provided technical support funding to The National Association of States United for Aging and Disabilities (NASUAD), formerly the National Association of State Units on Aging, and planning grants to the States of Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky Minnesota, New Jersey, North Carolina and Pennsylvania to make improvements in one or more aspects of their State Aging Plans.

The TASC Planning Zone is one important aspect of the NASUAD Comprehensive State Planning Initiative. NASUAD is available to provide training to states and Area Agencies on Aging on the use of this Planning Resource Tool, and support in developing comprehensive State or Area Plans.

The TASC Comprehensive State Planning Zone is supported, in part, by the U.S. Administration on Aging, Department of Health and Human Services, Grant No. 90-AM-3032.