Bob Cleveland, the PTRC aging program planner, told the Rockingham County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 5 that the county's older-adult population is growing and that services and funding are not keeping pace. Cleveland said 277 people age 60 and older moved into the county in a single recent year and that 582 county residents are grandparents raising grandchildren, placing strain on family caregiver supports.

Cleveland cited funding figures: the county's block grant totaled about $730,000 (the program requires a 10% local match), family caregiver funds carry no local match, and senior-center general-purpose funds require a 25% match. He said the county experienced an approximately $9,000 reduction for FY26; total aging-related dollars entering the county were about $795,000.

The presentation contrasted that funding with long waits and costs elsewhere in the system. Cleveland said Rockingham County spent roughly $26,000,000 on Medicaid nursing homes in 2024 while aging-program budgets remained far smaller. He reported that home-delivered meals currently serve 192 clients and that 173 people are on the waiting list for those meals; the average wait for some food services was described as 18 to 24 months. Congregate meals have about a three-month wait; some in-home services carry waits of about six years, Cleveland said. Senior centers offer dozens of programs and together serve close to 2,000 clients across the county.

Pam Drews, a planning committee member and program beneficiary, told the board the family caregiver service provided training and respite that allowed her to care for elderly parents; she said some people on waiting lists died before services reached them.

Commissioners asked about practical capacity. Commissioner O'Connell asked whether supports exist for grandparents raising grandchildren; Cleveland said a portion of the family caregiver program can be used for legal services and respite for that group. Commissioner Mitchelson and others questioned whether volunteers could expand Meals on Wheels. Kathy Powers of ADTS said volunteers are aging and that a sudden expansion would require roughly 10 new routes and about 120 additional volunteers; commissioners asked that those staffing and volunteer needs be included in budget requests.

Cleveland asked the board to use its influence with state and federal legislators to seek increases in block-grant and senior-center funding, noting the senior-center general-purpose pot at the state has not kept pace with need.

The presentation did not propose a specific county-level ordinance or budget figure to adopt at the meeting; commissioners agreed to consider staff recommendations as part of the county budget process.