The University of Maine Center on Aging and the University of Southern Maine’s Catherine Cutler Institute in Collaboration with the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center
The University of Maine Center on Aging and the University of Southern Maine’s Catherine Cutler Institute have formed a new policy partnership in association with the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center to focus exclusively on aging-related policy issues in Maine. The new Consortium for Aging Policy Research and Analysis (CAPRA) will provide a “go-to” entity for accessing cross-campus expertise to those looking for independent policy research, analysis, guidance, or technical assistance on issues relating to aging or older people. Age-related demographic shifts are underway in Maine and across the country, and organizations, agencies, advocates, the public, and all levels of government are focusing attention on how best to adapt to an increasingly age-diverse population that includes many more people in late life. CAPRA projects will contribute to policy action that is supported by available evidence, new research, or thoughtful analysis to ensure the well-being and quality of life that all of us deserve as we age.
CAPRA will be led by three co-directors: Mary Lou Ciolfi, JD, MS and Patricia Oh, Ph.D., MSW from the Center on Aging, and Kimberly Snow, MHSA from the Catherine Cutler Institute. All three women have been deeply involved in aging-related policy in Maine and in national projects. As project needs require, the co-directors will partner with policy experts at the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center and on both campuses to explore the intersections of age with other policy sectors such as housing, transportation, healthcare, law, age-friendly initiatives, elder abuse, workforce, the environment.