TRENTON – The Department of Health and Senior Services will be holding two public hearings in May, Older Americans Month, to give New Jersey residents the opportunity to provide input into the State’s plans for services to senior citizens for the period 2009-2012.

The first public hearing will be held Wednesday, May 13, 2009, from 1-3 p.m., at Norman Towers, 500 Parkway Drive, East Orange.  The second hearing will be on Wednesday, May 20, 2009, from 10 a.m. to noon, at the Toms River Senior Center, 652 Garfield Avenue, in Toms River.

State Units on Aging are required to submit service plans to the U.S. Administration on Aging every three years.  The plans detail service needs, establish priorities, and outline how each state plans to utilize federal Older Americans Act and state funding to accomplish established goals.

Anyone interested in senior issues may attend these public hearings.  Written testimony can be submitted at the hearing or can be mailed to the attention of Assistant Commissioner Patricia Polansky, New Jersey Division of Aging and Community Services, PO Box 807, Trenton, NJ 08625-0807 by June 15, 2009.

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