Arizona Bulletin State News
By: States: Arizona Source: AARP.org Date Posted:
April 2008
Back to the classroom – A joint effort between AARP Arizona and Rio Salado College, one of the Maricopa Community Colleges, has resulted in the launch of several half-day classes that can help employers and employees adjust to changes in the workforce. The curriculum, which is based on AARP research about workers age 50-plus, is the first of its kind in the country.
Classes for employers will focus on planning for tomorrow’s talent, strategies for retaining skilled workers and legal issues affecting employers. For workers, courses will cover exploring personal strengths and transferable skills, preparing for career transitions and excelling in a multigenerational workplace.
“One in five workers will be 55 or older by 2012,” says David Mitchell, AARP state director. “These courses can help businesses and workers prepare for the future.” The classes cost $65 each and can be taken online. For more, go to www.aarp.org/az.
January/February 2008
Predatory "fees" – As part of the Stop Payday Predators coalition, AARP Arizona is collecting signatures to put an initiative on the November ballot that could ban payday lending in Arizona. The initiative would repeal a 2000 law that allowed payday lenders to sidestep the state’s lending cap of 36 percent interest simply by charging "fees" instead of "interest." Payday loans are short-term, high-cost loans that must be paid in full or else renewed, often trapping the borrower in a cycle of debt.
Payday lending is flourishing in Arizona, with more storefronts in the state than Starbucks and McDonald’s combined. For information, go to www.stoppaydaypredators.com.
November 2007
A little time off – Help is on the horizon for family caregivers in Arizona under a new law appropriating $500,000 to launch a respite care program. Now in the planning stage, the program will seek additional funding to give family caregivers statewide occasional relief from the constant burden of care.
The Arizona program will give priority to caregivers not already eligible for respite care through other programs such as Medicaid or the Veterans Administration, says Bonnie Danowski, co-chair of the Lifespan Respite Care Advisory Committee.
AARP Arizona championed the initiative. “The state’s 550,000 family caregivers who are in dire need of relief are the reason why AARP supported this legislation,” says Lupe Solis, AARP associate state director for advocacy. For more information, visit http://www.azcaregiver.org.
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