ABSTRACT
The legislative process comes into play at all levels of government, from the town level right on up to the federal level. This chapter provides some illustrations based on the author’s experience as a county office on aging director and then ties these in with the legislative process as it actually occurs at every level. Service providers are eager to educate the community, other agencies and the legislature about their program, but they have to stop and educate themselves about what is already in existence. They have to learn to speak in the language of the other agencies, so that they can communicate. Service providers have to deal with this kind of thing every day. Service providers must take into consideration many factors in trying to develop a successful model at any level. At the federal level, providers must deal not only with an aging network, but with all kinds of agencies: the IRS and the State Department.
