AARP Kansas

Trained volunteers are available throughout Kansas from now until April 15 to help taxpayers prepare their tax returns. AARP Foundation is again providing free tax assistance and preparation for taxpayers with low to moderate income through the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide program. AARP Foundation Tax-Aide, in its 48th year, is the nation’s largest free tax assistance and preparation service, giving special attention the older population. You do not need to be a member of AARP or a retiree to use this service.

The following is testimony provided to the Kansas House and Human Services Committee on February 3, 2016 by AARP Kansas Director Maren Turner.

AARP Kansas volunteers and staff fanned out across the Statehouse in the first week of the legislative session delivering messages, attached to cookies, about the Kansas CARE Act that AARP is hoping to get passed into law this session. The sweet treat delivery was part of AARP’s 3 rd annual “Cookie Day at the Capitol,” to call attention to issues important to Kansans as they age.

On Wednesday, February 3, 2016, the Kansas House Health and Human Services Committee will hold a hearing on House Bill 2058, the CARE Act. The CARE Act, introduced at the request of AARP Kansas to support the state's more than 345,000 caregivers, will assist caregivers when the person for whom they are providing care is released from the hospital. The CARE Act allows hospital patients to designate a caregiver whose name is recorded in hospital records. If a caregiver is designated, the hospital must notify the caregiver when the patient is to be discharged and must give instructions on how to care for the patient.

Now that 2015 has come to a close, tax season is just around the corner and with it comes our nation’s largest scam: IRS fraud. IRS scams are the most common con and pose a continued threat to the American taxpayer. Using threats and intimidation, phony IRS agents have stolen millions of dollars out of the pockets of hard working Americans. Each year we see more sophisticated tools and technology being used to generate doubt and panic in even the most logical and educated taxpayer.

Forty Native American cooks took part in the Intertribal Solutions annual cooking class sponsored by AARP, The American Association of Indian Physicians (AAIP) and the four federally recognized tribes in Kansas. The class is held in November each year to call attention to diabetes as November is Native American Heritage Month and Diabetes Awareness Month. The cooks learned how to make a healthy, nutritional meal using traditional indigenous foods.

AARP is honoring the 40 million Americans – more than 345,000 from Kansas – who help older parents, grandparents, spouses and other loved ones live independently at home, where they want to be. The unpaid care they provide – managing medications, cooking meals, driving to appointments, performing complex medical tasks and more – is valued at about $4.1 billion annually in Kansas alone.

AARP Kansas Advocacy Volunteer David Wilson provided testimony at the Atmos Energy rate hike request public hearing on December 1, 2015 in Overland Park. Wilson was the only member of the public to speak at the hearing which was live-streamed on the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) website.

AARP Kansas honored its 2015 outstanding community service volunteer during a luncheon banquet on Friday, November 13, in Pittsburg. Each year, AARP, the nonprofit membership organization for people 50 and over, presents its most prestigious award, the Ethel Percy Andrus Award for Community Service, to an individual or individuals who, through volunteer service, significantly enhance the lives of those in their community. This award symbolizes that individuals have the power and ability to make a difference in the lives of others.

By Gabrielle Armstrong, AARP Kansas Intern *