ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
The state’s elderly citizens need some extra protection and recently, some action was taken to help with just that.
On the opening day of the 2026 Kansas Governor's Conference on Aging earlier this week, Gov. Laura Kelly signed Executive Order 26-06 directing the development of a Kansas Multi-Sector Plan on Aging (MPA). The order directs the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS), in coordination with other state agencies, stakeholders, and community partners, to develop a comprehensive 10-year, cross-sector plan to prepare Kansas for its growing older adult population, in addition to convening necessary workgroups and gathering input from the public, according to a release from the State of Kansas
“The MPA will cover health and behavioral health care, long-term services and supports, housing, transportation, economic security, workforce, caregiver support, social connection, emergency preparedness, and age-friendly communities, as well as complement existing efforts to improve access to community-based services, support family caregivers, strengthen the direct-care workforce, and protect the rights and safety of older Kansans,” Gov. Kelly noted in the release. "Kansas is aging, and we must plan together, across agencies and sectors, to ensure older Kansans can live with dignity, independence, and connection in the communities they call home. Signing this executive order on the first day of the Governor's Conference on Aging underscores our commitment to turning collaboration into action."
The executive order builds on Kansas' participation in the national Multisector Plan for Aging Learning Collaborative, led by the Center for Health Care Strategies, and aligns with the federally-approved 2026–2029 State Plan on Aging, the State of Kansas release noted, and that plan includes a specific objective to lead a collaborative process to develop a Multi-Sector Plan on Aging for Kansas.
"The conference highlights the strength of Kansas' aging network and our partners," Secretary Howard, Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services, noted in the State of Kansas release. "This executive order gives us a clear mandate, plus the direction needed, to develop a plan that connects the work already underway through Age-Friendly Kansas, the State Plan on Aging, Area Agencies on Aging, and communities statewide."
Gov. Kelly also presented the inaugural Kathy Greenlee Award for Public Service to Older Kansans at the conference. Greenlee served 18 years in Kansas state government as the Secretary for Aging and as the state Long-Term Care Ombudsman, the State of Kansas release continued, and she later served as U.S. Assistant Secretary for Aging, helped create the Administration for Community Living, and continued her national leadership through ADvancing States. The award, which will be presented annually, recognizes Kansans whose public service strengthens the lives of older adults.
“The two-day conference brought together health professionals, policymakers, educators, aging-service providers, students, and community leaders,” the State of Kansas release noted. “This year's event focused on strengthening the workforce supporting older adults and advancing cross-sector collaboration, with the theme of growing an age-friendly Kansas.”
