TRENTON - New Jersey residents will have the opportunity to provide input into the state’s plans for services to senior citizens for the period 2006-2008, when the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, in conjunction with the New Jersey Commission on Aging, conducts the second of two public hearings later this week in Atlantic County.

The public hearing will be held on Wednesday, May 4, 2005, starting at 11:00 a.m., at the Herman Pogachefsky Senior Services Pavillion, 1102 Atlantic Avenue, in Atlantic City.  The first hearing was held in Warren County in April.

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 the public hearing.  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, 2005.

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Note:  Reporters seeking directions to the center can contact Adrienne Epstein at 609-345-5555.