Jehlen Committees Include Education, Elder Affairs, Ways & Means

Senate President Therese Murray announced committee assignments for the 2011-12 Senate session. Senator Patricia Jehlen, who represents Somerville, Medford, Winchester and Woburn, returns to the chair of the Joint Committee on Elder Affairs. She is also vice-chair of Education, and a member of the committees on Ways and Means, Health Care Finance, Children and Families, Housing and Judiciary.

Jehlen said she is happy to continue her work on issues facing older residents. “There’s a lot of work to do to make sure we can have choices in aging as well as staying healthy and economically secure.” Some of that work involves coordinating elder services with the spectrum of senior housing options.

Education has always been one of Jehlen’s priorities since her years as a teacher, school committee member and mother. She is currently serving on a committee to restructure the Healey School, carrying out principles of the CHOICE program there which she helped found many years ago.

“I am looking forward to all of my committee assignments,” Senator Jehlen said. “The committees on Ways and Means and Health Care Financing will have difficult and crucial work this year, facing a continuing budget crisis and the need to slow the escalation of health care spending, while the Judiciary Committee will be working on the important issues of parole, probation, and sentencing.”

“The choices that we will be making this session will be difficult ones,” Senator Jehlen continued. “It is more important than ever that we strive to be as thoughtful as possible and to put the needs of people first.”

– Information from State Senator Patricia Jehlen (D-Somerville, Medford)