To: Sonoma County Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Human Services
Staff Name and Phone Number: Paul Dunaway, 565-3673; Tracy Repp, 565-5982
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Area Agency on Aging 2020-2024 Four-Year Area Plan
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Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Approve the Area Agency on Aging 2020-2024 Four-Year Area Plan and authorize the Chairperson of the Board of Supervisors to sign the transmittal letter to the California Department of Aging.
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Executive Summary:
Approval of this item will allow the Area Agency on Aging (AAA) 2020-2024 Four-Year Plan to be submitted to the California Department of Aging for approval. The AAA Four-Year Plan establishes goals and objectives that will guide AAA activities, programs, and services over the next four years.
Discussion:
The Board of Supervisors has been designated as the governing body of the Sonoma County Area Agency on Aging (AAA) by the California Department of Aging (CDA) since 1980. The AAA is responsible for planning and developing policy and advocating for the needs of older adults, adults with disabilities, and their caregivers, as well as administering Older Americans Act funding. These federal funds help older adults and people with disabilities remain as independent as possible in the community. CDA distributes the federal funds to local AAAs for the provision of services for older adults (people 60 and older). The Sonoma County AAA receives over $2 million annually from the CDA.
The Older Americans Act requires the local AAA to prepare a Four-Year Plan to guide programs and services informed by results of a county-wide needs assessment. The needs assessment was conducted in 2019 by collecting information via surveys and focus groups. Over 4,000 surveys were submitted both online and in paper form. Nineteen focus groups were held at various locations throughout the county with 163 participants. Outreach was extensive with the focused intention of hearing from older adults representing a variety of ages, genders, ethnic backgrounds, languages, economic status and geographic locations. The survey extended beyond the 60 and older age group to include caregivers of older adults, people with disabilities, and those of any age with an interest in aging issues in Sonoma County.
Key findings from the county-wide needs assessment identified five top concerns which will act as areas of focus for the AAA Advisory Council over the next four years (in alphabetical order):
- Caregiving
- Health
- Housing
- Services (knowing about and accessing)
- Transportation
The Four-Year AAA Area Plan created from this data establishes goals and objectives which will guide AAA activities, programs, and services over the next four years (FY 2020-2024). The report was approved by the AAA Advisory Council at a public hearing held on March 18, 2020.
The FY 2020-2024 Area Plan goals are:
Goal 1: Expand awareness of and access to available services and supports for older adults, people with disabilities, their families and caregivers.
Goal 2: Enhance the safety, mental and physical health, and wellbeing of older adults of all ages, emphasizing preparing for healthy aging throughout the lifespan.
Goal 3: Strengthen our community’s capacity to assess, plan for, and respond to the increasing needs of Sonoma County’s older adult population.
Goal 4: Involve and engage older adults as a valuable resource in the community.
Key demographics collected for the Four-Year AAA Area Plan include:
- Sonoma County’s older adult population comprises 134,385 individuals, representing 27% of the county's total population.
- People age 60 and older who identify as female (55%) outnumber people who identify as male (45%).
- The number of individuals in Sonoma County age 60-69 represent 53% of the older adult population; people age 70-79 represent 31% of the older adult population; people age 80-84 represent 7% of the older adult population; and people age 85 and older represent 9% of the older adult population.
- By 2030, it is projected that there will be 161,000 older adults in Sonoma County; Latinx and all other ethnic groups will represent 25% of the total older adult population and Latinx will continue to be the largest non-white group at 16% of the older adult population.
- 26.8% of Sonoma County older adults report having a disability due to some type of physical, mental and/or emotional condition, compared to 11.7% of the total County population.
- 18.8% of Sonoma County older adults age 60 and older live in poverty, which is higher than the 10.1% percent of the total population living in poverty in Sonoma County.
- Sonoma County is currently home to 11,980 older adults age 85 and older.
- 13% of the population of individuals age 60 and over are veterans.
Disaster Responses
Sonoma County is prone to experiencing natural disasters such as floods and fires as well as PG&E Public Safety Power Shut-downs (PSPS). In March of 2020, the community and nation experienced the viral outbreak of COVID-19 Coronavirus.
On March 17th, the Sonoma County Public Health Officer issued a county-wide “Shelter in Place/Stay at Home Order” for all residents in response to the COVID-19 Coronavirus outbreak. County-wide supports were put in place to address the specific needs of older adults, mainly food; both home-delivered and option to pick up of prepared meals at regional locations, food bank food boxes and grocery delivery, pharmacy deliveries, transportation to needed medical services, and programs addressing isolation and loneliness where an older adult receives a personal call daily-to-several times a week to chat, check-in, and assess any needs. The federal government, through the Families First Coronavirus Act (HR6201) provided the Area Agency on Aging additional funding to support food distribution for people 60+ with coordinated efforts and partnerships with local non-profits and other organizations.
In each emergency event, the Area Agency on aging (AAA) program, AAA contracted service providers, and other non-profit organizations work in tandem with county support systems to coordinate the needs of older adults in providing food, caregiver supports, case management, transportation, and friendly check-in calls to isolated individuals. As part of the Human Services Department, AAA staff are emergency workers with primary task of working with the county Office of Emergency Services and the Emergency Operations Center in staffing the Care and Shelter section of the county effort as well with the American Red Cross in assisting in shelter management when shelters are opened.
Older and disabled adults connected to services are identified by the level of disaster preparedness required depending on their needs. AAA non-profit service providers and county social workers provide follow up by phone to participants who live in the affected areas of the disaster. Participant profiles indicate a variety of variables that assist to determine the degree of contact required (i.e. critical, urgent, moderate) including living arrangement and special impairments or risk factors. The follow up includes checking on the person’s safety, access to essential needs such as food, water, medicine, medical equipment, electricity, heat, etc., and providing referrals as necessary.
Prior Board Actions:
April 30, 2019: Approved the FY 2019/20 Area Plan Update
May 8, 2018: Approved the FY 2018/19 Area Plan Update
May 16, 2017: Approved the FY 2017/18 Area Plan Update
May 24, 2016: Approved the Area Agency on Aging FY 2016-2020 Area Plan
Fiscal Summary
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FY 19-20 Adopted |
FY20-21 Projected |
FY 21-22 Projected |
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Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
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Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
N/A
Attachments:
FY 2020-2024 Area Plan
CDA Transmittal Letter
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None