AGENCY ON AGING

PROGRAM MISSION: To ensure that persons 60 years of age and older live as an integral part of society with dignity and with access to programs and services that meet their needs and preferences.

The Arlington Agency on Aging is one of a national network of 660 Area Agencies on Aging established by the Federal Older Americans Act with this common mission. The Agency's activities include the following: facilitating the cooperation and coordination of service providers; serving as a catalyst for the development of new private and/or public programs; assisting individuals in gaining access to services by distributing publications, making public presentations, responding to requests for information and referral, and administering the Personal Advocate Service; serving as a U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development certified counseling agency for the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage Program; and overseeing and coordinating data collection for the state system, Aging Information Management (AIM). Staff support two County Board appointed citizen advisory groups: Commission on Aging and Health Center Commission. The Personal Advocate Service recruits and trains volunteers to assist older people in a variety of ways including help with completion of forms, referrals to needed services, exploring supplemental and long-term care insurance choices, and addressing Medicare and Medicaid issues. Staff members administer the federally funded Volunteer Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program and the Medicare Fraud Prevention program for Arlington and Alexandria.

Agency staff also administer the federal, state, and local funds that provide total or partial financial support for the components of the Arlington Area Plan for Aging Services. The Older Americans Act requires Area Agencies on Aging to develop area plans identifying services provided to elderly persons with the funding received. The following chart identifies the components of the Arlington Area Plan for Aging Services. A statement about those components provided by staff other than those in the Agency on Aging follows the chart.

The following programs that are not a part of the Area Plan for Aging Services are administered by the Agency on Aging:

• The Arlington Employment Center administers the Subsidized Employment program funded by the Older Americans Act to provide part-time jobs for 14 low-income adults 55 years of age or older.

• The Senior Loop was initiated to provide transportation service for grocery shopping and to drug stores for residents of The Carlin, Culpepper Garden, Woodland Hill, and Claridge House. The Loops are a fixed-route service operating one day per week for each building. In FY 2004, the Senior Loop provided 7,542 trips, a 91% increase over FY 2003. This program is funded with revenues resulting from renegotiation of the lease agreement between the Medical Facilities of America (Cherrydale Nursing Center) and the Arlington Health Center Commission in FY 2001. The intake function for the taxi cab discount program, Super Senior Taxi (SST), isfunded in the Area Agency on Aging.

• The Volunteer Guardianship Program staff recruits, trains and provides guidance to volunteers who become court appointed guardians and conservators, as well as representative payees. The volunteers serve in these roles to assist incapacitated adults who are unable to manage their personal and financial affairs and who have no one else on whom to rely for these decisions. Eighteen (18) volunteer guardians served seventeen (17) incapacitated adults in FY 2004.

• Funds are made available to Culpepper Garden Assisted Living to cover costs for approximately 20 residents per month who cannot afford the full cost for assisted living services. This subsidy is funded with revenues resulting from renegotiation of the lease agreement between the Medical Facilities of America (Cherrydale Nursing Center) and the Arlington Health Center Commission in FY 2001, and County funds. In FY 2004, 51 persons were served; with an average of 40 persons per month. Proposed funding for FY 2006 is $214,240.

The Area Plan is identified and published as part of the County Manager's Proposed Budget to meet the legal requirement of public notice of priority of services as established in the Area Plan for Aging Services. Legal Assistance and Senior Centers with Congregate Meals are not part of the Agency on Aging budget and are reflected in other areas of the County's budget.

• Staff in the Adult Protective Services/Over Sixty Intake program and Adult Social Services program provide the Information and Assistance, and home visits to adults 60 years of age and older whose income just exceeds that of the Social Services Block Grant financial eligibility criteria. Staff in these programs served 78 persons in FY 2004.

• Personal Care/Homemaker Services are provided by an outside vendor to elderly persons in one of the five geographic areas designated under the Cluster Care Program, under a contract with the Aging and Disability Services Division. In FY 2004, 109 persons received a total of 16,101 hours of service, of which 3,238 hours were to provide respite for family caregivers. Older Americans Act, state, and County funds support this program. The description and funding for the remainder of this program is found in the Nursing Case Management section of the DHS budget and is called Cluster Care.

• Meals on Wheels of Northern Virginia provides Home Delivered Meals. Older Americans Act and state funds, as well as reimbursement from the U. S. Department of Agriculture and client contributions, provide the financial support for this program and for the purchase of a high-protein liquid dietary supplement for low-income persons in need of the supplement. County staff administers the distribution of the liquid dietary supplement. In FY 2004, 261 persons received a total of 66,396 meals (includes hot noon meals, bag suppers, and nutritional supplement meals).

• The Arlington Chapter of the American Red Cross provides elderly persons with Transportation for Groceries and Medical Appointments and receives a combination of Older Americans Act, state, and County funds. The Red Cross volunteer drivers transported 415 persons in FY 2004. Red Cross will purchase STAR2Bucks, in order to provide a voucher assistance program for STAR users needing medical trips who cannot afford the $4.00 round trip cost. In FY 2006, 3000 vouchers will be provided.

• The Long-Term Care Ombudsman assists in resolving problems in long-term care facilities (i.e., nursing homes and assisted living residences) in Arlington County and other Northern Virginia jurisdictions. Staff and volunteers investigate and resolve complaints made by facility residents or their families and friends and counsel consumers about ways to resolve issues on their own. Older Americans Act, state, and local funds from each of the jurisdictions fund the service; the amount contributed by each jurisdiction is determined by an allocation formula. During FY 2004, resolution occurred in 33 of the 35 formal issues investigated in Arlington (resulting from 15 cases); there were 340 consumer-counseling sessions. In the other jurisdictions during FY 2004, there were 763 consumer counseling sessions and resolution in 135 of the 142 formal issues investigated (resulting from 44 cases).

• Legal Services of Northern Virginia, Inc., provides Legal Assistance through an attorney and paralegal who provide legal representation for older persons who are unable to afford a private attorney; 122 people received representation in FY 2004. In addition, staff conducts community education programs and prepares informational documents on elderly issues for dissemination to interested people. Staff conducted 237 community education events in FY 2004. Older Americans Act and County funds support this program component.

• The Senior Center with Congregate Meals Program is administered by the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Resources. In FY 2006, funding for meals and transportation costs for the Congregate Meals program are transferred to the Department of Parks, Recreations, and Cultural Resources. During FY 2004, 327 participants received a hot, noontime meal. Older Americans Act and County funds in combination with U.S. Department of Agriculture reimbursement and participant contributions support the program. Participants in need of transportation to the meal program receive it and 195 participants relied on this service.

• Money Management Service (assistance with tracking and paying bills) is provided by Senior Services of Alexandria to Arlington elders who lack the capacity to manage or pay for the management of their own funds. In FY 2004, 44 persons were served. Older Americans Act and local funds finance this program.

• Assisted Transportation is provided by STAR drivers who escort elderly passengers from the door of the passenger's residence to the waiting room of the passenger's health care provider. State funds supplemented by client fees support these programs. In FY 2004, 43 persons took 2,560 one-way trips.

SIGNIFICANT BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS:

• Personnel expenses and FTEs include normal merit steps, the continuation of a FY 2005 grant funded supplemental appropriation ($9,980, 0.2 FTE) and an internal reallocation of 0.1 FTE ($2,510) from the Nursing Case Management unit (Cluster Care Program) for AIM data entry.

• Non-personnel expenses are decreased primarily due to the transfer of funding for meals ($86,304) and transportation ($103,383) at the Senior Centers to the Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources; the transfer to nonprofits of $9,545 for Meals on Wheels; and continuation of a FY 2005 supplemental appropriation ($15,116).

• Nonprofits include a reallocation from non-personnel of the funds for the delivery of the meals to the distribution site to the Meals on Wheels Program ($9,545). In previous years, the County paid for the delivery service separately. As of FY 2006, it is proposed that funds for the meals and the delivery service will be allocated to the Meals on Wheels Program. The subsidy program for Arlington residents in the Assisted Living Section of Culpepper Garden, which is funded by the Cherrydale Nursing Center lease payments, increased 3% ($4,773) per the terms of the lease agreement, in addition to an increase of $4,317 funded with net tax support. Funding is also increased for the Arlington Red Cross ($2,824), Home Care Partners ($3,510) and Senior Services of Alexandria ($919) for increases to salaries and other operating expenses. All other non-profits are proposed to remain at FY 2005 funding levels.

• Fees/contributions include a 3% increase in the Cherrydale Nursing Center lease revenues ($5,177) as per the terms of the lease agreement; an increase in the Guardianship Fees ($35); and the transfer of Senior Nutrition Fees for the Senior Centers ($37,000) to Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources.

• State share revenues include continuation of a FY 2005 Supplemental Appropriation ($9,541) to support the Home Delivered Meals Program.

• Federal grants reflect the transfer of Older Americans Act funds that support Senior Centers ($51,533) to the Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources; include a FY 2005 Supplemental Appropriation ($16,555) and an increase in Federal Fiscal Year 2005 appropriations of Older Americans Act funds ($2,807).

PERFORMANCE MEASURES:

• The decrease in the number of requests for information and assistance is due to the discontinuation of counting visits to the Agency on Aging website in FY 2004.

• The decrease in the number of persons assisted by advocates in FY 2004 was due to fewer requests for assistance with Housing Grants since the program was frozen and reflects that some persons requesting assistance were referred to the Money Management Program.