Fiscal Year 2004 Proposed Budget

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DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES
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 System (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 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 Plan for Aging Services. Legal Assistance and a portion of 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, Case Management services 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 two programs served 51 persons in FY 2002.

• Home Care Partners, Inc., provides the Personal Care/Homemaker Services under a contract with the Agency on Aging; the target population is elderly persons whose income is just above the financial eligibility requirement for the Adult Social Services contract in-home assistant program. In FY 2002, 97 persons received a total of 13,295 hours of service. Older Americans Act, state, and County funds support this program.

• 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 2002, 232 persons received a total of 63,307 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 403 persons in FY 2002.

• The Long-Term Care Ombudsman assists in resolving problems in long-term care facilities (i.e., nursing homes and assisted living facilities) 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 2002, resolution occurred in 27 of the 27 formal issues investigated in Arlington (resulting from 8 cases); there were 1,050 consumer-counseling sessions. In the other jurisdictions during FY 2002, there were 3,441 consumer counseling sessions and resolution in 125 of the 128 formal issues investigated (resulting from 48 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; 147 people received representation in FY 2002. In addition, County staff conducts community education programs and prepares informational documents on elderly issues for dissemination to interested people. Staff conducted 246 community education events in FY 2002. Older Americans Act and County funds support this program component.

• Senior Centers with Congregate Meals programs were transferred to the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Community Resources in FY 2002 in order to consolidate senior center programs. The Agency on Aging provides funding for meals and transportation costs for the Congregate Meals program. During FY  2002, 369 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.

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

• Money Management Service (assistance with tracking and paying bills) is provided to Arlington elders who lack the capacity to manage or pay for the management of their own funds by Senior Services of Alexandria. This nonprofit agency also provides a home care matching service by making referrals to self-employed persons to provide work in the home. Older Americans Act funds finance these programs.

• Assisted Transportation is provided by MetroAccess/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. The Interim STAR service provides transportation to individuals in need of Assisted Transportation who have not yet completed the MetroAccess application process. The Temporary STAR service is available for healthcare appointments for older persons who have a temporary condition that prevents them from driving or using public transportation. State funds supplemented by client fees support these programs. In FY 2002, 26 persons took 874 one-way trips.

• The Pharmacy Connect Program began in January 2002. Staff assist individuals on the County's Prescription Medication Program (PMP) waiting list to gain access to free or low cost prescription drugs through pharmaceutical companies, and provide information to others in the community to educate them about the various pharmaceutical discount programs available. Staff enrolled 31 clients into the program to date ; 9 clients were able to receive 25 prescription drugs valued at $3,390. This program is funded with revenues resulting from the renegotiation of the lease agreement between the Medical Facilities of America (Cherrydale Nursing Center) and the Arlington Health Center Commission in FY 2001.

• In FY 2002, the Senior Loop was initiated to provide transportation service for grocery shopping and to drug stores for residents of The Carlin and of Culpepper Garden. The Loop is a fixed-route service provided by STAR, operating two days per week. In the last six months of FY 2002, the Senior Loop provided 494 trips. 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 Volunteer Guardianship Program staff recruits, trains and provides guidance to volunteers who become court appointed guardians and conservators, as well as representative payees and bill payers. 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 this needed assistance. Seventeen (17) volunteer guardians served twenty-four (24) incapacitated adults in FY 2002.

SIGNIFICANT BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS:

• The FY 2003 adopted budget does not include one supplemental appropriation, fully supported with outside revenue, approved during FY 2003: Older Americans Act funding for website development, chore matching, money management and other services (83,849, 0.3 FTE). This grant continues in FY 2004 and is reflected in the FY 2004 proposed budget.

• Personnel expenses include the additional 0.3 FTE ($14,434) from the FY 2003 supplemental appropriation noted above.

• Non-personnel expenses reflect the ongoing effect of the FY 2003 supplemental appropriation to provide increased support for transportation at the Langston Brown Senior Center ($13,200) and Website development ($15,000); an increase in rent ($1,900); an increase for the Senior Loop supported by increased Cherrydale Nursing Center lease revenue ($813); and a decrease in telephone charges ($6,251).

• Nonprofits increased as the result of the FY 2003 Supplemental Appropriation to support money management ($29,215); and a 2% adjustment to offset higher staff salaries and higher health insurance premiums for Home Care Partners ($3,577) and the Red Cross ($928). In addition, the programs funded by the Cherrydale Nursing Center lease payments increased by 3% as per the terms of the lease agreement.

• Fees/contributions include a 3% increase in the Cherrydale Nursing Center lease revenues as per the terms of the lease agreement.

• State share revenues reflect a reprojection of revenue to correct for an anticipated funding formula change (which would have reduced Arlington's revenue) which was not implemented ($25,115).

• Federal grants increased because of an increase in Older Americans Act funding ($91,965), partially offset by a decrease in funding for Title IV training ($33,725).

PERFORMANCE MEASURES:

Objective: To provide information from staff and assistance from advocates that 95 percent of the sample of persons served considered helpful.

• The telephone survey to determine helpfulness is performed by volunteers. Due to the difficulty in getting volunteers for this purpose, the number of persons surveyed is small.

Proposed Budget Contents | Section H Contents | Aging and Disability Services Contents