REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
June 25, 2024
FROM
SHARON NEVINS, Director, Department of Aging and Adult Services
SUBJECT
Title
Non-Financial Memorandum of Understanding with the California Department of Aging for Coordination of Older American Act Services
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
1. Approve non-financial Memorandum of Understanding (State Agreement No. AAA-2425-20) with the California Department of Aging for the Coordination of Older American Act Services, for the five year period of July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2029.
2. Authorize the Chair of the Board of Supervisors, the Chief Executive Officer, or the Director of the Department of Aging and Adult Services to execute any subsequent non-substantive amendments, on behalf of the County, in relation to the programs covered in Memorandum of Understanding (State Agreement No. AAA-2425-20), subject to review by County Counsel.
3. Direct the Director of the Department of Aging and Adult Services to transmit all amendments to Memorandum of Understanding (State Agreement No. AAA-2425-20) to the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors within 30 days of execution.
(Presenter: Sharon Nevins, Director, 891-3917)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
Pursue County Goals and Objectives by Working with Other Agencies and Stakeholders.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in the use of Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). This is a non-financial Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for programs under the Older Americans Act (OAA) and Older Californians Act (OCA). Funding tied to the programs covered under this MOU will be issued by the California Department of Aging (CDA) via annual funding allocations that will be contingent upon the annual State of California budget process.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The Federal OAA promotes the welfare and dignity of older adults by providing valuable services in order to enable them to be independent, remain in their communities, and assist them to be engaged citizens. In 1976, the State designated the County as an Area Agency on Aging (AAA). In 1980, the State Assembly passed Assembly Bill No. 2975, which established the OCA. This act established the CDA as the single state agency responsible for administering the OAA within California.
On March 22, 2024, the CDA released an MOU template and Program Guide as the new process in lieu of issuing the Standard Agreements for most of its aging programs. The new process, effective July 1, 2024, will be a five-year non-financial MOU between the CDA and the Department of Aging and Adult Services (DAAS) and will cover the majority of programs. The programs covered under the MOU are the Health Insurance Counseling & Advocacy Program, Medicare Improvement for Patients and Providers Act, Title V Senior Community Service Employment Program, and additional programs funded through the Area Plan.
Programs included in the Area Plan are Title III B Supportive Services, Title III C-1 Congregate Nutrition, Title III C-2 Home-Delivered Nutrition, Title III D Disease Prevention, Title III E Family Caregiver, Title VII, Chapter 2, Long-Term Care Ombudsman, and Title VII, Chapter 3, Elder Abuse Prevention.
The MOU transfers the responsibility for administering the OAA and OCA to the County, so that the services can be provided to eligible older adults, adults with disabilities, family caregivers, and residents in long term care facilities throughout the county.
The intent of this change is to relieve the AAAs of the administrative burden of annual contracts and amendments, which will provide the AAAs with more timely access to funding and programmatic changes. Each MOU period will be for a total of five years. No funding will be tied to the MOU but will be a mechanism for the CDA to directly allocate funding sent by the CDA to AAAs without the need for establishing yearly contracts or amendments. The only type of amendments allowed under the MOU are for:
• Changes to legislation or new legislation requires MOU language to be updated.
• Addition/subtraction of a AAA’s participation in a specific program covered by this MOU.
• Changes to the AAA’s legal name.
• Termination of an MOU.
The Program Guide is a reference tool for the provisions of OCA and OAA programs and for internal and external audits. The CDA will maintain the Program Guide and transmit any updates/revisions on an annual basis.
PROCUREMENT
Not applicable.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by Human Services Contracts (Patty Steven, Contracts Manager, 388-0241) on June 13, 2024; County Counsel (Jacqueline Carey-Wilson, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on June 13, 2024; Finance (Chris Lange, Deputy Director, 386-8393) on June 13, 2024; and County Finance and Administration (Cheryl Adams, Deputy Executive Officer, 388-0238) on June 6, 2024.