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Office for the Aging reports rising demand for phone, counseling and meal services
Summary
Office for the Aging staff told the Human Services Committee that telephone contacts, Medicare insurance counseling hours and meal services rose in January 2025; staff explained meals are based on suggested contributions and described restaurant participation in the Go-and-Dine voucher program.
Anita Masson presented the monthly Office for the Aging report and said several service metrics rose in January 2025, driven in part by an increasing number of residents aging into county services.
Masson reported 2,204 front-desk telephone calls in January 2025, up from 1,714 the prior month and 1,974 in the same month last year. Medicare insurance counseling provided 728 hours in January, compared with 283 hours in the same month last year and 639 the previous month. Information-and-assistance units totaled 2,195 in January, up from 1,474 the previous month.
On meals: Masson said home-delivered meal counts and congregate-site meals were increasing. She described the county’s meals program as based on "suggested contributions" and emphasized that "nobody is denied service if they have the inability or unwillingness to contribute," adding that contributions go back into the programs. The committee asked whether the suggested contribution was about $4 per meal; Masson confirmed the contribution is low and said subcontracting by other counties can raise per-unit costs.
On the Go-and-Dine voucher program, Masson said staff both reach out to restaurants and receive interest from restaurants; menus are reviewed by a registered dietitian before participation. She also said there is a waiting list for the voucher program.
Masson discussed other program details: congregate sites logged 975 meals in January versus 934 the previous year; home-delivered meals were 7,841 in January. Staff reported that one in‑home care program (expanded in-home services for the elderly) is a cost-share program that generates a bill; most other programs operate on suggested contributions.
The committee also heard that Office for the Aging is managing several vendor contracts (Center for Elder Law & Justice, Total Senior Care/Daybreak, Highland Park Day Program, Life Station and WellCare) to keep services in place; motions to approve amendments and extensions for those contracts carried in committee.
Why it matters: rising contacts and service units indicate increased demand on county aging services and may affect staffing, budgeting and vendor capacity.
Masson and committee members discussed outreach, program costs and the processes used to qualify restaurants for the Go-and-Dine voucher program. Masson said the county budgets for several contracts and that transportation add-ons and subcontracting choices affect unit costs.
Ending: Committee members asked follow-up questions about promotion and outreach; staff confirmed outreach is both proactive and reactive, and that the office is monitoring waiting lists for certain services.
