Idaho Commission on Aging seeks remaining ARPA drawdowns, modest base increases to sustain meal and caregiver services

The Idaho Commission on Aging asked the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Feb. 24 to approve a modest ongoing general fund increase and to allow final one-time federal drawdowns to sustain meal, caregiver and adult protective services delivered by local Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs).

Legislative Services budget analyst Colin McGurkin told the committee that the commission implements the federal Older Americans Act and the Idaho Senior Services Act and that the agency has repeatedly used one-time federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) awards for modernization and service enhancements. "The Commission on Aging implements the Federal Older Americans Act and Idaho Senior Services Act," McGurkin said.

Why it matters: local AAAs use most state and federal funding to deliver meal programs, transportation, caregiver support and adult protective services that keep older Idahoans in their homes. The commission said much of recent federal ARPA funding went to expanding meal programs, caregiver education and pilot projects aimed at supporting unpaid family caregivers and expanding the public health workforce to assist high‑risk caregivers.

The commission reported FY2024 total expenditures of about $16.7 million, with roughly 88% of that in trustee and benefit payments that go to AAAs. Since FY2022 the commission has drawn roughly $7.4 million in ARPA-related expenditures and in FY2024 received a $5.2 million one-time federal appropriation tied to those awards, McGurkin said. The agency sought $1.8 million in FY2025 to use remaining ARPA balances before the federal deadline of Sept. 30, 2025.

Director Judy Taylor, introduced to the committee as the commission’s director, described how ARPA funds were used. She said those dollars paid for targeted caregiver education and outreach, increased COVID-related services, enhancements to adult protective services and a pilot to expand public health workforce roles — primarily community health workers embedded with AAAs who performed assessments and planning in support of high‑risk caregivers. "We have been able to put a community health worker in each of our [AAAs] that went out and did the assessment and the planning for our caregivers in our high risk caregiver program," Taylor said.

Committee members pressed for details. Senator Cook asked whether ARPA had been used for Alzheimer’s and dementia-related services; McGurkin said he did not have a specific Alzheimer’s-only dollar amount and would follow up. Taylor said the commission has funded programs targeted at caregivers of people with memory issues and had used a combination of federal Older Americans Act funds, general fund appropriations and one-time ARPA awards to expand caregiver respite, telephonic case management and in‑person supports.

On staffing and one-time administrative costs, project manager Vicki Janzick explained that $25,000 of a $50,000 one-time allocation would be charged to personnel costs to allow staff who monitor grants and cut checks to direct bill federally allowable duties to the appropriate grants rather than charge other federal funding sources. "So that $25,000 goes towards the staff that are actually the administrative costs of actually monitoring those contracts with those area agencies on aging," Janzick said.

Taylor told senators that the agency followed guidance to spend one-time funds on one-time needs and enhancements and tried to avoid creating ongoing obligations from ARPA. She said some activities funded by one-time dollars will end when the funding expires — for example, memberships that allowed adult protective services (APS) workers access to professional development — while other pilot elements, such as embedded community health workers, have funding through the period needed and staff salaries are covered while the agency manages service-hour tradeoffs.

Nutrition programs: Taylor emphasized nutrition and said the commission used prior appropriations to raise meal rates by 25¢ per meal and to eliminate the home-delivered meal waitlist in Idaho. "As of today we have no waiting lists in Idaho," she told the committee, describing an increase in service capacity for congregate and home-delivered meals.

Budget requests and outlook: For FY2026 the commission and the governor recommended an ongoing general fund increase of $162,600 to cover inflation-related increases, including $155,000 to raise trustee and benefit payments to AAAs and $7,600 for a 2% increase in commission operating costs. The commission also requested a one-time federal appropriation of $500,000 to pay final invoices and draw down remaining ARPA funds before the Sept. 30, 2025 deadline; of that amount, $450,000 would go to AAAs for final invoices and program wrap-up and $50,000 to cover staff time and operating costs associated with closing out the grants.

Taylor closed by stressing the agency mission. "At the Commission on Aging, we are inspired to improve systems for efficiency and quality, research current and ongoing needs and gaps for services designed to help older Idahoans live in safety, dignity, and choice in their communities," she said. "I confidently assure you that all appropriated funds will be used to advance our mission, invested wisely, with outcomes monitored and reported transparently."

What’s next: Committee members asked the commission to provide follow-up detail on exactly how ARPA funds were used for Alzheimer’s and dementia programming and for a breakdown of the base funding that supports Meals on Wheels services. Committee staff indicated they would circulate those details by email.

Ending: The commission’s request is primarily for one-time federal drawdown authority and a modest ongoing inflationary increase to trustee payments; committee members signaled interest and asked for additional, line-item detail before final decisions are made later in the budget process.