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State aging agency outlines nutrition and caregiver gaps; ombudsmen seek stable funding after volunteer decline
Summary
The California Department of Aging told lawmakers that nutrition and caregiver supports remain in demand; long‑term care ombudsmen described emergency response roles and asked for non‑general‑fund support to restore program capacity after volunteer losses.
Officials and stakeholders described continuing unmet needs in Older Americans Act (OAA) and state Older Californians Act programs, including nutrition, caregiver respite, HICAP counseling and the long‑term care ombudsman program.
Nicole Shimo Saka, deputy director for administrative services at CDA, said California receives about $244 million annually in federal and state Older Americans Act funds, with 68% currently going to nutrition services. Since 2020 CDA said it has secured a $52 million general‑fund increase for nutrition that helped provide roughly 2 million additional meals per year, but CDA and Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) report persistent unmet meal need and ongoing staffing constraints. CDA told the committee it will submit a HICAP modernization report and is undertaking a CA 2030 effort to set performance metrics and consider updating the intrastate funding allocation formula to distribute federal OAA funds.
Christina Mills of the California Association of Area Agencies on Aging (C4A) said ADRCs and AAAs face geographic gaps in service availability and growing need for culturally appropriate meals, home modifications and caregiver respite.
Long‑term care ombudsman representatives described sharp volunteer declines and increased emergency work. Rachel Tate, vice president for Ombudsman Services at Wise & Healthy Aging, urged a $15.9 million ongoing non‑general‑fund allocation for statewide ombudsman operations plus an additional $3.2 million to bolster Los Angeles County emergency preparedness. Tate recounted how ombudsmen assisted nursing‑home residents during recent wildfire evacuations — delivering supplies, advocating for continuity of care and locating beds — and warned that many facilities did not receive quarterly ombudsman visits in the most recent federal reporting year.
Department of Finance cautioned that some non‑general‑fund sources cited by ombudsmen (licensing and certification reserves; citation penalty accounts) are already committed for other statutory uses or loans to the general fund and that diverting those reserves could reduce CDPH’s ability to provide temporary managers or reduce transfers to the general fund.
LAO said it is aware of ombudsman funding requests and will provide technical assistance. Lawmakers asked budget staff to examine non‑general‑fund account balances and operational implications before making an appropriation decision.
