DOS approves $21.96 million in community-center contracts to sustain neighborhood services

The Department of Disability and Aging Services Commission on Dec. 4 approved a package of 29 community-center contracts that staff said form the backbone of neighborhood-based services for older adults and adults with disabilities.

Michael Zogg told the commission that the contract group, requested at $21,959,727 plus a 10 percent contingency (total not to exceed $24,155,703), covers community centers citywide that provide a range of services normally offered in person — congregate meals, computer labs, case management and group activities — many of which shifted to phone and virtual delivery during the pandemic. He said staff saw “wellness calls, freezer and refrigeration staging, and distribution coordination” and that annual monitoring shows many providers met or exceeded contracted social-service-hour goals.

Commissioners asked whether any providers dropped out when services moved to remote operations; Zogg replied that the network returned incumbent providers and that most services are currently virtual or phone-based with limited, situational one-on-one in-person assistance. The presentation highlighted partnerships with meal providers such as Project Open Hand and Project Open Hand’s role in transitioning congregate services to takeout and delivery.

Commissioner Janet Spears asked about YMCA participation and learned that some YMCA sites remain in other neighborhood-based program groupings. Commissioner Michael Lum asked whether the staff data were drawn from DAS monitoring or provider reporting; Zogg said it was both: providers report to a database and DAS verifies through annual monitoring.

The commission approved the contracts by roll-call vote. Staff will continue contract monitoring and coordinate how sites transition back to in-person services as public-health guidance allows.