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Advisory council and case report: MetaFund year 1 complete; needs assessment to guide priorities
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Summary
Advisory council and case staff reported completion of year one of a MetaFund grant and the community needs assessment's preliminary phase; the DAS staff will present full needs-assessment findings and coordinate a joint meeting with the Dignity Fund Oversight and Advisory Committee in April.
Fiona Hintze and advisory council president Alan Cooper updated the DAS Commission on community outreach and the MetaFund grant on Jan. 7.
Hintze said year one of a MetaFund project completed focus groups, interviews and an end-of-year report submitted to MetaFund. She said common themes included the value of networking and provider collaboration and that phase two will focus on governance and board revitalization. Hintze asked commissioners to consider the needs-assessment findings in upcoming budget prioritizations.
Alan Cooper summarized site visits to the Richmond Senior Center and a Self-Help for the Elderly site, noting strengths in programming but shortcomings in public-facing information: "The information provided is confusing because it is spread across different areas and websites," he said, and he highlighted language-access problems where sites are primarily in English despite user communities being largely Chinese or Russian.
Why it matters: The needs assessment and MetaFund work will inform DAS priorities and grant recommendations as the commission faces budget choices this year. Hintze said a full needs-assessment report will be issued in spring and a joint meeting with the Dignity Fund Oversight and Advisory Committee is scheduled for April.
Next steps: Staff will present the final needs assessment in the spring and continue bylaw work with the community-side advisory body to prepare for the Dignity Fund/Oversight Council merger planned for later in the year.
