Valley Area Agency on Aging tells Genesee County task force services are strained, wait lists growing

Valley Area Agency on Aging President and CEO Yashika Albert told the Genesee County Senior Task Force that demand for services for older adults is growing sharply and that the agency is managing long wait lists across several programs.

Albert said VAA received roughly 18,187 information-and-assistance calls in 2025 and handles thousands more online referrals, outreach events and partner-system referrals, producing nearly 30,000 total contacts the agency must triage. "We get about 18,187 maybe phone calls asking for information," Albert said, and added that online referral systems and partner platforms contribute thousands more contacts.

The agency reported program-specific backlogs and caseloads. Albert said that at one point the Older Americans Act care-management list had 153 people, home-delivery meals lists reached about 406 people in October 2025 and the senior millage program had approximately 148 people waiting for an assessment. "As of the end of November, we had 20 people on the VAA care management program, 112 on home-delivery meals and 260 under senior millage," she said when summarizing month-end reporting and caveated that December reports were not yet available.

Albert described the agency’s service mix and funding: community living supports account for roughly 41% of services; care management about 16%; home-delivered meals about 9.5%; and congregate meals roughly 3% of overall program funding. She emphasized VAA directs the bulk of resources to keep people in their homes and noted differences among funding streams. "This isn't necessarily talking about millage," Albert said when explaining the service-bundle breakdown.

On funding and administration, Albert said VAA seeks to preserve program continuity amid federal and state funding uncertainty. She told the task force that VAA covered nearly $500,000 out of unrestricted funds during a recent federal funding gap caused by a government shutdown and that the agency aims to keep roughly 12 months of operating funds in reserve. "We currently have approximately 7.5 months of funding millage," she added.

Albert also summarized program initiatives: a Nursing Facility Transitions program that moves qualifying residents back to the community with housing and short-term supports; a wellness-check program called KISS (daily outreach calls); and Flint-specific work under a "Flint Senior Lives Matter" grant supported by state funding. She said the My Choice waiver — a Medicaid-funded program — averages about $83 per day in community services versus about $285 per day for nursing home care, which she characterized as a community cost savings when the program is appropriate for the participant.

Members asked for more granular city-level breakouts; Albert agreed to provide Flint-specific and other county breakdowns after the meeting. She also explained that some programs have income or asset limits (for example, the My Choice waiver) while Older Americans Act and millage-funded services do not have income limits but are targeted to frail, high-need seniors.

The task force requested follow-up data and trend reports; staff said those materials and the emails submitted to the task force address will be distributed in packets and posted to the task force webpage.

Ending: The task force acknowledged the presentation and sought additional data for use in its recommendations to the Genesee County Board of Commissioners, due by June 1, 2026.