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Advisory Commission on Aging urges Alameda County to fill vacancies and seeks clearer Board responses
Summary
The Advisory Commission on Aging told the Social Services Committee on Feb. 24 it has eight members of 21 authorized seats, has sent a certified letter about budget and monitoring concerns that received no acknowledgement, and asked the Board to improve appointment and communication processes while the Area Agency on Aging remains under remediation.
A representative of the Advisory Commission on Aging told the Alameda County Social Services Committee on Feb. 24 that the commission currently has eight members out of 21 authorized seats and is asking the Board of Supervisors to appoint additional commissioners and acknowledge submitted communications.
The commission’s speaker said the body ‘‘is supposed to have 21 of us’’ but currently ‘‘we have 8 of us right now,’’ and that several supervisory-district and mayoral‑conference seats remain vacant. The speaker urged the Board to create a clearer process for appointments and to acknowledge letters and reports sent to the Board.
Why it matters: Commission membership and timely communication affect the county’s advisory capacity on senior services, program oversight and public outreach. The commission also asked for quarterly meetings with the Social Services Committee to share updates and concerns.
The commission said it had recently sent a certified letter in November raising concerns about budget administration and service interruptions. Jennifer Stevens Pierre, director of the Area Agency on Aging, told the committee that the AAA was monitored in September, received a monitoring report in November, was placed on a corrective action and remediation plan, and submitted required responses by Feb. 11. ‘‘We’re still in remediation,’’ she said, adding the agency expects remediation efforts to continue ‘‘through May or June.’’
The commission described several outreach accomplishments despite limited membership, including a quarterly newsletter that lists senior resources, Medicare and Medi‑Cal information, articles on homelessness, an elder‑abuse prevention webinar, and holiday food distributions in collaboration with Mercy Brown Bag and Meals on Wheels.
On appointments, the commission and staff reported that some vacancies stem from the mayors’ conference’s recruitment process. The commission said it had discussed recent conversations with the mayor’s conference executive director and that recommended appointees will still need to be forwarded to the Board for formal placement.
Supervisor Tam said her office would ‘‘ping’’ other supervisors and contact the mayor’s conference staff as appropriate to help move appointments forward. Andrea Ford, agency director for social services, and AAA leadership agreed to work with the commission to ensure the commission receives timely updates on the AAA remediation plan and any Board responses.
No formal motion or vote was taken on the commission’s requests during the committee meeting. The committee clerk reported no public commenters on the item.
Next steps: Agency staff will follow up with the commission on remediation progress and the Board’s process for acknowledging commission letters; supervisors said they will pursue outreach to fill vacant seats.
