AGENCY TESTIMONY
Implementation of the Community Care Plan
0:09:23
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83 sec
The Commissioner details the initial implementation steps of the Community Care Plan, focusing on improving and expanding services for older adults. Key initiatives include rightsizing congregate services, creating model budgets, and working towards salary parity.
- Creation of model budgets to standardize service requirements
- Efforts to achieve salary parity across the workforce
- Increase in the number of older adult centers, especially in growing aging communities
- Development of linkages and referral pathways between providers
- Launch of a public education campaign called 'Join Us'
Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez
0:09:23
In the 1st years, we focus on rightsizing congregate services.
0:09:27
And better aligning the realities of aging services that we learned at the end of the pandemic, including having providers follow model budgets.
0:09:37
We created a model budget.
0:09:39
We said this is what it requires is required.
0:09:43
To serve older adults because before we had budgets at all levels and very unequal.
0:09:50
And we also then did strive for salary parity so that we could have a workforce that had fair salaries across the board.
0:10:02
That's to say that they're still inadequate, but nevertheless, we've been working towards salary parity.
0:10:07
This resulted in an increase of the number of older adult centers with a focus on communities where aging population was growing.
0:10:14
In the subsequent years, we prioritize linkages and referral pathways to services between providers so that nearby programs can benefit.
0:10:26
From the resources and address community needs.
0:10:29
As a matter of fact, that was built into the RFP.
0:10:31
We increased outreach city wide services, and then we realized that we needed to do something else which was a public education campaign, which we called join us.
0:10:41
And to work with providers to do their and also to do their own advertising.
