LA County Board

24. Developing a Roadmap and Establishing a Countywide Strategy for a\nSenior Safe Home Pilot Program\nRecommendation as submitted by Supervisor Hahn: Instruct the Director of\nAging and Disabilities to work with the Directors of Public Health, Health\nServices, Mental Health, and Public Social Services, the Executive Director of\nthe Homeless Initiative, Chief Executive Office, and other relevant County\nDepartment Heads, initiatives, agencies, and community stakeholders, and\nreport back to the Board in writing in 180 days on developing a roadmap and\nestablishing a Countywide strategy for a Senior Safe Home Pilot Program for\nvictims of elder abuse who are 55 and older, to ensure that the needs are met\nfor such a vulnerable population throughout the County, including, but not\nlimited to, the following:\nContinue to build on the work of the Long Beach Senior Safe Home’s\nCoalition report and include Adult Protective Services (APS) data, and\nother data sources from the last five years, that demonstrates the\nprevalence of elder and dependent abuse for adults aged 55 and older\nwho are at risk of homelessness; and include reasons why this data\nmight be underreported and other data limitations, what themes and\npatterns exist from the data for older adults who needed respite, how\nmany referrals were made to a shelter-based program on a substantiated\nallegation of abuse, length of hospital stays, any other referrals to\nhousing programs that exist within the continuum of care, including\nProject Roomkey and/or Homekey, etc., and any outcomes that may\nvalidate the justification for a Senior Safe Home Pilot;\nDevelop site specific criteria (e.g., square footage, number of rooms,\namenities, nearby facilities, etc.), determine specific locations where\nsites are needed, and identify the operating costs of the sites; and\ncoordinate with the Chief Executive Officer, through its Real Estate\nDivision, to find available properties that meet the defined criteria, which\ncould be used to establish the County Senior Safe Home Pilot;\nWith the goal of piloting a Senior Safe Home within the County, the\nDirector of Aging and Disabilities will develop a funding model/template\n(Roadmap) to replicate the Pilot throughout the County and local\nmunicipalities, with the Roadmap to focus on the following:\nEquity, inclusion, and best prevention practices for older adults\nwho are at risk of abuse, and should also incorporate input from\nolder adults with lived experience;\nEngagement and partnership with local municipalities that want to\nreplicate this work to ensure that logistical best practices and\nguidance are shared and there are shared resources between\ncities and the County; and\nProjected financial costs and any potential external funding\nsources including but not limited to, APS’ sheltering programs,\nHome Safe funding, public-private partnerships, or any additional\nfunding streams that provide wraparound/case management\nservices for survivors of elder abuse;\nCollaborate with the Directors of Health Services, Mental Health, Public\nHealth, and Public Social Services, and local jurisdictions, on the\nfeasibility of developing a memorandum of understanding to identify\nfunding sources that provide supportive services/case management/\nlong-term case management (wraparound services), and for this\npopulation to ensure a Senior Safe Home in each Service Planning Area\nis available to County residents including, but not limited to, Area Agency\non Aging funding, Home Safe funding, and other funding streams that\nmay exist to serve this vulnerable population in an equitable way, and\noutreach and awareness of wraparound services including, but not\nlimited to, In-Home Supportive Services and possible housing subsidies;\nand\nIdentify potential funding opportunities and appropriate staffing levels for\nFiscal Year 2024-25 to establish an Older Adult Homeless section within\nthe Department of Aging and Disabilities, where this section will be the\nchampion for change with older and dependent adults who are at risk of\nhomelessness and are homeless within APS, and position(s) dedicated to\nthis work should be considered as part of the emergency homeless\ndeclaration so that the Department of Aging and Disabilities can obtain\nand expedite onboarding staff to address this homeless population\nimmediately. (24-1021)