REPORT ON THE MICHIGAN COMMISSION ON SERVICES TO THE AGING MEETING
October 16, 2015 @9:00 AM
U.P. Area Agency on Aging – UPCAP Services, Inc.
2501 14th Avenue South; Escanaba, MI 49829
Kari Sederburg, Aging & Adult Services Agency Director Report
Congratulations to Leslie!
We are sad to see our fearless deputy director, Leslie Shanlian, leave us… but we are very happy for her and know she will be extremely successful in her new role as CEO of the new Veterans Health System! Her last day with the AASA team is Friday, October 23rd, but we remain confident we will continue to work with her on future initiatives.
The position has already been posted and will remain open until 5:00PM on Monday. We are hoping to fill the position with a qualified candidate relatively quickly.
Local Long Term Care Ombudsmen
We learned last week that the board of Adult Well-being Services – an organization that employees local ombudsmen–voted to end their contracts to provide this critically important service. Sarah Slocum has been working closely with the local ombudsmen and the area agencies on aging in the impacted regions (4, 5, 8 and 14) to ensure ombudsman services are not interrupted. We plan on discussing this transition plan at the commission meeting.
FY 17 Budget
We are just beginning the state fiscal year (FY) 2017 budget discussions. With the road funding issue looming, the likelihood of increased funding is slim, but we are still going to make some recommendations for increased funding for aging-related programs.
Legislative Hearing on Metrics
The Senate Appropriations Committee held a meeting on metrics this week, with the idea that they would review the progress/success of “new” funding initiatives – which included the increased funding to make Michigan a No Wait State for Aging Services.
I gave a brief overview of the programs – but was interrupted before I was able to dive into the metrics and data. There was quite a bit of confusion by the committee on what they wanted to know and Scott and I were only able to speak briefly. We anticipate this coming up again and will be providing a report on FY 15 data and expenditures as soon as all the data has been collected and reported. We will provide that information to the commission as well.
New AASA Aging Network Update
It’s a new fiscal year so we thought a good way to keep our partners in the aging network informed of all that’s going on around here would be to send out a monthly AASA update. The update will go out the first Friday of each month and can feature anything you think the network needs to know. Please let Phil Lewis know you have a story or update to share.
State Plan on Aging
The Administration for Community Living has granted our office a one-year extension on our FY 14-16 State Plan on Aging. We determined it was best to extend the current plan while we work through the long-term care lean process as well as the department merger.
BUSINESS ITEMS
a) Request for Approval of Application For Community For a Lifetime Recognition for the City of Escanaba
Presented by Dan Doezema, AASA Staff
The City of Escanaba met the requirements to a high degree, so the
Commission voted to add it to the list of entities designated as
Community for a Lifetime. Two dozen communities have now qualified.
b) Request for Approval of Grant to Sergent Results Group
Presented by Wendi Middleton, AASA Staff
AASA received a grant from the Administration on Community Living in 2014 to fund a 12-month planning process for the purpose of creating a three-year plan tp transform Michigan’s long term supports and services into an integrated, coordinated No Wrong Door system. Due to the complexity of the issues, AASA is still working on completion of this project and has not expended all of the grant dollars. The Commission has now granted approval to the Sergent Results Group to finish this grant project.
c) Request for Approval of Grant Award Recommendation: New State-Funded Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) Project Sponsor
Presented by Scott Wamsley, AASA Staff
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Aging and Adult Services Agency requests the Commission’s approval of state grant funding in the amount of $18,021 for FY 2016 to sponsor a new RSVP project. The grantee will be determined based on bids received from eligible applicants. The Commission approved this request and asked to be notified as soon as the recipient of the grant is determined.
d) Request for Approval of Program Year (PY) 2015-2016 Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) Reallocations
Presented by Scott Wamsley, AASA Staff
This recommendation to the Commission comes in response to a request from Region 10. Area Agency on Aging of Northwest Michigan, to transition out of administering the SCSEP grant. AAANM indicated that due to staffing changes, it is in the best interests of both AAANM and SCSEP to reallocate the grant funding and the SCSEP-funded positions to a SCSEP grantee that is better able to administer them. Therefore, the Commission approves moving $80,256 for 9 positions from Region 10 to Region 7.
e) Request for Approval to Issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) for Operations of the State Long Term Care Ombudsman (SLTCO) OfficePresented by Sarah Slocum, AASA Staff
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Aging and Adult Services Agency requests Commission approval to issue an RFP for operations of the SLTCO Office. This RFP would be the first step in a reorganization of the program to create a unified statewide entity.
Issues to be addressed through an RFP for independent operation of the SLTCO Office:
· Administrative structure out of proportion to the size of the program;
· Ombudsman Program currently fragmented structure without clear lines of authority;
· Service consistency not assured;
· Ombudsman program is positioned for new ombudsman projects, which require separate, independent ombudsmen:
√ Integrated Care Ombudsman
√ Managed Care Ombudsman
√ Community Based Ombudsman and
· Need streamlined structure, but local ombudsmen must be located in the region.
Announcements
The next Commission on Services to the Aging meeting is tentatively scheduled for Friday, November 20, 2015, at 9:00 AM, at the MDHHS, Aging and Adult Services Agency located at 300 E. Michigan Avenue, 3rd floor large conference room in Lansing.
The next State Advisory Council on Aging meeting will be held at 9:30 AM on Thursday, October 22, 2015, at the Ramada Lansing Hotel & Conference Center, 7501 W Saginaw Hwy., in Lansing, MI.
Submitted by Commissioner Michael J. Sheehan
Michigan Commission on Services to the Aging and
Chairman, State Advisory Council on Aging
Michael J. Sheehan
WEBSITE — The Senior Corner: theseniorcorner.weebly.com
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