DAS commission approves grants for caregivers, tech access, resource directory and expanded nutrition services

The San Francisco Department of Aging and Adult Services (DAS) Commission on Dec. 2022 approved a series of contract and grant modifications intended to expand services for older adults and adults with disabilities across caregiving, community programming, technology access and nutrition.

In unanimous roll-call votes, the commission adopted amendments that the department said will add respite hours and counseling for caregivers, inject state and federal technology money into community digital labs, expand an online resource directory to serve Department of Public Health (DPH) referrals, and increase funding for meal providers to address continuing nutrition insecurity.

Erica Maybaum, a program analyst in DAS’s Office of Community Partnership, outlined the modification to the Family Caregiver Alliance contract. She said additions include “additional respite hours, 2,240 for this fiscal year” and a further 4,440 hours in the next fiscal year, as well as short-term caregiver counseling and support-group hours. Maybaum said the change bundles several funding sources (Title III-E, ARPA, state Older Adults Recovery and Resilience allocations and local Dignity Fund dollars) and also covers a prior one-time $160,000 modification.

Rianna Albert, an analyst with the Office of Community Partnerships, described changes to multiple community-service grants totaling a mid-six-figure modification that will restore staffing and program levels at centers including Curry Senior Center, Golden Gate Richmond Senior Center, Openhouse and YMCA Richmond. Albert said some funds are supervisor "add-backs" designated for district-level reopening and bilingual and LGBTQ+ supports.

Sarah Chan presented DAS’s award and contract with the California Department of Aging (CDA) for the state’s Access to Technology program. Chan said San Francisco’s allocation is $1,095,819 and that DAS plans to use the funding to replace equipment at SF Connected labs and expand tech training and support hours. She and staff warned that CDA has signaled a likely amendment shortening the grant term and shortening the available spending window to December 2023, creating a compressed timeline for contracting and expenditures.

Fanny Lapitan, director of the DAS Benefits and Resources Hub, requested a modification to DAS’s existing contract with Unite Us to allow a parallel online resource directory (ORD) instance for DPH. Lapitan said the ORD will be a searchable repository that supports closed-loop electronic referrals and case-management tasks; DPH will fund its portion and expects to integrate its EPIC electronic health record with Unite Us over the next year. Lapitan said the modification was presented under DAS’s contract to avoid missing tight procurement deadlines.

Tiffany Kearney, DAS lead nutritionist, presented 19 grant modifications across 10 nutrition partners that include approximately $4.3 million in additional meals funding for the current year (supporting an estimated 506,000 culturally responsive meals for roughly 2,800 additional consumers) and roughly $2.1 million annually in FY24–25 to support another 252,000 meals per year. Kearney said the amendments also include a 4% cost-of-doing-business increase to help providers cover rising food and fuel costs, staffing pressures and declining voluntary contributions.

Public commenters from GLIDE and Southwest Community Corporation urged continued support for no-eligibility meals and culturally relevant hot meals for marginalized neighborhoods. Eliana Binger of GLIDE said the organization’s free meals program "has no eligibility requirements, providing 3 nutritious meals a day, 364 days a year," and thanked the commission for the modifications. Felicia Thibodeaux of Southwest Community Corporation said additional funding allows the group to deliver culturally relevant hot lunches and dinners to older adults in the Lakeview/Excelsior neighborhood.

All action items on the agenda—approvals to hold hybrid meetings, allow third-party virtual presenters, and the five contract/grant modifications described above—passed by unanimous roll-call votes of the sitting commissioners.

Next steps: DAS staff said it will proceed with contract amendments, vendor work orders and program rollouts described in the packet. The department also signaled it will press the state CDA for a longer spending window if the grant end date is shortened.

Votes at a glance:
- Approval of minutes (11/02/2022): unanimous yes.
- Item 5 (in-person meetings with some remote members): unanimous yes.
- Item 6 (authorize third-party virtual presenters): unanimous yes.
- Item 13A (Family Caregiver Alliance modification): unanimous yes; adds respite hours and counseling; funding mix includes Title III-E, ARPA, state recovery funds and local Dignity Fund dollars.
- Item 13B (community-service grants modification): unanimous yes; $575,187 additional plus contingency to restore or expand center programming and staffing (district-designated add-backs).
- Item 13C (CDA Access to Technology contract AT2223-38): unanimous yes; CDA allocation $1,095,819; compressed spending window flagged as a concern.
- Item 13D (Unite Us ORD modification to include DPH): unanimous yes; DPH-funded modification to create a separate ORD instance under the DAS contract for closed-loop referrals and later EPIC integration.
- Item 13E (nutrition grant modifications): unanimous yes; ~ $4.3M additional meals funding this year, ~$2.1M added annually in FY24–25, plus a 4% cost-of-doing-business uplift.

Commissioners present at the vote: President Martha Knudson; Vice President Janet Spears; Commissioner Sasha Buettner; Commissioner Wanda Jeong; Commissioner Nelson Lim.

(Reporting note: article is based on DAS Commission meeting transcript and statements made on the record.)