DAS presents proposed $271M budget; IHSS MOE is largest share as commission readies Feb. budget decisions

At its Jan. 5 meeting the San Francisco Department of Disability and Aging Services presented a multi-view overview of the current-year budget and instructions for developing the next biennial budget.

Deputy Director of Finance Dan Kaplan, budget director Emily Gibbs and analyst Alex Gleeson walked commissioners through the program budget, revenue streams and expenditure categories. Kaplan said roughly 59% of the DAS budget is associated with IHSS-related costs and that $154,000,000 of the department's approximately $271,000,000 budget is the IHSS maintenance-of-effort (MOE) local share. "If we looked within this large, 59% of the DAS budget, what we see is $154,000,000 of this $271,000,000 is the IHSS MOE," Kaplan said.

Kaplan and the budget team also identified $91,000,000 for health benefits for IHSS workers and $26,000,000 for contract budgets; they described a $43,000,000 COVID food coordination program composed mostly of CBO contracts and noted that roughly $108,000,000 of CBO grants sit in the community-based services area. Revenue sources cited include federal funds (Older Americans Act), state realignment funds and dedicated city funds such as the Community Living Fund and the Dignity Fund.

Executive Director Kelly Dearman highlighted programmatic priorities tied to those resources, including the IHSS stability and supportive housing pilot, an APS expansion after the state's eligibility change (lowering the senior APS threshold from 65 to 60), and steps to integrate findings from Dignity Fund listening sessions into funding strategies. "We are continuing to operate all of our essential services and programs," Dearman told commissioners, noting ARPA and state grant guidance expected soon.

Commissioners expressed strong support for the presentation and asked specific operational questions about veterans'service outstations (the Veterans Memorial Building and Fort Miley) and the hours of service; Dearman confirmed an outstation at the Veterans Memorial Building is in use and that hours could be expanded after current surge conditions subside. The budget team described the timeline: a Feb. 2 return to the commission with a budget proposal and mayoral engagement through late February into May, with implementation targeted for July.

The presentation did not require a vote; commissioners praised staff work and indicated they would provide input as the budget is refined.

Next steps: DAS will bring a formal proposal to the commission on Feb. 2 and continue discussions with the mayor's office ahead of the Feb. 22 mayoral submission and June board phase.