September 17, 2020

On Tuesday, the Stakeholder Advisory Committee for the Master Plan for Aging met and submitted their final recommendations to the Governor’s Administration for consideration in the state’s Master Plan for Aging. While the COVID-19 pandemic caused some delays in the Master Plan timeline and forced meetings to be conducted remotely, progress on this important initiative continued and the Governor is anticipated to release the state’s Master Plan for Aging in December.

CSAC, counties, and county affiliates actively engaged throughout the stakeholder process over the past year. Some key highlights include:

• County membership on the Stakeholder Advisory Committee and the various subcommittees, including Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger and several county human services directors.
• Submission of written comments on key county aging principles and the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program.
• Presentations from counties and CSAC at Committee and subcommittee meetings about In-Home Supportive Services, coordination of aging services, disaster response, and several other topics.
• Hearing directly from and providing input to Kim McCoy Wade, the Director of the California Department of Aging, at a CSAC Board Meeting.

At this final Stakeholder Advisory Committee meeting prior to the release of the Master Plan, the Committee presented the Executive Summary of the Stakeholder Advisory Committee Report. The Executive Summary outlines the four broad goals that this work has been organized around – (1) Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS); (2) Livable Communities and Purpose; (3) Health and Well-Being; and (4) Economic Security and Safety. It also highlights three recommendations as the most urgent and important to achieving the aims of this report – (1) Fix the Long-Term Services and Supports System; (2) Assure that California has Housing that is Affordable to All; and (3) End Poverty.

The September 15 meeting materials also include the Committee’s recommendations for three of the four goal areas, as well as recommendations on research and equity. The first goal area, Long-Term Services and Supports, had a separate timeline mandated by the Executive Order and the LTSS recommendations were submitted in May. CSAC actively engaged on the LTSS report, including successfully advocating for the inclusion of language to prioritize county sustainability for IHSS costs and to indicate the state should have funding responsibility for negotiated increases if collective bargaining were to be moved to the state level.

All of the 734 recommendations are still recommendations at this point, and the next step is for the Administration to consider them within the development of the state’s Master Plan for Aging. This will primarily be done through the existing Cabinet Workgroup on Aging. CSAC will share further updates once the Master Plan for Aging is released in December.