- Approve agreement with First 5 Yolo in the amount of $2,000,000 for the period of November 1, 2021, through December 31, 2023, for the provision of the Welcome Baby Pathway in CHILD Project Road to Resilience and authorize the Procurement Manager to sign the agreement;
- Authorize the County Administrator or their designee to execute agreement with Yolo Healthy Aging Alliance for Phone Friends for Seniors not to exceed $100,000 for the period of July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2024;
- Authorize the County Administrator or their designee to execute agreement with Yolo Healthy Aging Alliance for Emergency Preparedness not to exceed $100,000 for the period of November 1, 2021, through June 30, 2024;
- Authorize the County Administrator or their designee to execute agreement with Yolo Healthy Aging Alliance for Intergenerational Digital Inclusion not to exceed $200,000 for the period of November 1, 2021, through June 30, 2024; and
- Authorize the County Administrator or their designee and the IHSS Public Authority Director or their designee to execute agreement not to exceed $200,000 for the period of November 1, 2021, through December 31, 2024.
|
ARP Background
On September 28, 2021, the Board of Supervisors (Board) approved the initial American Rescue Plan (ARP) Expenditure Plan, which included $2,000,000 for the Welcome Baby proposal submitted by First 5 Yolo under the Priority Projects category and $600,000 for Aging Needs under the Priority Category funding area. These proposals were submitted to Yolo County staff, reviewed, and considered by the Board on multiple occasions. Both Welcome Baby and the Aging and Adult Needs proposals have been determined to be eligible for ARP funding through federal eligibility and the Board's Guiding Principles, adopted in March 2021.
Welcome Baby
Welcome Baby seeks to mitigate toxic stress from the COVID-19 pandemic for vulnerable families by implementing Welcome Baby, a broad-based nurse and community health worker home visiting program for all babies born in Yolo County on Medi-Cal or with no insurance. The funds included in the agreement with First 5 Yolo will fund the project for two (2) years and shall target approximately 1,271 unique families and 2,254 unique individuals served (mother and baby). First 5 Yolo initially requested $3.2 million in ARP funding for Welcome Baby but has since revised the proposal and now seeks additional funding from other agency partners. Should the full amount for Welcome Baby be funded, First 5 Yolo anticipates that the population served shall rise to 1,771 unique families and 3,542 unique individuals served. The Welcome Baby program makes several design assumptions:
- 50-70% of all Medi-Cal births (mother/child) accept and receive 1 nurse home visit within 1-2 weeks postpartum (note: all Medi-Cal births will be offered a nurse home visit)
- ~90% of those receiving a nurse home visit will be eligible to receive and offered a first Community Health Worker visit
- ~80% of those receiving a nurse home visit will be eligible and offered a second Community Health Worker Visit
First 5 Yolo shall also collect performance and outcome data associated with this project, which may be found in the contract attachment to this staff report. Per ARP requirements, all eligible costs must be incurred between March 3, 2021, and December 31, 2024, with funds obligated by December 31, 2024, and expended by December 31, 2026. The full scope of the project may be found in Attachment A, which includes the Welcome Baby contract.
Phone Friends for Seniors
The pandemic has exacerbated isolation and its mental health impacts on our seniors, who often live alone, and the effects of isolation will continue even when the pandemic fades. The Phone Friends for Seniors program, which launched in early April 2020, was aimed at helping older adults stay socially connected and ensuring their basic needs were being met during the COVID-19 stay-at-home order. This program is operated by identifying volunteer callers that are matched with older adults who are referred by their health care providers, their families, and self-referral. The program's personal and holistic approach includes repeated casual conversations, information on services to create a wrap-around effect for overall wellbeing, and Yolo Healthly Aging Alliance (YHAA) staff follow-up for both the older adults and their volunteers.
This contract includes the following:
- Expand Phone Friend’s reach and capacity to navigate the complex state, regional, and local systems of services and supports; and
- Sustain a collaborative network of providers, organizations, government, and academic institutions. The program would also serve as a source of education for fall prevention, home modification, emergency preparedness, and fire prevention.
The Yolo Phone Friends program will be an outreach component for reaching isolated older adults. This program is an adjunct to the Yolo Aging and Disability Resource Connection (ADRC) application that is currently under review by the California Department of Aging. Coordination with and cross-collaboration among Yolo Phone Friend participants, Yolo ADRC, and other critical county programs will assist in needs mapping, problem-solving, and priority setting. Expansion of the Phone Friends program would be carried out in phases over a period of three years as summarized below. Program outcomes will be routinely evaluated using meaningful metrics and course corrections made as indicated by results. Funding needs for each year are projected, however, subsequent year budgets will be re-evaluated at the end of years 1 and 2.
Year One
- Phase 1. Current Program 2020-21 Outcomes Assessed. Evaluate current program and identify lessons learned, needs, and opportunities for expansion. (July 2021-Sept 2021) (enrollment in program = 95 phone and volunteer pairs)
- Phase 2. Program Design and Strategic and Communications Plan Development. (Oct. 2021-Dec. 2021)
- Phase 3. Expanded Program Launch. Jan 2022 (Add 100 more phone friend pairs)
Year Two
- Phase 4. Continued Program Implementation and Sustainability Plan Development. July 2022
Year Three
- Continue Phase 4. July 2023
- Phase 5. Program Evaluation and Course Correction (Jan 2024-June 2024)
YHAA will collect performance and outcome data associated with this project. Per ARP requirements, all eligible costs must be incurred between March 3, 2021, and December 31, 2024, with funds obligated by December 31, 2024, and expended by December 31, 2026.
Emergency Preparedness
This contract would allocate $100,000 for Emergency Preparedness to YHAA to focus on older adults and people with disabilities, who are disproportionately likely to die as a result of natural disasters such as wildfires and extreme heat, partly because of increased vulnerability and partly because of factors, such as management of medication and medical equipment, that require additional preparation and enhanced response. The requested funds will be used for educational outreach to these vulnerable populations including in the rural areas and in multiple languages. Staff will be utilized for these educational events and to create additional appropriate educational materials. Staff will also make a significant effort to increase the number of older adults and persons with disabilities who are signed up for Yolo Alert. Materials funds will be utilized to create “go kits” for low-income older adults and persons with disabilities and backup batteries for those with a medical need for power in emergencies such as an electric wheelchair, medications needing refrigeration, CPAP, and suctioning machines, etc.
One of the strategies to meet the goal of Thriving Residents (Aging category) in the County’s Strategic Plan is “Support efforts of the Yolo County Commission on Aging and Adult Services in advancing emergency response readiness for aging adults by June 30, 2021.” Allocating ARP funds to this would help the County fulfill that strategy, and help a group that has been disproportionally impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
YHAA shall also collect performance and outcome data associated with this project. Per ARP requirements, all eligible costs must be incurred between March 3, 2021, and December 31, 2024, with funds obligated by December 31, 2024, and expended by December 31, 2026.
Intergenerational Digital Inclusion
The goal of the Intergenerational Digital Inclusion program is to develop the infrastructure needed to establish a sustainable, intergenerational program to decrease the digital divide utilizing local college students matched with low-income Yolo County older adults recruited and supported by Yolo Healthy Aging Alliance. This program will include a collaboration between the UC Davis Human Development Department and YHAA and is based upon data sources associated with digital exclusion and a local survey of 120 providers of older adult services in Yolo County. The primary objectives of the 3-year digital inclusion proposal are to:
- Establish a stakeholder team consisting of both generations (10 students, 10 low income older adults) and other stakeholders (UCD Community Engaged Learning Program and Human Development Undergraduate Program, Yolo Healthy Aging Alliance, Yolo County Commission on Aging and Adult Services) in co-designing activities needed to create an intergenerational digital-inclusion program.
- Implement a pilot program among low-income older adults (N=100) who are equipped with a tablet and a 2-year internet subscription and paired with UCD Human Development students enrolled in a 10-week engaged-learning, adult development, and aging course.
- Examine results of the program in terms of older adult outcomes: a) decrease in social isolation/loneliness, b) capability, willingness, and use of technology; and student outcomes of a) learning about aging and reducing age stereotypes and attitudes towards their own aging, b) developing intergenerational relationships.
- Recruit additional students through internships and courses to maintain an ongoing source of digital training support to create a sustainable digital support program.
YHAA shall also collect performance and outcome data associated with this project. Per ARP requirements, all eligible costs must be incurred between March 3, 2021, and December 31, 2024, with funds obligated by December 31, 2024, and expended by December 31, 2026.
In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) Training Expansion
This effort would support emergency-related supports for seniors and would do so by training IHSS providers, giving them the tools they need to help consumers remain safely at home and out of institutional care. These trainings will cover a broad variety of topics and would be offered as locally offered training modules to cut down the cost for contracting out services.
Like all ARP projects or programs, IHSS Public Authority shall collect performance and outcome data associated with this project. Per ARP requirements, all eligible costs must be incurred between March 3, 2021, and December 31, 2024, with funds obligated by December 31, 2024, and expended by December 31, 2026. |