Riverside County Grand Jury • 2001-2002 • Agency Response

Submittal to the Board of Supervisors County of Riverside, State of California Submittal Date: July 30, 2002 From:*

Published: July 30, 2002 6 pages
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Findings and Recommendations 4 findings

F1
There are more than 50 agencies in the county that offer services for seniors. RCOOA is developing a computer date system to list the services that are provided by each agency. The Office on Aging disagrees partially with the finding. There are thousands (not 50) of agencies in the county that offer services for seniors that are included in the computerized data base the Office on Aging has used for years. This database (known as the Virtual Resource Data Base) will supplement and enhance the existing database in the Office on Aging and has been reformatted to make it available to other county departments that could benefit from its use.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
RCOOA expedite the development and implementation of the computer data system. The Office on Aging agrees with this finding. This is a top priority in the Board of Supervisors approved strategic plan of the Advisory Council on Aging and the Office on Aging. The Virtual Resource Data Base model has been developed, with assistance from county IT, and tested in several county departments, using State grant funding from the CA. Dept of Health Services. Full implementation of the system across interested county departments and community sites will depend on available funding from other grants or perspective users of the data base product. The Office on Aging continues to pursue these options under the guidance of the Advisory Council on Aging Integration Work Team. The next objective of this group is the development of a business plan for the VRDB, and to pursue funding options for implementation.
F2
RCOOA funds are used to provide a variety of services including case management for: assisted home living, adult day care, preventive health care home delivery of meals, nutritional advice, and transportation ٠ The Office on Aging agrees with this finding. The services offered by the Office on Aging also include congregate meals in addition to the home delivered meals that were referenced.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
RCOOA develop and implement a plan to provide both private and public transportation for seniors residing in isolated areas of the county. The Office on Aging disagrees wholly with the finding. The three CTSA's (Coordinated Transportation Service Agencies) are mandated under federal and state law to develop and implement transportation plans for Riverside County. The Office on Aging conducts community needs assessments and public hearings on the transportation needs of seniors and adults with disabilities, and makes this information available to the CTSAs. Response to Grand Jury Report The Advisory Council on Aging recently held a public forum on transportation issues affecting seniors and adults with disabilities in Riverside County, and heard extensive testimony from providers and consumers on current transportation programs and resources, and unmet transportation needs. This information was disseminated widely, and also provided a basis for advocating for improved transportation services for seniors and adults with disabilities in the plan that is developed and implemented by the CTSAs.
F3
Riverside County lacks transportation for seniors living in remote locations. Those seniors, who use available public transportation, find many bus stops do not provide benches, route maps, and schedules. The Office on Aging disagrees partially with the finding. There are some transportation options for seniors living in some remote areas, such as the TRIP (Transportation Reimbursement Information Program) managed by the Partnership to Preserve Independent Living. The Riverside County Office on Aging has a contract to do intake for this program through the Helplink countywide 800 510 2020 number. The Riverside County Office on Aging also has contracts with community agencies to provide transportation services in some remote areas of the county. Response to Grand Jury Report However, findings from community wide assessments and focus group sessions do confirm that transportation remains a high priority of seniors in Riverside County.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
Riverside County Transit Authority provides benches, route maps and bus schedules at all public bus stops. Office on Aging agrees with the finding, but has no direct control over Riverside County Transit Authority. This recommendation will be shared with the Advisory Council on Aging to be included in their advocacy efforts for improved and expanded transportation. The Council will ask RCTA to make improvements at bus stops.
F4
Due to the current senior population, as well as projected growth, additional case managers are needed to meet workloads. The Office on Aging agrees with this finding. Available funding for case management services is far below the current and projected need for this service.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
RCOOA immediately hire a minimum of three additional case managers to meet current and expected workloads. The recommendation will be fully implemented within the next 60 days.

* This report's PDF did not contain easily extractable text and required Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for analysis. There may be minor errors in the extracted findings and recommendations due to OCR limitations with scanned documents.