The purpose of this report is to receive City Council authorization to file a grant application with the Los Angeles County Department of Community and Senior Citizen Services and the Area Agency on Aging (AAA) to receive Federal grant monies for the Nutrition and Supportive Services which are part of the Park, Recreation and Community Services Department�s Senior and Human Services Division.

The Supplemental Nutrition Services Program is responsible for providing congregate and home delivered meals. The program receives funding from the AAA, USDA, donations from the clients, and the City�s General Fund. The meals for the program are prepared daily, Monday thru Friday at the McCambridge Park central kitchen. All tasks necessary to provide the meals are performed by City employees. This includes preparing the menus, which are approved by AAA personnel, ordering food items, packaging goods, as well as serving, and cooking the meals. Once the food has been prepared, it is packaged for distribution.

The Home Delivered Program currently serves between 220-245 on week days and 70-75 meals on the weekends. Upon receipt of a request for service, staff initiates procedures, which assess the client�s need based upon the AAA seventeen (17) point intake form (Attachment I). It should be noted that clients must be at least 60 years of age and a Burbank resident. Those having higher scores are determined to be in the greatest need and receive priority service. Those individuals with lower need scores are kept on a waiting list for potential future service. As client situations change
re-evaluations are conducted.

Once the food has been prepared for the home delivered meal clients, the individual servings are packaged. This task is performed by staff and requires the use of insulated bags and "heated bricks" to keep the food at the necessary temperature. Other items are kept cool in special containers with ice packs. Once all items are packaged properly, they are given to the drivers. The drivers are provided route sheets, which include the clients� names, addresses, and additional delivery information specific to individual stops. Currently there are 11 different routes. Volunteers and staff perform the daily delivery tasks. In accordance health department regulations, if a client does not answer the door to receive the meal, the driver does not leave the meal and reports this to staff, who attempts to contact the client, and if necessary, follows up with an emergency contact. All meals must be provided to the clients within two (2) hours following the completion of meal preparation. At times, safety personnel are called and the residence checked. As one might expect, clients have been found to be in a life threatening situation or worse.

Once the Home Delivered Meals are packaged, staff turns their attention to the congregate site deliveries. The prepared food is placed in proper transportation containers and is driven to the Joslyn Adult Center and Tuttle Center. The remaining food is then prepared for service at the McCambridge congregate site.

The Congregate Program serves approximately 285 meals Monday thru Friday. It is open to all seniors 60 and older and offers an important opportunity for individuals to receive a nutritious meal, as well as a social interaction. At the congregate sites the food is served to seated clients and is accomplished with staff and volunteers. It is important to note that over 100 volunteers are utilized to provide this service.

The Supportive Services Program provides the critical services of collecting and disseminating information about senior adult services and directs callers to an agency or organization that can extend the assistance necessary to resolve the individual�s problem or need. In some cases, staff works directly with supportive service agencies to ensure that needy clients receive proper attention. This program area receives funding only for the telephone reassurance program. It is an outreach program which links frail seniors, who often can not leave their residences, with volunteers who place phone calls to these individuals on a regular basis. Staff coordinates this program, and the City is reimbursed for the service. Currently there are approximately 100 individuals receiving this service.

On February 26, 2003, the Los Angeles County Department of Community and Senior Citizen Services requested that agencies desiring to receive Title III Older American�s Act federal funding for senior citizen nutrition and supportive services, submit a grant proposal. This will be the initial year in a new four-year grant cycle, 2003 through 2007, however the grants are approved on an annual basis.

If the application is accepted at the amount submitted, the City will receive $314,081 in Older Americans Act funding for the congregate and home delivered meal program. Home delivered meals are provided five days a week, with some clients receiving individual frozen meals to meet their weekend needs. Congregate meals are served Monday through Friday. This program will also receive additional USDA funding based upon the number of meals served. One hundred volunteers who are instrumental to these programs provide over 16,000 hours of service.

In addition, if the application is accepted at its submittal level, the City will receive $4,632 for supportive services programs. This funding will provide payments for the telephone reassurance program. This program employs four volunteers who are in contact with one hundred clients.

This item has been included in the 2002/2003 budget. The revenue anticipated from the grant has been projected to offset a significant portion of the general fund cost of these services. In accordance with the County and Federal proposal guidelines, the City of Burbank�s proposal has been prepared to include the following:

In addition USDA will reimburse the City based upon the number of contracted meals served. Given our service level, it is estimated the City will receive an additional $57,000. The senior consumers also pay a donation for the lunch, which goes to the General Fund and this revenue source is projected to be $159,000.

It is staff�s recommendation that a resolution of the Council of the City of Burbank be adopted authorizing the execution and filing for a proposal for a further grant under Title III of the Older Americans Act of 1965, as amended, for supplemental nutrition programs and supportive services.

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