In 2021, California made historic changes in its aging and disability network, dramatically improving its capacity to serve older adults and people with disabilities, as well as their families, caregivers, and communities. With the California Master Plan for Aging (CAL MPA) as a guide, Governor Newsom and lawmakers invested billions of new state and federal dollars in vital programs that support older Californians and adults with disabilities. These significant “down-payments” build toward a transformed system that places equity at the center of housing and health, expanding home and community care choices by strengthening Medi-Cal, community services, and Medicare integration and significantly boosting the SSI/SSP payment rate. California also took critical first steps toward creating a “No Wrong Door” system that is designed to reduce the challenges of navigating a complex network and be more responsive to the environmental barriers faced by older adults and people with disabilities.
The San Diego Seniors Community Foundation (SDSCF) strongly supports the vision set for by the plan’s architects and endeavors to become a leading force locally to turn this comprehensive framework into localized, tangible solutions for San Diego older adults.
Over the course of the year, SDSCF will utilize this space to provide commentary on the CAL MPA and update progress on the key annual goals set forth. The CAL MPA has identified over one-hundred initiatives targeted for implementation during the first two years of the ten-year blueprint. Each of these initiatives has a home within many of the State’s departments and agencies and accountability is a top priority. The CAL MPA is a visionary framework that demands action. The CAL MPA is not a “report sitting on a shelf”, but instead is a living document that is built to produce outcomes and accountability to create an age- and disability-friendly state. The CAL MPA identifies five goals that will be critical to achieving a landscape where California’s older adults have the opportunities to thrive.
THE FIVE GOALS:
GOAL ONE: Housing for All Stages & Ages
We will live where we choose as we age in communities that are age-, disability-, and dementia-friendly and climate- and disaster-ready.
GOAL TWO: Health Reimagined
We will have access to the services we need to live at home in our communities and to optimize our health and quality of life.
GOAL THREE: Inclusion & Equity, Not Isolation
We will have lifelong opportunities for work, volunteering, engagement, and leadership and will be protected from isolation, discrimination, abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
GOAL FOUR: Caregiving That Works
We will be prepared for and supported through the rewards and challenges of caring for aging loved ones.
GOAL FIVE: Affording Aging
We will have economic security for as long as we live.
In the coming weeks, SDSCF will provide updates and commentary on the status of these five goals and the early work being undertaken to realize a transformed California aging services environment by 2030. https://mpa.aging.ca.gov/
