TITLE
Title
AGE-FRIENDLY GUILFORD INITIATIVE - RESOLUTION OF SUPPORT AND MOA WITH SENIOR RESOURCES
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SPONSOR
Sponsor
Victor Isler, Assistant County Manager / DHHS Director and Sharon Barlow, Social Services Director
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BACKGROUND
Background
The population of North Carolina including Guilford County is aging - there are currently over 1.7-1.9 million residents state-wide and about 100,000 in Guilford County who are age 65 or older based on State estimates from 2023. By 2030, that number is expected to grow state-wide to over 2.3 million, an increase of over 20%, and over 110,000 in Guilford County - this growth rate will mean 1 in 5 or 20% of residents will be over 65 in 2030. These projections also mean that there will be as many or more residents over age 65 as there will be under age 18.
Guilford County, in collaboration with Senior Resources, recognizes this increasing growth of the aging population as well as the need and opportunity it presents to provide access to needed services and opportunities ensure that residents of all ages are able to live healthy, safe, and active lives. County staff and Senior Resources recommend joining the AARP (formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons) Network of Age Friendly States and Communities in order to benefit from their research, established library of best practices, peer network, and technical expertise. Joining this network also requires committing to an assessment and continuous improvement process that begins with engaging older adults and other impacted residents and involves conducting a community needs assessment, developing and implementing an action plan, evaluating the progress and impact of the plan, and then sharing solutions and best practices before beginning the cycle again.
The County and Senior Resources initially began conversations about starting this work in 2018 before it was paused by the response to and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. This work has remained an outstanding and ever-growing need in the community during that time, though. Staff from both organizations have now been able to come together to restart planning conversations on this topic and have identified capacity to fully launch this work in partnership as the “Age-Friendly Guilford Initiative” starting in 2024.
The “Age-Friendly Guilford” Partnership will be facilitated by the Age-Friendly Guilford Coordinator (housed at Senior Resources, with County funding support) and be overseen by a leadership team consisting of members of County and Senior Resources leadership, funding partners, and representatives from the Community Engagement Team. This Leadership Team will be responsible for serving as champions and spokespersons, participating in decision-making, identifying and seeking outside funding, and generally supporting and maintaining the Initiative and its structure. The Initiative will be a partnership structure with multiple issue-specific strategy teams to be built around AARP’s Domains of Livability and our specific community needs identified by the needs assessment; these teams will be responsible for developing and implementing issue-specific strategies and solutions within the larger Age-Friendly Guilford network. The initiative will also include Advisory Groups comprised of existing groups of elected officials, faith-based community, and provider-based groups; these groups will help ensure collaboration and broader community support for the Initiative.
To formally begin this initiative and apply for membership in the AARP Network of Age Friendly States and Communities:
1) A resolution and associated letter of commitment from the Board of Commissioners expressing support for the Age-Friendly Initiative is required to complete the application.
2) County staff have developed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) that describes the joint vision and goal of the County and Senior Resources to apply to and become a member of AARP’s Network of Age Friendly States and Communities. This MOA also outlines specific responsibilities of the County and Senior Resources as collaborative partners in this work including the County’s intent to provide funding to Senior Resources for the Age-Friendly Guilford Coordinator position and Senior Resources’ responsibility to serve as the lead of the Initiative. This MOA will be for a five (5) year term to match the five-year cycle of AARP’s evaluation and implementation framework, with the term running from July 18, 2024 to July 31, 2029.
3) Staff have drafted a separate contract for funding the Age-Friendly Guilford Coordinator position in the amount of $50,000 with an initial term of twelve (12) months to run from August 1, 2024 until July 31, 2025 with four (4) additional 12-month renewals which will let it align with the MOA term. Funds for this contract are already available in Social Services’ FY 2024-25 adopted budget.
Additional information can be found on AARP’s website here: https://www.aarp.org/livable-communities/network-age-friendly-communities/ and their “Roadmap to Livability” workbook series here: https://www.aarp.org/livable-communities/tool-kits-resources/info-2017/roadmap-to-livability-collection.html
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BUDGET IMPACT
Budget Impact
NO ADDITIONAL COUNTY FUNDS REQUIRED
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REQUESTED ACTION
Requested Action
Adopt a resolution and a formal letter of support for the Age-Friendly Guilford Initiative; approve a memorandum of agreement to formally establish a collaborative partnership to complete this work with a term of July 18, 2024 until July 31, 2029; and authorize staff to enter into a contract in the amount of $50,000 to fund part of the Age-Friendly Guilford Coordinator position at Senior Resources for a term of twelve (12) months running from August 1, 2024 to July 31, 2025 with the option for four (4) additional twelve (12) month renewals.
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