AGENDA REPORT
TO: Jestin D. Johnson FROM: Sofia Navarro
City Administrator Interim HSD Director
SUBJECT: Senior Companion Program/Foster
Grandparent Program (SCP/FGP)
Renewal Grant Applications FY 25-26
DATE: September 29, 2025
City Administrator Approval Date:
RECOMMENDATION
Staff Recommends That The City Adopt A Resolution:
1. Accepting, Appropriating, And Authorizing Agreements For Receipt Of Grant Funds From The Corporation For National And Community Services (CNCS-AmeriCorps Seniors) For Fiscal Year (FY) 2025-26 In Amounts Not To Exceed $340,537 For The Senior Companion Program (SCP) And $38,823 For The Foster Grandparent Program (FGP); And
2. Authorizing Contributions From The General-Purpose Fund In The Estimated Amount Of $37,110 For SCP And $24,973 For FGP For Central Services Overhead Charges And In The Estimated Amount Of $62,083 (Added Grantee Share From SCP And FGP) To Meet The Required Minimum Of 10% Local Match Funds For FY 2025-26; And
3. Authorizing The City Administrator To Accept And Appropriate Additional Grant Funds From CNCS-AmeriCorps Seniors That Become Available For The Same Purposes Within FY 2025-26.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The adoption of the proposed resolution will enable the implementation of the Senior Companion Program (SCP) in Oakland to provide low-income seniors, ages 55 and above, with stipend volunteer opportunities to support other seniors and adults with disabilities who are frail, monolingual, and socially isolated with companionship, transportation, and access to community resources.
It will also allow for the implementation of the Foster Grandparent Program (FGP) to provide senior volunteer opportunities to support children and youth with developmental disabilities and exceptional needs with mentoring, reading assistance, and school readiness approaches.
Jestin Johnson (Oct 8, 2025 14:52:15 PDT)
10/08/2025
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: SCP/FGP Renewal Grant Applications FY 25-26
Date: September 29, 2025
Life Enrichment Committee
October 28, 2025
The renewal grants are estimated at: $340,537 for SCP and $38,823 for FGP for a total of $379,360. Forty (40) SCP volunteers will provide over 50,000 hours of service, and seven (7) FGP volunteers will provide over 6,000 hours of service during the FY. Both grants are funded by the CNCS-AmeriCorps Seniors. The SCP and FGP provide needed support to both seniors and youth in the community and offer an opportunity for elders to be involved and engaged in these fulfilling volunteer activities.
BACKGROUND / LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
The programs are authorized under the Domestic Volunteer Act of 1973, and federal funding comes from the CNCS-AmeriCorps Seniors.
The SCP has been making a difference in the lives of Oakland seniors by providing assistance and friendship to older adults who have difficulty with daily living tasks, such as shopping or paying bills, and those who need companionship to combat social isolation and loneliness. SCP volunteers help these individuals retain their dignity and remain independent in their homes rather than having to move to more costly institutional care.
The FGP has been making a difference in the lives of Oakland youth by providing one-on-one mentoring, nurturing, and support to children with special or exceptional needs, or who are in circumstances that limit their academic, social, or emotional development.
As required by CNCS-AmeriCorps Seniors, all volunteers and employees working in the SCP and the FGP undergo a criminal history background check. The City is prohibited from hiring employees and training volunteers before they have been approved for service.
Pursuant to City Council Resolution No. 85366 C.M.S., City Administrator authorized to conduct and document a National Service Criminal History Check for program participants, a review that includes Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal history checks for volunteers and staff who work with vulnerable populations, including participants under the age of 17, persons aged 60 and older, and individuals with disabilities.
ANALYSIS AND POLICY ALTERNATIVES
The Citys Human Services Department, divisi on of Aging and Adult Services, provides holistic community supportive services through interventions that prevent the institutionalization and isolation of older adults. Participants of the SCP and FGP experience culturally responsive services and activities that result in empowerment, independence, safety, and the ability to live self-directed lives.
SCP volunteers support independent living by assisting frail, monolingual, and socially isolated elders to access doctor appointments and grocery shopping, while also providing social companionship. FGP volunteers provide mentoring and academic tutoring to Pre-K and K-12 children and youth who benefit from added support and connection to an additional caring adult.
Both programs serve a dual function in that the elderly clients and youth benefit from the Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: SCP/FGP Renewal Grant Applications FY 25-26
Date: September 29, 2025
Life Enrichment Committee
October 28, 2025
assistance while the volunteers gain a sense of accomplishment, civic responsibility, and community connectivity.
The Citys Taxi Up & Go, a program of the Oakland Paratransit for the Elderly and Disabled (OPED), effectively extends the reach of SCP services by providing taxi vouchers free of charge to SCP clients who need door-through-door rides assisted by a SCP volunteer. OPED also provides free taxi vouchers to SCP and FGP volunteers who need transportation support to work with their clients. Alameda County Measure BB provides the funding for Taxi Up and Go and the OPED Taxi Voucher program.
The City of Oaklands SCP and FGP volunteers must meet the following guidelines and performance objectives as required in the Ci tys standard agreement with CNCS-AmeriCorps Seniors:
Be at least 55 years old;
Undergo Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation background checks; Complete twenty hours of pre-service training;
Qualify as low-income.
Once certified, SCP and FGP participants must volunteer 5 to 20 hours weekly and may serve up to 1,044 hours annually. All volunteers are required to be certified annually. The City of Oakland General Purpose Fund supports staff, volunteers, and community recognition activities.
FISCAL IMPACT
The grant monies provide for the volunteer support expenditures, including fingerprinting, stipends, liability insurance, appreciation and recognition of volunteers, uniform identification badges, and other allowable expenses. There are no income requirements for the clients served by the volunteers. As required by CNCS-AmeriCorps Seniors, 80 percent of the grant funds go directly to support low-income eligible volunteers. Grant funds are contingent upon the number of volunteer placements and annual hours of service.
These funds will be delineated in the Senior Companion and Foster Grandparent project cost centers for FY 2025-2026 as follows:
Grant funds from the CNCS-AmeriCorps Seniors in the amount of $340,537 in the Federal Action Agency Fund (2120), Senior Companion Program Organization (75241), SCP FY25-26 FED Project (1007662), and Empowering Seniors with Disability Program (YS14).
Grant funds from the CNCS-AmeriCorps Seniors in the amount of $38,823 in the Federal Action Agency Fund (2120), Foster Grandparent Program Organization (75241), FGP FY25-26 FED Project (1007663), and Empowering Seniors with Disability Program (YS14).
The following funds will provide for Federal Match and for fundraising, administrative and other volunteer programs costs associated with the SCP: $26,999 in the General Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: SCP/FGP Renewal Grant Applications FY 25-26
Date: September 29, 2025
Life Enrichment Committee
October 28, 2025
Purpose Fund (1010), Project (1007664), Senior Companion Program Organization (75241), and Empowering Seniors with Disability Program (YS14); $8,698 in the General Purpose Fund (1010) for the Federal Match Project (1007665) Senior Companion Program Organization (75241), and Empowering Seniors with Disability Program (YS14); and $234,494 in the General Purpose Fund (1010) for the DP750 Administrative Project (1000017) in Senior Companion Program Organization (75241), and Empowering Seniors with Disability Program (YS14), which is included in the Mayors Adopted FY 2025-2026 Budget.
Based on the federal administrative cost caps and level of required program funding, the Human Services Department (HSD) will require, as it has in prior years, a contribution from the City of Oakland General Purpose Fund in the combined estimated amount of $68,869 to meet the minimum 10% match requirement, and a from the General Purpose Fund for Central Services Overhead Charges in the estimated amount of $39,078 for FY 2025-26. These amounts are included in the adopted 2025-2026 budget.
PUBLIC OUTREACH / INTEREST
SCP and FGP volunteers are assigned and supervised in community-based programs. The programs include public and private organizations that work with Oakland residents and their families. SCP/FGP is in the process of re-establishing community-based volunteer stations with the City of Oakland Senior Centers and the sites with the Oakland Parks, Recreation and Youth Development (OPRYD) Department. SCP/FGP have existing and continuing partnerships with the following agencies: Family Bridges, Vietnamese Community Development Incorporated, South Berkeley Senior Center, Alameda Care Alliance, Fruitvale/San Antonio Senior Center, MSSP, Sister Thea Bowman Senior Community, DeFermery Recreation Center, 150 Frank H.
Ogawa Plaza.
COORDINATION
The Office of the City Attorney and the Budget Bureau were consulted in the preparation of this report and resolution.
PAST PERFORMANCE, EVALUATION, AND FOLLOW-UP
Volunteers provided service activities that included companionship, mentorship, taxi-scrip assistance, and escorted transportation support. During the last FY 2024-2025, the grant funded thirty-eight SCP and four FGP volunteers. Volunteers and clients served by the programs come from all seven Council Districts. In 2025-2026, the goal of SCP/FGP is to increase the number of volunteers and raise awareness of the programs through reinstated partnerships with OPRYD sites and the City of Oakland Senior Centers.
The program assessment process does not include demographic data for minors participating in the Foster Grandparents Program. In compliance with CNCS-AmeriCorps Seniors confidentiality requirements, the demographics of children and youth are not collected.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: SCP/FGP Renewal Grant Applications FY 25-26
Date: September 29, 2025
Life Enrichment Committee
October 28, 2025
The SCP addresses access and equity disparities among monolingual seniors by matching them with companions that speak the same language. The program made significant progress by improving targeted cultural and language gaps by recruiting bilingual Vietnamese staff and securing translation assistance based on volunteer input.
Table 1 reflects the racial profile of SCP volunteers, and Table 2 shows client participation by Volunteer Stations.
Table 1: Program Volunteers by Ethnicity
Ethnicity Percent
African American 12
Chinese (Cantonese Speakers) 11
Vietnamese 18
Filipino 1
Native American 1
Total 43
Table 2: Historical Participant Stations
STN # NAME # OF CLIENTS % VOL (CLIENTS)
1 VCDI 48 37
2 Family Bridges 35 21
3 Linkages/MSSP 3 .05
4 San Antonio-Fruitvale Senior
Center 12 .08
5 Sister Thea Bowman Senior
Housing 1 .03
6 South Berkeley Senior Cente r 5 .03
7 150/Office 24 13
8 Bancroft Senior Homes 3 .03
9 Alameda Care Alliance 2 .03
SUSTAINABLE OPPORTUNITIES
Economic: Fixed income senior volunteers receive non-taxable stipends. SCP clients receive no-cost assistance associated with aging, isolation, and limited supports that will help to prevent the high cost of institutionalization. In alignment with Oakland Promise, the Program improves socialization and reading skills among participating at-risk youth/children, and supports school attendance, which has an economic impact.
Environmental: This report has no environmental opportunities or impact.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: SCP/FGP Renewal Grant Applications FY 25-26
Date: September 29, 2025
Life Enrichment Committee
October 28, 2025
Race & Equity: Older adults in Oakland including those facing disparities due to race, age, language, disability, gender, and other inequities feel safe, healthy, included, and connected in the community by having access to the resources and supports they need to age well and live full lives.
ACTION REQUESTED OF THE CITY COUNCIL
Staff Recommends That The City Adopt A Resolution:
1. Accepting, Appropriating, And Authorizing Agreements For Receipt Of Grant Funds From The Corporation For National And Community Services (CNCS-AmeriCorps Seniors) For Fiscal Year (FY) 2025-26 In Amounts Not To Exceed $340,537 For The Senior Companion Program (SCP) And $38,823 For The Foster Grandparent Program (FGP); And
2. Authorizing Contributions From The General-Purpose Fund In The Estimated Amount Of $37,110 For SCP And $24,973 For FGP For Central Services Overhead Charges And In The Estimated Amount Of $62,083 (Added Grantee Share From SCP And FGP) To Meet The Required Minimum Of 10% Local Match Funds For FY 2025-26; And
3. Authorizing The City Administrator To Accept And Appropriate Additional Grant Funds From CNCS-AmeriCorps Seniors That Become Available For The Same Purposes Within FY 2025-26.
For questions regarding this report, please contact Ana Bagtas, Aging and Adult Senior Services Manager, at (510) 238-6794.
Respectfully submitted,
Sofia Navarro
Interim Human Services Dept. Director
Reviewed by: Ana Bagtas
Aging and Adult Services Manager,
Human Services Department
Prepared by:
Hakeim McGee, Senior Services Supervisor
Aging & Adult Services Division
Attachment(s) (2):
A Senior Companion Notice of Grant Award FY 25-26
B Foster Grandparent Notice of Grant Award FY 25-26