Inaugural Aging Initiative Summit Gets Down to Business

The first statewide Aging Initiative Summit featured keynote addresses by The SCAN Foundation President and CEO Bruce Chernof (pictured, immediate right) and USC Edward R. Roybal Institute on Aging Executive Director William Vega (far right) and attracted more than 100 attendees when it convened September 19 in Sacramento.

Addressing the summit goals in the plenary session, Dr. Chernof spoke on Brave New World: The Future of Care Coordination and the Role of Social Work and Provost Professor William Vega spoke on Successful Aging in Place: How Do We Attain It?

A panel presentation on Social Work and Care Coordination featured three models where social workers are key to successful client outcomes. Gretchen Alkema, Vice President of Policy and Communications for The SCAN Foundation, moderated the panel consisting of:

  • Martha Haas, LCSW, Adult Protective Services Planner, Sacramento County Health and Human Services
  • Jean Friedman, LCSW, Manager of Medical Social Work Services, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Roseville
  • Jackie Wong, LCSW, Director of Social Services, On Lok Lifeways
  • W. June Simmons, MSW, CEO and President, Partners In Care Foundation

Ideas for Future Action Developed

During the summit, the attendees participated in structured conversations to create ideas for action. They included representatives from:

  • 25 county adult services agencies,
  • 14 university schools of social work,
  • 4 mental health representatives,
  • 2 healthcare representatives,
  • 6 community-based providers,
  • 4 policy leaders, and
  • 2 state legislators.

The participants took part in four cross-disciplinary groups and were led through a three-step process, in which they:

  1. Identified best practices that are already being implemented,
  2. Developed ideas and vision for the future, then
  3. Identified recommended actions for the future.

The recommendations from these break-out groups are available in section Call to Action on page 4 in the Summit Report.

During the latter part of the summit:

  • UCLA Center for Policy Research on Aging Director Fernando Torres-Gil, Professor of Social Welfare and Public Policy, delivered the closing keynote on A New Framework and Paradigm Shift in Social Work for Aging Populations.
     
  • CSU, Fullerton School of Social Work Director David Cherin, President of the California Association of Deans and Directors, noted that the Office of Statewide Planning and Development (OSHPD) has identified social work as one of the eight professions in the healthcare workforce development efforts, and he urged summit attendees to take action locally and as part of CalSWEC's Aging Initiative (AI).

As a result of the summit, the AI will begin work on implementing many of the ideas generated by the participants. The AI Team is composed of, from CalSWEC: Chris Mathias (lead), Title IV-E Stipend Program Director;  Sherrill Clark, Program Evaluation Specialist; Carolyn Shin, Curriculum Specialist; and Graduate Student ResearchersChris Lee and Vanessa Wells; and from the Child and Family Policy Institute of California (CFPIC): Stuart Oppenheim, Executive Director, and Danna Fabella, Aging Initiative Coordinator.