L.A. County Raises Concerns Over Proposed State Funding Formula Changes

California’s proposed update to its Intrastate Funding Formula (IFF), which helps determine how federal Older Americans Act (OAA) funding is distributed throughout the state, could reduce L.A. County’s share by more than 17 percent. According to the Aging & Disabilities Department’s estimates, the change would result in an annual reduction of approximately $5.9 million in funding for services that support older adults and caregivers.

The proposed reduction includes an estimated $4.1 million decrease in nutrition funding alone, placing nearly 400,000 meals for older adults at risk every year.

The proposal does not adequately reflect where California’s older adult population growth is occurring. The Los Angeles region added more than 92,000 older adults in a single year, with Planning and Service Area (PSA) 19, which represents Los Angeles County excluding the City of Los Angeles, accounting for more than 59,000 of that increase. The City of Los Angeles is represented separately as PSA 25. The Aging & Disabilities Department leadership notes that this growth exceeds the total population increase of multiple smaller regions combined.

There are also concerns that the formula relies heavily on percentage-based growth, which can disproportionately benefit smaller populations. Officials argue that a 5 percent increase in a county of 7,000 residents is not equivalent to a 4 percent increase in a region serving more than one million older adults, even if the percentage appears larger.

With approximately one-quarter of California’s older adult population residing in Los Angeles County, local leaders express concern that the proposed formula could disproportionately impact low-income older adults, people with disabilities, caregivers, and culturally diverse communities that rely on these programs and services.

In response to the State’s proposed changes, the Board of Supervisors is considering a motion on May 5, 2026, calling on the State to pause implementation of the proposed formula and conduct additional testing to ensure it more accurately reflects the needs of high-demand regions such as L.A. County.

Director Karaccusian discussed the proposed funding changes and their potential impact on aging services in a recent CBS News Los Angeles segment titled “LA County Representative Talks About Senior Services and Funding.”

For more information, visit the “Protect Aging Services in L.A. County” campaign page.