PAST FORUMS
From April 2024 – December 2025, the Bay Area Senior Health Policy Coalition actively engaged with two family caregivers to raise their voices to local legislators, develop policy recommendations, advocate for legislation and advise on legislative advocacy strategies – all with the goal of ensuring that our legislators understand the issues impacting family caregivers. This work builds upon previous convenings and discussions we have held that have focused on family caregivers. California’s Master Plan for Aging calls out caregiving as one of the five bold goals, reinforcing the importance of involving those with lived experience.
According to data from the 2020 Census, 15% of the Bay Area’s population is 65 or older, which is a 38% increase from the 2010 Census. The local health and long-term care system can vary greatly from county-to-county in the Bay Area, creating opportunities to learn from and partner with each other, but also barriers given the diversity and complexity of these systems. Some major challenges in the Bay Area presently include the high cost of living impacting low-income older adults, gaps in public transportation and the sustainability of programs given projected state and local budget cuts. In addition, maintaining a well-trained and culturally appropriate workforce to provide much-needed services to older adults presents an ongoing challenge.
Over the course of this work, we engaged with the following offices during 2024 and 2025 virtual advocacy days: Senator Aisha Wahab, Assemblymember Catherine Stefani, Assemblymember Matt Haney, Assemblymember Mia Bonta and Congressman John Garamendi. We appreciate the thoughtful conversations that we had with these offices. A heartfelt thank you goes out to the family caregivers who generously gave their time to educate us and our legislators.
Our coalition participated in virtual legislative visits, attended conferences and events, and developed a summary document that captures our key recommendations and policy priorities. You may learn more about this work by viewing the documents below.
Caregiver Advocacy Initiative Overview
CCLTSS 2025-26 Congressional Leave Behind
On April 28, 2023, the Bay Area Senior Health Policy Coalition hosted a virtual event titled “Caring for Caregivers Supporting the Master Plan for Aging.” This event drew 130 attendees from across the Bay Area and was planned in partnership with organizations from Marin, Napa, Solano, Sonoma, Alameda, and Contra Costa Counties. The event featured powerful testimonials from four caregivers in the community, CA Dept of Aging Director Susan DeMarois provided keynote remarks, and we had a candid panel discussion with six County Supervisors and Leadership from the above counties who shared their commitment to supporting paid and unpaid caregivers in the community, as well as their personal stories of caregiving. Attendees participated in four small group discussions, and we ended the event with an advocacy training led by the California Work & Family Coalition. Below you will find links to the session recordings, speaker presentations and additional event materials.
Presentation Slides
Susan DeMarois Keynote – MPA Event 04.28.23.pdf
Call to Action – Achieving Effective Advocacy_MPA Event 04.28.23.pdf
Main Session Slides_MPA Event_04.28.23.pdf
Session Recordings
All of the session recordings can be found on YouTube.
On May 12, 2021, the Bay Area Senior Health Policy Coalition hosted a virtual event titled “Master Plan for Aging: Mobilizing Your County & Community.” Nearly 160 attendees participated in this event, which featured presentations from local leaders in Marin, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties about the Master Plan for Aging.
The event’s speakers focused on local initiatives linked to four of the Master Plan for Aging’s Bold Goals: housing, health, caregiving and affordable aging, and how to leverage this statewide initiative to achieve local change. Below you will find links to the session recordings, speaker presentations and additional event materials.
Main Session and Breakout Sessions
Presentation Slides
Key Elements of the Master Plan for Aging
Housing Breakout – Housing Elements 101
Housing Breakout – Hello Housing
Housing Breakout – Dementia-Capable Napa County
Health Reimagined Breakout – Slides
Caregiving That Works Breakout – Slides
Closed Captioning Transcripts
Housing for All Ages & Stages – cc
Affordable Aging & Economic Security – cc
Additional Materials and Resources
Program Agenda and Speaker Bios
Master Plan for Aging North Bay Invitation
Master Plan for Aging
Master Plan for Aging Local Playbook