Anchorage Assembly set to vote on $360K for senior and disability services

Anchorage residents who rely on the city's Aging and Disability Resource Center for long-term care navigation, Medicare and Medicaid counseling, and independent living support could see continued service under nearly $360,000 in state and housing authority grants the Anchorage Assembly is scheduled to vote on Tuesday.

The Alaska Commission on Aging has said an additional $9.5 million in state match is needed statewide to support all Older Americans Act qualifying services. Assembly members have noted in prior meetings that state base grant funding for the ADRC has declined over the past three years. The Assembly earlier this year adopted a separate $390,000 state grant for ADRC services, making Tuesday's vote part of an ongoing effort to sustain the program rather than a one-off request.

The larger measure would appropriate a prepaid grant of $213,681 from the Alaska Department of Health to the ADRC, with $181,451 going to straight-time labor and a required in-kind match of $21,368 from Anchorage Health Department staff salaries. The second would appropriate a reimbursable grant of $146,192 from the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation to fund an ADRC Resource Specialist providing service coordination at Chugach View and Chugach Manor, two AHFC-owned public housing complexes serving seniors and people with disabilities. Personnel costs account for $123,839 of that total. Both grants run from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027.

The Alaska Commission on Aging has described the broader program's value in direct terms: "These grants help seniors age in place with the least cost to the State and keep people out of more expensive care facilities."

Mayor Suzanne LaFrance submitted both resolutions, which were prepared by the Anchorage Health Department and approved by Health Department Director Kimberly Rash. The Assembly is also scheduled to consider a separate $100,000 state Department of Health grant for teen and unintended pregnancy prevention at the same meeting.