Quick Take
The Seniors Council of Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties is facing the potential elimination of two programs — the Foster Grandparent and Senior Companion programs — that aim to help older adults socialize and work in the community. Seniors Council leaders fear that losing the programs will harm both adults suffering from feelings of isolation and youth who benefit from their guidance.
Two programs that work to help older adults develop new friendships and allow them to mentor students are facing elimination under President Donald Trump’s proposed federal budget cuts.
The two programs — the Foster Grandparent and Senior Companion programs — are run by the Seniors Council of Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties and operate under AmeriCorps, a federal program that enrolls hundreds of thousands of adults in community service within various fields and causes. As the Trump administration works to dismantle AmeriCorps, the Seniors Council faces a harsh reality that both programs could be eliminated.
The Foster Grandparent Program connects older volunteers with students between preschool and third grade who are struggling academically or socially. The volunteers, all low-income individuals aged 55 or over, work in a classroom under a teacher’s guidance, where they connect with students and act as role models and mentors. Currently, the program has 150 volunteers who serve at 80 school sites across Santa Cruz, San Benito, Santa Clara and Monterey counties.
The Senior Companion Program builds friendships between older adults. Senior companions are also low-income people aged 55 or over who act as friendly, helpful visitors who provide friendship, emotional support and help with running errands.
Clay Kempf, executive director of the Seniors Council, said the programs get about $1 million from the federal government each year, and a few hundred thousand more from local sources, which currently comes from private foundations. He added that cuts to AmeriCorps budget puts the programs and all of the administrative staff for them in jeopardy. He said that he views the cuts as “another piece of the attack on social safety net programs.” The benefits from the Foster Grandparent Program in particular, he said, reach far beyond just the older community.
“It’s a classic intergenerational program where it benefits both kids and seniors,” he said. “In one case, it’s seniors helping seniors and in the other it’s seniors helping children.”
Kempf said the stipend that foster grandparent volunteers receive — about $4 per hour for 15 to 25 hours per week — helps them do everything from paying rent and buying food to paying for medications. However, that isn’t what the volunteers usually cite as their motivation.
“I’ll quote one of my favorite foster grandparents ever, who said, ‘I love the smiles on the little children when they see me come to work each morning,'” said Kempf. “It gives them personal value and something for them to do in their later years that makes them feel like they’re still productive members of society.”
One of the biggest ways that both programs help, said Kempf, is combatting loneliness among older adults.
“Maybe the best way to counter that, in fact, is to volunteer,” he said, adding that a 2023 report highlighting the effects of loneliness and isolation in the U.S. cited education and support programs, as well as volunteering and community service activities, as strong strategies to improve feelings of isolation.
Cristina Bañuelos, director of both the Foster Grandparent and Senior Companion programs, said the volunteers are extremely committed to their duties. Many, she said, continue to volunteer until they physically cannot anymore. She recalls one woman who began as a foster grandparent in 1988 and stayed with the program until 2015, when she was 93 years old. Bañuelos added that many of the long-term volunteers become acquainted with teachers, too, adding to their social circle in their later years.
“It benefits everybody. It benefits the teacher, the school, and the whole community,” she said. “Even the parents are grateful when the volunteer really makes a difference with the child. I love this program.”
Kempf said that teachers with foster grandparents in their classrooms give feedback surveys at the end of each semester, and they consistently report noticeable improvements in literacy, logic and math skills, and in social and emotional development. Bañuelos said the prospect of losing these resources is scary, sad and shortsighted.
“Whoever’s making these changes doesn’t realize what a big difference [the programs] make,” she said. “After this, who’s going to help these children who need someone to look after them and be there for them when nobody else is?”
Kempf said the Seniors Council is focusing on informing the public about how valuable the programs are, and urging legislators to vote against the approval of the federal budget. California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced in late April that the state will challenge the dismantling of AmeriCorps in court as well as speed up recruitment for the California Service Corps to attempt to fill the gap.
Kempf said his organization will also look for other resources and encourage local foundations to focus on funding existing programs like these rather than new projects. But still, relying on local dollars will likely not be enough.
“Then, of course, it’s a question of how do we shut the programs down?” he asked, adding that the programs have been a part of the organization for decades, which makes it hard to halt them immediately. “How do we pick among the volunteers, the schools, and the other seniors that are being served? It’s a tough one.”
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FOR THE RECORD: A photo caption on this story has been updated to correct Cristina Bañuelos’s title and add a missing word.
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