Montgomery County is underwriting nearly $5 million a year to keep its aging services running without a waiting list, but Commissioner Tom DiBello says state funding still isn't keeping pace with demand.

"As our population grows, we're going backwards with funding here in Montgomery County," DiBello said at a Tuesday, Aug. 11 roundtable in Norristown with Pennsylvania Aging Secretary Jason Kavulich.

The visit was part of Kavulich's statewide tour spotlighting a $1 million increase in the state's 2026-27 budget for aging services oversight. That money funds a new evaluation tool called CAPE, which replaces a pass/fail scoring system with team-based reviews of the state's 52 Area Agency on Aging networks.

But county officials made clear the new dollars don't close the gap. Patricia McKernan, director of the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, said the county is underwriting aging services at nearly $5 million annually, well above the $3.05 million allocated in the county's 2026 adopted budget. The department's 88 aging-services staffers served roughly 1,500 older adults in the past year and field about 400 calls a month.

The stakes are local. Census data show 21 percent of Lower Merion's 64,691 residents are 65 or older, roughly 13,585 people who could be eligible for county elder-care programs. The township operates PALM, the Center for Positive Aging in Lower Merion at 117 Ardmore Ave. in Ardmore, but the county handles protective services, financial exploitation investigations and crisis response.

Financial exploitation is the top reason for intervention in Montgomery County, according to Protective Services Supervisor Meg Dixon, who spoke at the Aug. 11 event. Between 2022 and 2025, the department initiated 14,402 reports of need and conducted 10,185 investigations. Dixon also raised concerns about delays in obtaining medical and bank records, with some cases staying open more than 20 days.

Since 2022, the county has seen a 49.6 percent increase in service to older adults and a 52.7 percent increase in spending on in-home meals, according to county data presented at the event and first reported by Main Line Media News.

Susan Tachau, chairwoman of the county's Office of Aging Services Advisory Council, warned that the county currently has no waiting list for its OPTIONS program, which helps seniors remain in their homes, but that could change without more state money. Kavulich acknowledged the challenge but praised Montgomery County's investment as "unprecedented."

Kavulich also discussed AI pilot programs being tested elsewhere in the state, noting that in Allegheny County, caseworkers saw a 17 percent increase in reports after AI tools were introduced. He said the technology should assist workers, not replace them.

Tachau put the stakes bluntly at the Aug. 11 panel: the county cannot sustain its current level of service without a state budget increase, and she does not want Montgomery County seniors placed on a waiting list.