The program includes support groups that are facilitated by students and deal with issues of aging such as widowhood, loneliness, communication, friendship and coping skills. Small groups provide a place in which to share, learn, communicate and explore new ways of enriching members' lives. The older residents are taught skills in facilitating their own groups, in an attempt to foster independence and to expand the scope of the RAP program. The program also includes weekly in-home visits to residents who request this kind of relationship.
Topics are varied and the workshops and potlucks provide an environment for social interaction.
The curriculum is based upon the department's children, youth, and families concentration, and is offered through University College and Extension Services in the same way as the three-year and summer block programs are currently offered. Courses are presented using a combination of fiber optic cable transmission and local instruction. The consortium assists the DCFS in meeting its objective for the delivery of child welfare services and offers a broad range of university-developed training to promote increased departmental professionalism to ensure a higher standard of professional training for staff. The DCFS has undertaken new responsibilities including teacher training, parent training and dissemination of information on community resources, behavior management and child development issues to both teachers and parents. Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health Older Adults F.A.C.T.S. program was designed to provide a mobile treatment and case management service to older adults in need of mental health intervention who have typically been underserved by traditional mental health programs.