News
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Updates
LiveOn NY and Leading Elected Leaders on Aging in NY Raise Alarm on Takedown of US Administration for Community Living
In a stunning and deeply alarming move, the federal administration has dissolved the U.S. Administration for Community Living (ACL)—the only federal agency solely dedicated to supporting older adults and people with disabilities. The ACL oversees critical programs like Meals on Wheels, caregiver support, senior centers, elder abuse prevention, and other lifelines that millions rely on every day.
Move by Federal Administration effectively eliminates the only federal agency solely dedicated to supporting older adults and people with disabilities.
In a stunning and deeply alarming move, the federal administration has dissolved the U.S. Administration for Community Living (ACL)—the only federal agency solely dedicated to supporting older adults and people with disabilities. The ACL oversees critical programs like Meals on Wheels, caregiver support, senior centers, elder abuse prevention, and other lifelines that millions rely on every day.
Now, the Department of Health and Human Services is carving up these programs behind closed doors, offering little transparency and even fewer answers. This is not just bureaucratic reshuffling—it’s a direct attack on the safety and dignity of Americans as we age.
These moves are part of a continued assault on the 4.8 million older adults and 4.1 family caregivers in New York State — new red tape strangling Social Security, threats to emergency food assistance, ongoing efforts to undermine Medicaid, and, now, the dismantling of our nation’s aging support infrastructure altogether.
This isn’t policy. It’s abandonment. And hardworking New Yorkers and Americans who have paid into these systems for decades deserve far better than this.
“Eliminating the Administration for Community Living is not just reckless—it’s un-American. Gutting programs like Meals on Wheels and caregiver support abandons the very people who built this country and paid into these systems their entire lives. This isn’t just a policy shift; it’s a moral failure and blatantly un-American.”— Allison Nickerson, Executive Director, LiveOn NY
"Seniors are the fastest growing population in New York and in many parts of our country. The federal government should be doing one thing only—modernizing and expanding funding and programs under the Older Americans Act and the Administration for Community Living. A DOGE-style approach to our older Americans is not only unwise, irrational, and impractical, but an absolute insult to those who have long paid their dues to this nation. I suggest this plan be recalled like the 5.1 million Teslas recalled in 2024," said State Senator Cordell Cleare, Chair of the Aging Committee
State Assembly Member Rebecca A. Seawright, Chair of the Aging Committee said, “Older adults already face housing, food and healthcare insecurity. It is unconscionable that the Trump administration would move to dissolve the US Administration for Community Living (ACL). This is a desertion of 4.6 million New Yorkers and their access to vital services that keep them safe and aging with dignity. I will continue to marshal every resource to protect aging New Yorkers and the quality of life that they have earned.”
“Our nation’s older adult population is growing rapidly, but government at all levels has failed to plan for an aging population,” said New York City Council Member Crystal Hudson, Chair of the Aging Committee. “According to ACL, the number of older Americans has jumped 34 percent over the past decade compared to a 2 percent jump for those under 65. Despite this, the Trump administration is eliminating the only agency focused on supporting our nation’s nearly 58 million older adults. It’s clear this administration is focused on eliminating programs that support marginalized communities, and taking away benefits from those who have contributed so much to our country over their entire life. I will continue to stand with my colleagues in Albany and our nonprofit partners to fight any attempt to erode older adult services and collaborate to ensure every single older adult can age in place with dignity.”
One-House Budget Proposals
The Senate and Assembly have released their one-house budget proposals, outlining their priorities as they enter negotiations with the Governor. While we are pleased to see several important investments, there are still areas where we need to push for stronger commitments in the final budget.
Dear LiveOn NY members, advocates & partners:
Thank you for your incredible advocacy during our pilot year for the Age Strong NY campaign! We held and participated in several events in Albany and the city, we had over 100 meetings with state legislators in Albany to advance our agenda, and countless informal interactions to ensure our priorities couldn’t be ignored. All of this would not be possible without your efforts and support.
The Senate and Assembly have released their one-house budget proposals, outlining their priorities as they enter negotiations with the Governor. While we are pleased to see several important investments, there are still areas where we need to push for stronger commitments in the final budget. It's the final week to push! Calls to action are in italic below.
Key Investments in the One-House Budgets:
$10 million increase for Unmet Need Services (wait list), bringing the proposal from the governor’s proposed 53m to $63 million (Senate)
$8.8 million increase for the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program (LTCOP), bringing total funding to $15 million (Senate)
$5 million for legislative grants (Senate)
$5 million for Project Guardianship Hotline program, including a $1 million restoration (Senate)
We are glad for the $5 million but the real need- and ask- is for $15m. And there is nothing in the assembly budget. Please call your elected officials!
7.8% COLA increase for human service workers (in Senate and Assembly, Assembly detail below)
$2 million increase for NORCs, for a total of $10.1 million (Senate)
Historically COLAs have not included N/NORCs and other programs. This year with the 7.8% COLA increase, the Senate addressed this, but the Assembly did not. Call your assemblymember and ask them to ensure all state-contracted human service workers are included!
$1 million for MCCAP, helping more individuals enroll in Medicare (Senate)
$6.4 million to restore various legislative adds (Assembly)
Housing Investments in the Senate Proposal
As part of the Senate’s “City of Yes” framework, which supports increasing affordable housing, they have proposed:
$30 million for a new Statewide Senior Housing Program to develop senior housing outside New York City
$2.6 million increase for the RESTORE program, which funds home repairs for a total of $4 million
$4 million for a new Safer Homes for Seniors Program, supporting household repairs for low- and moderate-income seniors
Next Steps & Ongoing Advocacy
These proposals are a strong foundation, but they are not final. The Governor, Senate, and Assembly will now negotiate the final budget, and we must continue to advocate for sustained and increased investment in critical aging services. While the Senate’s proposal includes some significant increases, we need to ensure the Assembly also prioritizes these issues and that the final budget reflects the needs of older adults across the state.
We’ll keep you updated on next steps and opportunities for action. Thank you for your continued advocacy on behalf of older New Yorkers.
With much appreciation,
Dora & the LiveOn team
LiveOn NY Response to New York State Budget
In response to the release of the New York State budget, which includes only $700K additional funds to address a $40M deficit facing waitlists for aging services, LiveOn NY issued the following statement.
Date: April 19, 2024
LIVEON NY, COALITION OF 100+ AGING SERVICES ORGANIZATIONS, CALLS NEW YORK STATE BUDGET “SHAMEFUL” IN STATEMENT
NEW YORK, NY — In response to the release of the New York State budget, which includes only $700K additional funds to address a $40M deficit facing waitlists for aging services, LiveOn NY issued the following statement:
“Despite the cries of older adults, aging services providers, and our allies in the State Legislature, Governor Hochul has neglected older New Yorkers in the latest budget.
“With over $230 billion to spend, the Governor found a mere $700K additional funds to address years-long waitlists that have kept older adults from receiving hot meals, transportation to doctors, and other essential services. In reality, we need an additional $40M to address these waitlists—this money barely scratches the surface of what needs to be done.
“This budget is shameful and disrespectful to the over 4 million older adults who call New York home. Not to mention, a budget like this is going to seriously jeopardize the future of this state. By underinvesting in our older adult population, we’re preventing people from aging in place.
Governor Hochul has effectively decided that as we age, we don’t actually deserve to remain in New York or to access the services the state has promised. This budget is a step backward for our communities and we will do everything in our power to push back.”
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LiveOn NY is a coalition of 120 community-based nonprofits that provide core services such as older adult centers, home-delivered meals, affordable senior housing, elder abuse prevention, etc.
Politico NY Covers Sign-On Letter Decrying Gov. Hochul's Budget "Ageist"
Politico NY Covers Sign-On Letter Decrying Gov. Hochul's Budget "Ageist"
AN ‘AGEIST’ BUDGET: Over 140 advocacy organizations around the state are putting pressure on Hochul to allocate more money toward aging New Yorkers, calling her budget “an ageist document.”
The organizations, which include the Hospice and Palliative Care Association of New York State and Catholic Charities, sent a letter to Hochul this afternoon alleging her budget shows “a clear lack of consideration for the millions of older adults in New York.”
“The current budget allocation for the New York State Office for the Aging is less than 0.8 percent of the total budget, significantly below what is required to meet the growing needs in our communities,” says the letter, which was exclusively shared with Playbook.
Hochul’s team did not respond to Playbook’s requests for comment.
In her budget briefing book, the words “children,” “child care” and “child” are mentioned more than 90 times collectively, but the word “senior,” in reference to older adults, is mentioned just once, Allison Nickerson, executive director of LiveOn NY, told Playbook.
“Older adults” and “adult caregivers” also barely received a mention, Nickerson said.
The groups say Hochul’s proposed budget would cut $9.3 million from homecare services and $2.5 million from the office for the aging’s Long Term Care Ombudsman Program.
The cuts come at an especially fraught time for aging New Yorkers. During the Covid pandemic, many low-income elderly New Yorkers saw various support systems — like routine meals from family members or programming at community centers — completely disappear. But the gap was filled with federal pandemic aid.
Now those federal dollars have dried up, and the groups say Hochul’s budget would cut services at a time when more investment is needed.
Currently, at least 18,000 aging New Yorkers are waiting to receive crucial services like Meals on Wheels, transportation or case management services, and an immediate investment of $51 million is needed to make those support services accessible, the organizations wrote.
In New York, about 1 in 5 residents are above the age of 65. That population is expected to grow significantly over the next decade.
“The state really cannot move forward unless it is addressing the issues of older adults,” Nickerson said. — Jason Beeferman
LiveOn NY's End of Year Recap
As 2022 comes to a close, we reflect on all that we have accomplished to support older adults and professionals in New York. Nonetheless, we know this work wouldn’t be possible without our LiveOn NY network—our member organizations, government partners, stakeholders, advocates and older adults — that have shown up everyday to provide critical services and support to older New Yorkers. We thank each and everyone of you that showed up to ensure all older adults regardless of their background can age in community.
LiveOn NY's End of Year Recap
As 2022 comes to a close, we reflect on all that we have accomplished to support older adults and professionals in New York. Nonetheless, we know this work wouldn’t be possible without our LiveOn NY network—our member organizations, government partners, stakeholders, advocates and older adults — that have shown up everyday to provide critical services and support to older New Yorkers. We thank each and everyone of you that showed up to ensure all older adults regardless of their background can age in community. Most notably, we:
Built political will to reframe aging
Hosted two Reframing Aging virtual trainings with over 200 participants
Launched an Online Reframing Aging Resource Center
Completed over 230 engagements including public speaking presentations, testifying at hearings, community events, op-eds, and more
Hosted a virtual Aging Services Briefing for staff of Council Members' offices to provide insight into the challenges faced by older adults, direct service providers, and organizations, particularly during the pandemic, and how we hope to build a better future for all New Yorkers.
Hosted our 27th Annual Advocacy Day in-person with roughly 200 older adults and aging service professionals joined LiveOn NY on the steps of City Hall to demand #EquityforAging and #JustPay in the budget. During this we were proud to have remarks given by 8 New York City Council Members including Aging Chair, Council Member Crystal Hudson, 3 professionals from our member organizations, and 1 older adult participant.
LiveOn NY was a proud supporter of the Just Pay campaign, led by the Human Services Council, which resulted in a $60 million human services workforce investment.
LiveOn NY was proud to support the Fair Pay for Home Care campaign, led by the Caring Majority, which resulted in a $3 hourly raise for home care workers over the next two years.
Supported the nonprofit workforce and aging service infrastructure
Hosted our 32nd Annual Conference on Aging and Sponsor Expo, which we held virtually for the second time, thereby providing critical information, education and professional networking opportunities to 567 attendees—a record.
Launched a new Emotional Wellness Training Series in partnership with experts in the field such as SPOP, Compassion It, and the NY Peace Institute to support our members through some of the most challenging issues including burnout and mental health issues.
Held our in-person Membership meeting sharing updates for the coming year as well as heard updates on the human services sector from Michelle Jackson, Executive Director at the Human Services Council. In addition, we received remarks from Aging Chair, New York State Senator Rachel May, Chair of the Committee on Aging and Aging Chair, Assembly Member Ron Kim and Council Member Crystal Hudson. We were also joined by guest speaker Dr. Wenimo Okoya, Founder & Executive Director of The Healing Schools Project, who taught us about creating restorative spaces.
Participated in the first-ever citywide participatory budgeting process, in partnership with the Civic Engagement Commission, to hear from the older adults on issues impacting their community and collect ideas on how New York City should spend $5 million in public funding.
Facilitated and managed continuous committees, taskforces and gatherings for over 150 nonprofit organizations throughout the State of New York to disseminate critical information and coordinate response efforts, as well as provided self care and mental health-related support to nonprofit professionals responding to the COVID emergency.
Provided one-on-one assistance to older New Yorkers to help them make ends meet
LiveOn NY's Benefits Outreach Program provided benefits screening and assistance to nearly 2,600 older adults in the last 12 months.
