One-House Budget Proposals

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

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 Statement on the 2023 State of the State Address

LiveOn NY Applauds Governor Hochul Commitment to Older New Yorkers in Her State of the State Address

January 13, 2023 (New York, NY) – This Tuesday, Governor Hochul held her State of the State address, articulating policy and budgetary priorities for the coming session including aging related commitments to support all New Yorkers as we age. LiveOn NY applauds Governor Hochul commitments outlined in the agenda, which serve as significant markers of what's likely to come on the state level this year. 

"LiveOn NY thanks Governor Hochul for her commitment to support all older New Yorkers as well as direct providers, organizations and agencies who provide critical services that allow older adults to age in community," stated Allison Nickerson, Executive Director of LiveOn NY. "We look forward to working with the Governor and her counterparts in the Legislature to enact these key pieces of her agenda and to continue to push forward in making New York a better place to age."

Most notable aging related commitments include: 

• Ensure Access to Aging Services and High-Quality Long-Term Care: To ensure access to aging services, high-quality long-term care, and the ability for senior New Yorkers and their caregivers to make informed choices on where to seek care, Governor Hochul aim to: 

• Invest in care teams to provide care for low income adults in their home, helping to ensure New Yorkers can age in place. 

• Provide respite care for high-need family caregivers, granting relief for those who oversee care of their loved ones. 

• Establish quality reporting and accreditation for assisted living residences and implement quality improvement initiatives in nursing homes to promote transparency and make it easier for New Yorkers to make informed choices

• Create Housing for Older LGBTQ+ New Yorkers: Older LGBTQ+ New Yorkers face distinct challenges in accessing affordable and affirming housing. Smaller family support networks make LGBTQ+ seniors more reliant on community service providers. Many older LGBTQ+ residents put off important housing decisions out of fear of being mistreated by housing providers and neighbors alike. Governor Hochul will direct HCR to provide funding specifically for affordable housing projects that are LGBTQ+-affirming for older New Yorkers.

• Authorize the City of New York to Legalize Basement Apartments, that would “propose providing the City of New York with the local authority to provide amnesty by local law for existing basement units that meet health and safety standards to be determined by the City.”

• Increase the housing stock in the state by 800,000 over 10 years to address the state's lack of housing development that has led to a shortage of affordable housing and aim to reduce housing costs and allow people to afford to stay in their communities as they age.

Read the 2023 State of the State for additional information. 

Press Contact: 

Kevin Kiprovski, Director of Public Policy, kkiprovski@liveon-ny.org

Brianna Paden-Williams, Communications and Policy Associate, bpaden-williams@liveon-ny.org

About LiveOn NY:

LiveOn NY’s members provide the core, community-based services that allow older adults to thrive in their communities. With a base of more than 100 community-based organizations serving at least 300,000 older New Yorkers annually. Our members provide services ranging from senior centers, congregate and home-delivered meals, affordable senior housing with services, elder abuse prevention services, caregiver supports, case management, transportation, and NORCs. LiveOn NY advocates for increased funding for these vital services to improve both the solvency of the system and the overall capacity of community-based service providers.

LiveOn NY also administers a citywide outreach program and staffs a hotline that educates, screens and helps with benefit enrollment including SNAP, SCRIE and others, and also administers the Rights and Information for Senior Empowerment (RISE) program to bring critical information directly to seniors on important topics to help them age well in their communities.

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LiveOn NY Applauds Governor Hochul Commitment to Older New Yorkers in Her First State of the State Address

January 7, 2022 (New York, NY) – This Wednesday, Governor Hochul held her first State of the State address, articulating policy and budgetary priorities for the coming session including aging related commitments to support all New Yorkers as we age. LiveOn NY applauds Governor Hochul commitments outlined in the agenda, which serve as significant markers of what's likely to come on the state level this year. 

"LiveOn NY thanks Governor Hochul for her commitment to support all older New Yorkers as well as direct providers, organizations and agencies who provide critical services that allow older adults to age in community," stated Allison Nickerson, Executive Director of LiveOn NY. "We look forward to working with the Governor and her counterparts in the Legislature to enact these key pieces of her agenda and to continue to push forward in making New York a better place to age."

Most notable aging related commitments include:

• Establish a State Master Plan for Aging, "creating a blueprint of strategies to ensure that older New Yorkers can live fulfilling lives, in good health, with the freedom and independence to age in place for as long as possible."

• A $10 Billion Investment in Healthcare and Support Wages for Workers, this multi-year investment includes a $500 million investment in Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLAs) to help raise wages for human services workers and $2.2 billion on initiatives to strengthen our home healthcare workforce.

• A $25 billion, five-year Housing Plan to create and preserve 100,000 affordable homes in both urban and rural communities, including 10,000 supportive housing units. Notably, this also includes a $300 million investment in the construction and preservation of affordable senior housing, a pathway to legalize Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) and create the Eviction Prevention Legal Assistance Program.

• Advance health equity by supporting nursing home conversions to the Green House model, studying the impacts of COVID on the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, and expanding the current programming of the State Office for the Aging to more New Yorkers.

Read the 2022 State of the State for additional information.

Press Contact: 

Katelyn Andrews, Director of Public Policy, kandrews@liveon-ny.org

Brianna Paden-Williams, Communications and Policy Associate, bpaden-williams@liveon-ny.org

About LiveOn NY

LiveOn NY’s members provide the core, community-based services that allow older adults to thrive in their communities. With a base of more than 100 community-based organizations serving at least 300,000 older New Yorkers annually. Our members provide services ranging from senior centers, congregate and home-delivered meals, affordable senior housing with services, elder abuse prevention services, caregiver supports, case management, transportation, and NORCs. LiveOn NY advocates for increased funding for these vital services to improve both the solvency of the system and the overall capacity of community-based service providers.

LiveOn NY also administers a citywide outreach program and staffs a hotline that educates, screens and helps with benefit enrollment including SNAP, SCRIE and others, and also administers the Rights and Information for Senior Empowerment (RISE) program to bring critical information directly to seniors on important topics to help them age well in their communities.

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