Take Action Now to Protect Funding for Senior Centers and Aging Services

Printable Verison for this Alert note: acrobat format

English, Chinese, Spanish and Instructions note: acrobat format

State Budget Priorities note: acrobat format

City Budget Agenda note: acrobat format

What is Happening and
Why it is Important

State Budget

• LiveOn NY's Jan. 20 state budget alert reported that the 2017-18 state budget proposal has over $13 million in cuts and cost shifts that would affect aging services in New York.  Click here to view that alert.
• Take part in our letter writing campaign. The Budget would require a set amount of federal Title XX funds to be used to support Child Care subsidy costs, instead of leaving the discretion to the counties on how to use the funding. Federal Title XX funds have been used to support senior centers in NYC for decades. NYC will lose $17 million in Title XX funds, forcing 65 senior centers to close in virtually every Assembly and Senate district.  This represents almost 30% of our Neighborhood Senior Centers.  6,000 seniors per day would lose their local senior center and lose access to vital nutrition, socialization and health promotion activities.  1.5 million meals per year will be lost.  There will be 24,000 of lost hours of case work assistance for benefits, housing and other needs.
• We need thousands of seniors to send letters to the Governor to tell him to allow Title XX funds to be used for senior centers so they don't close.  Letters should be put in the mail in bulk by Friday February 10.  Click here for instructions and the model letter which is in English, Chinese and Spanish.
• The budget is typically completed by the end of March.
• Click here to view the Governor's Executive Budget Proposal.
• Click here to view LiveOn NY's State Budget Priorities.

City Budget

• Mayor de Blasio's FY17 Preliminary Budget was released January 24, 2017. 
• Click here to view LiveOn NY's City Budget Agenda.
• The budget included $4.3 million for home care. This funding is not baselined which means that that it is only good for one year.  It is the same amount as last year, so there is no new money for home care, despite the fact that there are wailists citywide of 560 older adults, which is growing each month.
• There is no new money for Case Management Services despite over 1,800 seniors on waitlists - a 30% increase from a year ago.
• Budget negotiations between the Administration and City Council are now underway.
• Click here to view the full budget details from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
• The budget is typically completed in mid-June, with a deadline of June 30.

What You Can Do

State

• Ask seniors to take part in our letter writing campaign to urge the Governor allow Title XX funds to be used for senior centers so they don't close.  Letters should be put in the mail in bulk by Friday February 10.  Click here for instructions and the model letter in English, Chinese and Spanish - seniors can fill out the section in their language.
• Set up meetings in February with your state legislators in the district offices to discuss your aging programs.  We are counting on your help. Click here for the full state budget priorities agenda. Talking points will be posted soon. 
• Please email Andrea at acianfrani@liveon-ny.org if you are holding meetings or events.
• Call your legislators’ offices and tell them to support aging services and to prevent the cuts, and send them the link to the budget ask.
• Invite legislators to your program in February so they can see your important work and the need for funding and why the cuts would be so devastating.
• Let LiveOn NY know of the events you are holding, meetings you have and key relationships you have developed with legislators or who are supportive of aging programs so we can continue to build a supportive network.  email Andrea at acianfrani@liveon-ny.org if you are holding meetings or events.

City

• Click here to learn more about LiveOn NY's City Budget Priorities. 
• Set up meetings in February with your City Council members to discuss your programs that serve older adults. Share LiveOn NY's budget priorities.
• Invite your City Council Member to visit your center or program to speak to seniors so they can see the value of the programs that service older adults in your district.
• Save the Date for our 22nd Annual Senior Advocacy Day -- Wednesday May 3, 2017.  More to follow!

How to Find your Legislators

State

• Click here to find your New York State Assemblymember
• Click here to find your New York State Senator

City

• Click here to find your City Council Member.

For more information contact Bobbie Sackman, Associate Executive Director of Public Policy at 212-398-6565x226 or bsackman@liveon-ny.org or Andrea Cianfrani, Deputy Director of Public Policy at 212-398-6565x233 or acianfrani@liveon-ny.org

Title XX Letter Writing Campaign – Save Senior Centers

Instructions on How to Get Involved

1. Senior Centers/Programs and the general public should print out the appropriate 1-page letter that appears below. The letter appears in English, Chinese, and Spanish.
2. Make copies of the letter and distribute to the seniors at your center/program.
3. Ask them to personalize the letter by filling in the blanks.

4. Send the letters to:

   The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo
   Governor of New York State
   NYS State Capitol Building
   Albany, NY, 12224 Re: Do Not Close Senior Centers!

5. For senior centers, tear off the bottom portion and send it back to LiveOn NY so we can track the numbers of letters sent. Centers and the general public can also send this tracking information in an email to Stefanie Jackowitz at sjackowitz@liveon-ny.org .

6. Questions? Call Stefanie at 212-398-6565 x 237

Model Letter and Instructions

English, Chinese, Spanish and Instructions

Press Release: Mayor de Blasio budget shortchanges seniors on waiting lists

AARP, LiveOn NY: Status Quo Homecare Funding in Mayor’s Budget Not Enough

Increase Needed to Keep Pace with Aging Population, Help New Yorkers Age Safely at Home

NEW YORK, N.Y. – AARP New York and LiveOn NY today called on the city to go beyond Mayor Bill de Blasio’s preliminary budget by increasing funding for homecare services to allow growing numbers of older middle class New Yorkers to age in their own homes with dignity, rather than in institutional care settings that cost taxpayers even more.
 
The groups thanked the mayor for recognizing the importance of homecare by maintaining last year’s $4.3 million in the preliminary budget he released today to ensure existing recipients continue to receive their care.
 
But status quo funding does not meet the growing needs of an aging population.
 
For years these services have been underfunded, leading to waitlists that prevent some of the most vulnerable New Yorkers from receiving the care they need. Two months after the passage of last year’s final city budget the homecare waitlist increased by 15%.
 
“Homecare services are a win-win for all; they help New Yorkers age with dignity in their own homes - where most want to stay - while helping avoid even more expensive, taxpayer-funded institutional care settings,” said Beth Finkel, State Director of AARP NY. “AARP urges the city to increase overall homecare funding for seniors in the final budget.”

“We acknowledge that Mayor de Blasio allocated funding for City-funded home care. Yet with hours frozen and a waiting list of nearly 600 people, the amount will neither address those languishing on lists or increase hours for those in need. Further, there are over 1,800 older people waiting for case management services. With research continuing to show that isolation is a bigger determinant of morbidity than obesity – we urge the City and Mayor de Blasio to act immediately to increase funding for these life-sustaining services,” said Allison Nickerson, Executive Director LiveOn NY.
 
The $4.3 million the mayor is proposing should be baselined, but the program needs a more realistic investment to avoid perpetual waitlists that harm New Yorkers.
 
This need is only growing as New York’s population ages - the city’s 65 and over population is projected to increase 40% between 2010 and 2040. The city has a responsibility to do more to support seniors with comprehensive services.

As the budget process continues, AARP NY and Live On NY will continue working with the city’s policymakers to ensure that these essential services provided by the Department for the Aging are adequately funded and baselined to support aging in NYC.

Follow us on Twitter:  @AARPNY and Facebook: AARP New York

TESTIMONY: Joint Aging/General Welfare Committee hearing titled Oversight – Reducing Food Insecurity in New York City

Testimony: Joint Aging/General Welfare Committee hearing titled Oversight – Reducing Food Insecurity in New York City note: acrobat format

New York City Council
Committee on Aging, Council Member Margaret Chin, Chair Committee on General Welfare,
Council Member Stephen Levin, Chair
January 24, 2017

Testimony by LiveOn NY
Oversight – Reducing Food Insecurity in New York City

LiveOn NY is dedicated to making New York a better place to age. At the core of LiveOn NY’s mission is the desire to support our membership organizations, numbering over 100 organizations that provide 600 community based programs and services for older adults, ranging from individual community based centers to large multi-service organizations throughout all five boroughs. We are pleased to focus our efforts towards promoting better policy which will provide for better aging both today and for the years to come.

LiveOn NY’s Older Adult SNAP and SCRIE Initiatives
LiveOn NY also administers a citywide outreach program that targets older adults in the communities where benefits are most underutilized. This program places friendly and highly-trained retired professionals within low-income, high-needs communities to educate thousands of older adults, including those who are homebound, about food assistance options, and screen and enroll those who are eligible for SNAP, SCRIE and other benefits.

LiveOn NY also staffs a call hotline, (347) 815-5930, staffed by a professional client services team that assists older adults and caregivers with benefits screenings and applications, serving approximately 1,000 clients per quarter.

LiveOn NY respectfully offers this testimony outlining several case examples, challenges and recommendations and looks forward to working with you to address this important issue.

Case examples from LiveOn NY’s outreach team that demonstrate the multiple challenges older adults face with access to food

1. Case 1: Jane Doe is a 61 year old woman from Manhattan. She received Social Security Disability (SSD) and is suffering from memory loss. During screening, the client had extreme difficulty following and understanding the application process. Not only was Ms. Doe exhibiting confusion, but she was also very reluctant to disclose information. She had two social workers assisting her from her senior center but they still needed LiveOn NY's assistance in applying. Ms. Doe had a lot of difficulty with the documentation requirements for SNAP. She had trouble finding appropriate copies of documents and ones that were in good enough condition to use. LiveOn NY’s client service coordinator was able to bridge communication between Ms. Doe., her social worker, and our follow up team. Her documents had to be submitted at different points through the application process. She was eventually approved for $185 per month in SNAP benefits. It is not likely she would have gotten the benefits without assistance.
2. Case 2: Ms. Smith is 75 years old. She lives in NYCHA housing in Queens. She uses a motorized scooter to get around and has some health issues. She has had her fair share of complications with her SNAP case dating back to the first time LiveOn NY assisted her in July 2015. First, her benefits got cut off because HRA had never received an interim report that she says she submitted. We were able to intervene and save her case. She came back to us this Fall to recertify her SNAP. After submitting her recertification as usual, we learned that she was in fact invited to recertify through the IVRS system which is a computerized phone system that allows certain clients to recertify without submitting any paperwork. Because her recertification was submitted already, she could not take advantage of the IVRS option. Shortly thereafter she was denied. HRA said they never received her recertification package. Through mediation with HRA, our client service coordinator was able to have the case reopened after proving that the client was in compliance. She receives $148 monthly in SNAP benefits and did not experience and interruption in benefits. These case complexities are so nuanced: it would be difficult for most to navigate this system without knowledge of the HRA's back-end processes.
3. Case 3: Mr. Jones is 81 years old, living in the Bronx. LiveOn NY has assisted this client for 2 years. He came to us for help recertifying SNAP. He is one of the many SNAP recipients that is experiencing the SNAP NOW recertification telephone interview process, where clients initiate their phone interviews with HRA instead of HRA calling them. The system has been known to keep clients on hold for very long periods. Mr. Jones informed us that he was on hold from 9:30am-2:30pm waiting on the line for the representative. Most clients are unable to wait this long for the rep for a myriad of reasons.

Additional Challenges

1. Many older New Yorkers are poor and food-insecure
   While the United States has experienced a decline in the national poverty rate for older people, New York’s older adults have experienced an increase in poverty with data showing that one in three are currently poor. Further, the average annual income for older New Yorkers is often inadequate to cover the high cost of living in New York but does not allow many to qualify for public assistance benefits.

   Given that research continues to show that most people desire to age in place as they grow into their later years, community based supports are needed now and into the future to ensure that older New Yorkers can age the way that they have lived – like New Yorkers. Additionally, as the proportion of older adults continues to increase in each county, older adults must be a priority within policy, programming and services.

2. Older New Yorkers are consistently under-enrolled in public benefits due to barriers and difficulties with the application process
   Within New York, older adults and adults with disabilities are consistently “under-enrolled” in public assistance benefits. Among those living with hunger, the under-enrollment rate of SNAP benefits is around 40%. This underutilization is consistent among other benefits as well. Among the top barriers for benefit utilization particularly among older adults include stigma or misunderstanding, language barriers, apprehension about the process and government systems, and physical obstacles such as travel distance or unwelcoming environments.

   Because LiveOn NY works directly with older adults and their caregivers through our outreach, as well as the feedback we receive from our members who do benefits outreach, we see first-hand these issues that contribute to under-utilization.

   LiveOn NY commends HRA for their steps forward make the benefits screening process more efficient through SNAPNOW. However older adults still face some unique challenges with the process. First, as illustrated through Mr. Jones’s case above, many older adults have reported a very long wait time on hold when using the SNAPNOW phone system. Older adults often use pre-paid phone plans and cards, so they do not have the ability to remain on hold for extended periods of time, let alone endure the inconvenience of sitting on hold for hours.

   Second, we applaud HRA’s recent upgrades to ACCESSNYC, as well as allowing the ability to upload documents through mobile devices. This has proven to be very efficient and useful for advocates, caregivers and client representatives. However, as processes advance with technology, HRA should be cognizant that older adults themselves may not be able to access these services.

LiveOn NY’s Recommendations

1. Support a shortened SNAP Application form for older adults
   As demonstrated by the above case examples, as well as the underutilization statistics, LiveOn NY recommends that HRA consider using a streamlined SNAP Application form for older adult applicants. Because older adults’ incomes generally remain stagnant, or even worse, decline over time, removing one of the initial barriers to application for benefits would help older adults, as well as reduce the immense amount of time that often multiple caseworkers need to spend per applicant.

   Several states have explored the usage of a shortened application form for older adults through pilot programs. LiveOn NY recommends that HRA explore this option, as well as related waiver options to streamline the process for older adults.

2. Introduce and adopt legislation to establish a per meal reimbursement for senior center congregate and home delivered meals based on the annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) for food costs in NYC
   Per meal reimbursement for congregate and home delivered meals does not reflect the increasing costs for food. Legislation that would establish an automatic reimbursement increase annually based on NYC’s annual CPI for food costs would not cause an undue burden on the budget, and would ensure that these major nutritional programs for older New Yorkers will be able to purchase nutritional food to serve a diverse population.

3. Form an HRA Senior Task Force to address the barriers to enrollment for older adults
   LiveOn NY applauds the New York City Department of Finance (DOF) for their foresight in establishing a SCRIE Task Force which includes stakeholders from the government as well as community based organizations. LiveOn NY has been active with this Task Force and it has been a valuable experience to discuss challenges and recommendations to strengthen the SCRIE program. LiveOn NY also participates on a SNAP Task Force with the Food Bank that has been very beneficial to generate ideas to help strengthen the SNAP program.

   LiveOn NY recommends that HRA form a senior-focused task force, which would include governmental representatives, beneficiaries, stakeholders from the community and caregivers, among others, to discuss barriers and practical solutions to increase access to benefits for older adults, including SNAP. Older adults are also often accessing benefits across multiple systems and departments, so a Task Force could explore cross-department challenges and solutions. LiveOn NY would welcome the opportunity to participate in this Task Force.

   LiveOn NY thanks City Council for the opportunity to provide this testimony, and looks forward to working with you on to make New York a better place to age.

New York State Budget Update

What is Happening:

This week, the Governor released his proposed 2017-2018 Executive Budget. Below is a brief update. Please stay tuned for more details as they become available and how you can get involved.  Of note:  

• Over $13 million in cuts and cost shifts affecting the State Office for the Aging (SOFA).
• Proposed language that threatens Title XX Funds that are used to fund senior centers.
• Last time this was proposed several years ago, upwards of 100 senior centers would have been closed if the proposal went through. LiveOn NY was part of concerted effort to fight it then, and we will do so again vigilantly.  
• Language to prevent financial exploitation of older adults, an issue LiveOn NY has been working on for several years. 
• The addition of $125M in capital funding for affordable senior housing, another key issue for LiveOn NY.

What We Are Doing:

Leaders from LiveOn NY, The Association on Aging in New York and LifeSpan will meet with key Senators and Assemblymembers on February 7 in Albany to discuss the potential impact of the proposed budget and the the importance of fully funding aging services.  We will also highlight our $177 Million Multi-Year Budget Request. The goal of our request focuses on modernizing long term care services and supports for older New Yorkers.  Click here to review our budget proposal.

What You Can Do:

1. Join LiveOn NY in Albany on Tuesday February 7 and meet with your legislators to discuss your program and the Aging Services Budget Request.  If you are planning on going to Albany, please contact Andrea Cianfrani at LiveOn NY at acianfrani@liveon-ny.org or 212-398-6565x233 so we can measure our impact and provide you with information and talking points for your meetings.  
2. Set up meetings in February with your state legislators in the district offices to discuss your aging programs.  We are counting on your help and  It is important to meet with your legislators this year to be part of LiveOn NY’s presentation of the budget agenda.  We will be providing talking points and questions to ask your legislators - stay tuned.
3. Call your legislators’ offices and tell them to support aging services and to prevent cuts, and send them the link to the budget ask.
4. Invite legislators to your program in February so they can see your important work and the need for funding and why any cuts would be so devastating..
5. Let LiveOn NY know of the events you are holding, meetings you have and key relationships you have developed with legislators or who are supportive of aging programs so we can continue to build a supportive network. Contact Andrea Cianfrani at LiveOn NY at acianfrani@liveon-ny.org or 212-398-6565x233 

Important Links:
How to find information on your legislators:
Click here to find your New York State Assemblymember
Click here to find your New York State Senator