New York City Council

Committee on Aging

Chair Hudson

March 8th, 2024

Preliminary Aging Budget FY25

My name is Kevin Kiprovski, and I am the Director of Public Policy at LiveOn NY. Thank you for the opportunity to testify.

LiveOn NY’s members include more than 110 community-based nonprofits that provide core services under the NYC Aging portfolio and many other home and community based services in our city.

Background

Council discretionary funding is foundational to the work our network does, as a disproportionate amount of funding comes from each of you and your colleagues' offices when compared to the administration’s investment. We are so grateful for your support and without it our current system would not be possible, so a heartfelt thank you from us and our members.

Older Adult Services have huge capital needs due to deteriorating spaces, appliances, and vehicles that have gone without necessary upgrades for the past decade. Case management organizations are serving individuals with more intensive mental health issues with less funding from the city. At the same time the administration is cutting $18 million dollars from OACs with planned cuts of over $50 million dollars in the next 5 fiscal years to a system that they have refused to comprehensively invest in citing administrative hurdles and a lack of need that does not match the reality of older adults across our city.

Organizations have broken refrigerators, floors, bathrooms, kitchens, vans, HVAC systems, roofs, elevators, and many other capital items. The administration is penalizing organizations for these issues, but when organizations request funding to repair them they are either juggled through agencies, asked to use their non-existent accruals, or denied for a litany of reasons.

Older adult centers in NYCHA spaces have faced the brunt of this, as some have physically collapsed or have such comprehensive mold issues that they cannot open and are not being used. This is part of the “underutilization” argument the administration has been using to justify cuts to the system. The lack of a functional partnership between NYC Aging and NYCHA and confusion arising from RAD conversions has made it difficult for programs operating in these spaces to receive any capital funding.

Case management contracts have seen a reduction in resources across the board leading to a loss of administrative staff and increases in the caseloads of case managers from 65 to over 80 in some instances. Clients are also presenting with higher rates of undiagnosed mental health issues and dementia and are being released from rehab and hospitals after extended stays back into their homes which have deteriorated rapidly due to their absence and in some cases are uninhabitable.

Home Delivered Meals providers have been operating with a $2.53 average deficit per meal served that will be continued in the new RFP.

Recommendations

Maintain the existing council discretionary funding to keep our system whole.

($50 Million) to create a capital funding pot to get centers and resources in a state of good repair. There must be a baselined funding stream that keeps the physical spaces and resources of our system in good repair. Organizations cannot contract with the city on these services if the city cannot commit to paying for the resources needed to do this work.

Identify and reform existing obstructions to providing capital funding across the board, but particularly with NYCHA and RAD converted properties. Organizations have been able to secure capital funding through alternative city, state and federal sources for projects that were not approved for capital funding by the administration. Administrative hurdles should not be cited as the reason older adult centers are falling apart and the city has the ability to change its own rules to get the funding where it needs to be.

$20 million to expand social work support across the network to allow for more service to New Yorkers. Organizations on average need 2 more case managers and 1 intake staff to create a program that can keep talent and serve the community well. This will allow higher needs cases to be handled effectively and keep the focus on service instead of admin work.

$12 million to increase the per meal rate for HDM programs to $15.31 per meal. HDM providers report an average deficit of $2.53 dollars per meal served, the contract with the city should at least pay for the services that they require.

Reverse ALL cuts to the aging system. We have identified acute needs across the system that any currently unspent funds could be used to remedy. Pulling money out of this system will only create a death spiral through physical deterioration of centers and resources, or fiscal insolvency for many smaller providers.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify.

_____________________________________________________________________________

For questions, please email Kevin Kiprovski, Director of Public Policy at LiveOn NY, kkiprovski@liveon-ny.org.

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.