CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON AGING HEARING
COUNCILMAN JAMES VACCA, CHAIR
SUBCOMMITTEE ON SENIOR CENTERS

DEPARTMENT FOR THE AGING CONCEPT PAPER
ON SENIOR CENTERS

FEBRUARY 14, 2008

The Council of Senior Centers and Services (CSCS) is the central organization in New York City representing the 329 senior centers and a broad array of community-based services for the elderly. CSCS’ 200 member agencies provide services to 300,000 older New Yorkers including multi-service senior centers, congregate and home-delivered meals, case assistance, transportation, information and referral for benefits, mental health services, adult day services, ESL/Citizenship classes and other services for elderly immigrants, health and wellness programs, educational and cultural activities, intergenerational programs, opportunities for volunteerism, and other services designed to assist seniors to age in place in their communities.

The Department for the Aging (DFTA) is embarking on a substantial change in how community-based services for the elderly are provided throughout the neighborhoods of New York City. Attached, you will find CSCS’ response to the two concept papers – senior centers and meals-on-wheels – released over the past few weeks. This is on the heels of awarding case management contracts covering larger regions in the past.

Some key concerns are:

• Slow the process down - The timeline for concept papers, rfp’s and transition of contracts needs to slow down in order to make changes successful and prevent seniors from falling through the cracks. There should be at least six months between rfp’s. This is the current timeline:

  April 1st – new case management contracts begin
  March 31st – meals-on-wheels rfp released, due back May 12th
       new contracts awarded July 8th
       new meals-on-wheels contracts begin Sept. 8th
  June 23rd – senior center rfp released, due back Sept. 5th
  March, 2009 – new senior center contracts begin

Senior service providers will be involved in transitioning to either gaining or losing service contracts while being expected to answer rfp’s. From the viewpoint of seniors, a homebound elderly person could lose their case manager, home delivered meal deliverer, and connection to the senior center that cooked and delivered the meal within a year. This is the loss of three significant relationships. At the very least, there needs to be a plan in place to make the transition as seamless as possible. It is unclear if DFTA has the organizational capacity to do all this simultaneously.

• Adequate funding: exempt DFTA from budget cuts and baseline City Council funding – Given all the major changes going on at DFTA, the city should allow programs to have a stable funding base. DFTA is being held to a 3% across-the-board cut as well as the loss of City Council funding for meals, vans, rent and equipment, and the Healthy Aging Initiative. Since aging is a priority for the administration, exemption from budget cuts and baselining funds would make any transition more successful as stable and predictable funding to meet the needs of seniors is warranted. Senior centers have been historically underfunded and the concept paper includes unfunded mandates such as evidence-based health and wellness programs and data collection and analysis beyond current responsibilities.

• For example, the average new case management contract will lose $30,000 – that is the cost of one case manager. Losing a case manager from the start will increase the caseload size which is already high at 65. The rfp asked to show a 65:1 ratio and yet budget cuts may make that impossible. There is no place to take these cuts from administrative overhead as the contracts are already very thinly budgeted for that and cannot afford to lose $30,000 for rent, utilities, office supplies, computers, and personnel costs.

Senior Center Concept Paper –

1. Too much, too quickly - Putting up all 329 senior centers for rfp simultaneously is too much, too quickly. How will community based providers apply for a number of centers simultaneously?

2. Regionalization of senior centers – Clarification is needed as to the definition of “regionalization”. If funding is regionalized, what will be the region lines? What will be the funding formula? Will some communities lose senior centers and funding for meals and services? How many senior centers does DFTA expect will close? Will seniors be able to access senior centers easily? Will transportation remain a core service at senior centers? We recommend that DFTA share what the funding plan for regionalization is before the rfp is released. Regionalization was never discussed at workgroup meetings held with community stakeholders.

3. CSCS Senior Center Program Survey - CSCS did a senior center program survey this past week and within three days we received responses from over 120 senior centers from across the city. I have attached the survey and have the responses with me. As you can see, senior centers are more than just about “bingo and nutrition”. Senior centers are already providing health and wellness programs, often funded not through DFTA, but through City Council, Borough President, state discretionary funds, grants and private fundraising. The concept paper does not include any additional funding for health and wellness programs and, assumedly, will include a 3% reduction to funding. “Evidence-based” health and wellness programs cost money to implement and to measure seniors for outcomes. In Chicago, there is an independent nonprofit agency that brings these programs into senior centers with the appropriate resources.

There is general agreement that the demographic revolution upon us needs to be addressed now. Mayor Bloomberg’s PLANYC 2030 reports that there will be 44% increase in the elderly population in NYC by 2030. The report states there will be a need for more senior centers and supportive housing. A comprehensive plan for services to older New Yorkers with more feasible timelines is needed. Funding for a viable infrastructure of community based senior services agencies to meet growing demand is integral to successfully serving older New Yorkers now and in the future.

We look forward to working with City Council and the administration to ensure that all older New Yorkers can age in place with dignity in their local neighborhood.

You will find the CSCS response to the senior center and Senior Center Program Survey attached concept paper attached.