Minutes of ESCOTA General Meetings

Minutes from the Thursday, October 14, 2010 General Membership Meeting

Date of Meeting: Thursday, October 14, 2010
Presentation: Age-Friendly NYC vs. Budget Cuts
Speaker: Bobbie Sackman

Amy Lowenberg called the meeting to order at 3:30pm and welcomed the group. Joe Girven, Executive Director of the James Lenox House, hosted the meeting. He spoke briefly about the history of the house and the services it provides: Founded in the 1860s for civil war widows, it currently has 99 middle-income apartments for people over 55. They offer free nursing, social services, and activities funded by their endowment. Mr. Given is also Executive Director of Carnegie East, which has 97 units of enriched housing.

Presentation:

Bobbie Sackman has been the Director of Public Policy with the Council of Senior Centers and Services (CSCS) of New York City since 1989. Bobbie’s career spans 35 years in the aging field and public policy work. Her experience includes a wide range of direct community-based aging services experience as well as working for the NYC Office of Management and Budget. CSCS is the central organization in NYC representing the community-based aging services network.

• There has been a societal shift away from a sense of responsibility for caring for vulnerable populations, including seniors.
• The 85+ age group is the fasted growing segment of the city population, and over 50% of that segment is minority. By federal standards 20% are poor, by local standards 33% are poor.
• Recent budget cuts go so far they amount to actually eviscerating entire programs.
• DFTA was cut by 22 million, will be cut another 8 million, which together totals 30% of their budget. This has resulted in the elimination of 2 day care centers, Healthy Aging, and other programs. There is a new proposal to cut case management from ISEP homecare. These programs have no other funding sources.
• There is no relationship between the “Age-Friendly Initiative” and funding, but perhaps we could find a way to use the initiative to improve funding.
• CSCS sends out alerts, does reports including the largest ever senior center study documenting the value of centers and 14 recommendations including health and the health value of social services. Findings of the senior center study included:
• Meals are important.
• This is their social network.
• Cutting or closing centers is very serious.
• Three years ago the Hunger Report found that one third of seniors in centers reported “food insecurity.”
• CSCS has submitted a proposal for a federal grant to do outreach to get more seniors on food stamps.
• On the subject of elder abuse:
  • $600 million was given federally to VOWA (Violence Against Women), $4 million of which was for elder abuse.
  • There is a study to be released next year on elder abuse in New York state.
• The questions we need to ask now are “what are we willing to live with and how do we make the best of what we have while preserving some quality.”
• CSCS does:
  • Grassroots advocacy
  • Annual advocacy day bringing seniors to city hall
  • Letters, phone calls, and meetings with city council members
  • Works with media, has a lobbyist in Albany, and does some work on the federal level
  • Is open to new ideas
• All budget cuts were vetted through the mayor. There were efforts in city hall to exempt DFTA from further cuts but the mayor refused.
• CSCS came up with the idea of charter senior centers. Proposals were funded and will be evaluated after two years. The mayor pledged 18 million of city money and they raised $7 million of private money. The Commissioner of Aging says that in July of 2011 eight old senior centers will piggyback new programs as part of this initiative and two new centers will open targeting underserved groups. This funding is guaranteed and cannot be cut.
• What we (ESCOTA) can do:
• Inform local political activists about what’s going on with aging services
• Tell the story of who’s growing old, try to put a face on the effects of the budget cuts, show examples, make it tangible both to politicians and in the media.
• Push political buttons — there’s always money and it’s directed by political will.
• We’re moving into a time when there’s a feeling of less obligation to human services and we need to address that.

Question and Answers:
Q: Who do we write letters to and call?
A: Here are some ideas:

• Have a legislator forum. This sends out a different message than individual relationships.
  Use local media to delineate what the cuts have been – use anecdotes and show effects. Talk about what it’s like now to grow old on the Upper East Side and what it will look like in the future.
• Form an ESCOTA subcommittee looking at different services and what has been cut.
• Be the squeaky wheel, take this information to Jessica Lappin, Dan Garodnick, and Chris Quinn and the City Council finance staff.
• During the City Council budget hearings in November, go to OMB rather than DFTA hearings – perhaps this will have more of an effect.

Q: What about working with caregivers?
A: Individual caregivers are difficult to reach, but CSCS is looking for ways to reach them.

Q: What about cuts to case management?
A: CSCS is asking the commissioner on Aging not to centralize case management.

Q: What is the likely impact of midterm elections?
A: Things may get worse.

• CSCS had a meeting with Andrew Cuomo to talk with him about how we can use Medicaid dollars more effectively by using non-Medicaid services to save money. There will be an across-the-board 20% cut of state and city Medicaid funding.
• The State Senate may go back to Republican hands.
• Ruben Diaz has been Chair of the Committee on Aging – whatever his other problems, he was a good fighter for aging services.
• Cuts to member item money also results in cuts to services – this will probably amount to $7 million in NYC.

The meeting was adjourned at 5:00pm.

Next Meeting:

Date: Thursday, November 11, 2010
Location: Alzheimer’s Association, NYC Chapter

Presentation:
Speaker: Matt Kudish, LMSW

Respectfully submitted by Jae Gruenke, Co-Secretary

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