Public Hearing - February 9, 2012
1 JOINT HEARING BEFORE THE NEW YORK STATE
SENATE STANDING COMMITTEE ON SOCIAL SERVICES
2 AND
SENATE STANDING COMMITTEE ON CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
3 -----------------------------------------------------
4 FORUM/TOWN HALL:
5 HUMAN SERVICES FORUM ON THE CURRENT AND FUTURE
ISSUES AND CONCERNS OF HUMAN SERVICES
6 ADMINISTRATORS, ADVOCATES AND CLIENTS
7 -----------------------------------------------------
8
9 Monroe County Administration Bldg.
4th Floor, Legislative Chamber
10 Rochester, New York
11 February 9, 2012
1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
12
13
14 PRESIDING:
15 Senator Patrick M. Gallivan
Chairman
16 Senate Standing Committee on Social Services
17 Senator Diane J. Savino
Chairwoman
18 Senate Standing Committee on Children & Families
19
20 SENATE MEMBERS PRESENT:
21 Senator Joseph E. Robach
22
23
24
25
2
1 SPEAKERS: PAGE QUESTIONS
2 Jacqueline Cady 10 17
Member
3 Rochester Early Childhood Initiative
4 Mark Wickham 22 32
President & CEO
5 Catholic Family Center
6 Ann Marie Cook 39 47
President & CEO
7 LifeSpan
8 Rebecca Case Grammatico 52 67
Senior Attorney
9 Empire Justice Center
10 Jean Carroll 70
President & CEO
11 YWCA
12 Lydia Rodriguez 70
Recipient of YWCA Services
13
Clyde Comstock 86 97
14 Chief Operating Officer
Hillside Family Agency
15
Tim Weider 98 106
16 (position not announced)
Neighborhood Consortium for
17 Youth Justice
18 Garth Freeman 110 119
Youth Transition Co-Coordinator
19 CJ Mollis [ph.] 110
Speaker
20 Malika 110
Speaker
21 Trisha Glykoff [ph.] 110
Speaker
22 Monroe County Runaway Group Continuum
23 Dan Ross 127
Chair
24 Children's Agenda
25
3
1 ALSO IN ATTENDANCE:
2 Luis Burgos
Commissioner
3 Recreation and Youth Services
4 Valerie Snipe
Program Officer
5 United Way of Greater Rochester
6 Alisa
(no position denoted)
7 Hunger Solutions of New York
8 Kelly Harris
Director of Administration
9 Alzheimer Association
10 Kelly Bartle
(no position denoted)
11 Rochester County Youth Bureau
12 Elizabeth Reyes
(no position denoted)
13 Rochester City School District,
Homeless Teen Program
14
Linda Beaty
15 (no position denoted)
Carol Jackson Ray
16 (no position denoted)
Rochester City School District
17
Bill Gutschow
18 Program Manager
Salvation Army's Genesis House
19
Several other speakers; no names provided
20
21 ---oOo---
22
23
24
25
4
1 SENATOR ROBACH: Okay, good afternoon,
2 everybody.
3 Thank you, everyone who is here, and those
4 who will be giving testimony.
5 I am Senator Joe Robach, and I'm very happy
6 that we're having this hearing, and allowing people
7 in Rochester to put in their comments, testimony,
8 on the Governor's budget.
9 I see several people in the room who have
10 already contacted me via e-mail, or other ways,
11 regarding proposals of the executive budget.
12 But, I do want to both, introduce, and thank,
13 think my two colleagues.
14 First, Senator Pat Gallivan, the Chairman of
15 the Social Services Committee, and,
16 Senator Diane Savino, the Chairwoman of Children and
17 Families Committee, for taking the time, to not only
18 come here to Rochester, which I personally
19 appreciate on behalf of everyone in this region that
20 provides vital services; but, also, they've been
21 going around the rest of the state, and I think this
22 is very important, to give people the opportunity,
23 firsthand, to chime in, put their comments on the
24 record.
25 Obviously, this is a very, very important
5
1 part of the budget. It impacts young and old
2 alike. There are programs that can, not only impact
3 individuals greatly, but, really, our entire
4 community.
5 So, we're happy to have this, and do that.
6 So, with that, I will turn it over to
7 Senator Gallivan, who will give you a little bit of
8 an outline of how we're going to proceed, and move
9 forward and get right to the testimony.
10 Thanks again for being here.
11 SENATOR GALLIVAN: Thank you, Senator.
12 Good afternoon, everybody. Thank you for
13 being here.
14 As Senator Robach had mentioned, I chair the
15 Senate Committee on Social Services, and
16 Senator Savino chairs the Senate Committee on
17 Children and Families.
18 And we have held hearings in different
19 parts of the state, to try to learn a little bit
20 more about the issues that you're facing.
21 Certainly, when we see the realities of the
22 economic downturn, we know that we have seen an
23 increase in need for human services, and at the same
24 time, demands on the various human-service agencies,
25 in a time when State government has cut its budget,
6
1 and everybody is looking for more and more
2 resources: financial resources, people resources,
3 and others.
4 So, we'd like to focus in two different
5 areas. We've tried to use this as an opportunity.
6 We started in New York City. We were in
7 Albany. We have a forum scheduled in Buffalo as
8 well.
9 And then, of course, we're meeting with
10 numerous people that -- out in our districts, and
11 that come to the Capitol to relay their concerns.
12 The Governor has come out with his budget.
13 I'm sure many, if not all, of you are keenly aware
14 of what's been proposed.
15 We're interested in hearing your thoughts
16 about the budget: How it impacts your agencies.
17 What you think we may be able to do to help, knowing
18 full well that we don't have a blank check to be
19 able to write, unfortunately, for many of you, and
20 the good work that you do.
21 In addition to that, though, we're looking --
22 we know that legislation impacts your daily -- the
23 things you do on a daily basis. And that there may
24 be regulations, that if you can bring up, that we
25 might be able to deal with the specific agencies
7
1 that fall under the executive branch, and either,
2 push, or through legislation, have an impact on
3 that, that can help you.
4 So, you needn't confine it to just the
5 budget.
6 Our two committees are closely tied
7 together, and that's why we're both here. A lot of
8 the things that might start within Social Services
9 spill over to Children and Families, and vice versa.
10 So, we work very closely together, in both --
11 in all of these different areas, and really are
12 committed to trying to help.
13 The specific help, that's really for you to
14 bring some of the things up that we can take to
15 Albany.
16 But with that, and before we get started,
17 I'll turn it over to Senator Savino.
18 And, thank you all again for being here.
19 SENATOR SAVINO: Thank you, Senator Gallivan.
20 I also want to thank Senator Robach for
21 hosting us here in Rochester.
22 I'll be brief, because we really want to hear
23 from you, as opposed to listening to the three of
24 us.
25 As Senator Gallivan said, this is the third
8
1 in a series of roundtables we've done outside the
2 State Capitol. We want to kind of bring the Senate
3 to the people.
4 Last year, many of those of you in this room,
5 and organizations like yours around the state,
6 were invaluable in guiding us through the budget
7 process.
8 Last year's budget was brutal. It was a
9 $10 1/2 billion deficit that we had to close, and a
10 lot of those cuts directly affected programs that
11 you all work in and care about.
12 This year it's not so bad; but, yet, and
13 still, there a lot of cuts to TANF-funded
14 programs.
15 The Governor is still recommending zeroing
16 out many of the things that we care about. There's
17 not enough restoration.
18 And as Senator Gallivan said, it's not just
19 about putting money back. You know, we're going to
20 do what we can to restore it. But, it's also about
21 finding ways to reduce the burden upon some of the
22 service providers, so that they can maximize the
23 money they get from the State, and they don't waste
24 it on duplicative, redundant paperwork reporting, or
25 any of the other silly requirements we sometime
9
1 impose upon you.
2 So, we're going to be focusing on a lot of
3 stuff this year.
4 Those of you who deal with youth, know, that
5 juvenile-justice reform is front and center in the
6 Governor's budget. It's going to impact upstate and
7 downstate.
8 The loss of child-care slots, in my opinion,
9 is devastating. And I think we need, as service
10 providers, to start to talk about child care in a
11 different way. It's not an entitlement program.
12 It's not an assistance program. It should be part
13 and parcel of our economic development programs.
14 It's about making work pay again; giving
15 women the supports they need to stay in the
16 workforce.
17 So, we have to start talking about these
18 things differently. You know?
19 The Governor wants us to do everything we can
20 on job creation.
21 Well, if we create jobs, we then have to
22 create the supports that keep people in those
23 jobs we've created.
24 So, I welcome you all here today, to
25 participate, and, I guess we should get started.
10
1 SENATOR GALLIVAN: We are -- when you come up
2 to speak, if you could just start right in the front
3 row, right in front of us, if there's more than one.
4 Obviously, first seat, second seat.
5 SENATOR SAVINO: Yeah, we have three seats
6 here in the front.
7 So, first up is, Jacqueline Cady -- oh -- on
8 early child-care education, and the Early Childhood
9 Initiative.
10 Do we have testimony? Written/printed
11 testimony?
12 JACQUELINE CADY: No. I think -- I could
13 hand it you to. I just have two copies.
14 SENATOR SAVINO: Just two? All right.
15 Well, one, two -- that will do.
16 Thank you.
17 SENATOR GALLIVAN: Thank you.
18 JACQUELINE CADY: I thank you very much for
19 an opportunity to speak today.
20 I'm Jacqueline Cady. I'm a member, and the
21 past chair, of the Rochester Early Childhood
22 Initiative.
23 The announcement for this hearing asked for
24 suggestions on efficiencies, economies, in human
25 services.
11
1 And, I'm here to say that, pretty much what
2 Senator Savino said: That New York State needs to
3 invest in services, with a proven payback; services
4 in early care and education.
5 We know that most brain development happens
6 before the age of three. A dollar invested in
7 high-quality early education pays back a minimum
8 of seven.
9 And I know Senator Robach thinks: Oh, I've
10 heard this so many times.
11 In some studies, it even shows that there's a
12 $17 payback for that dollar that you invest in
13 quality early education.
14 And that payback is in the avoidance of later
15 social costs.
16 So, look at that juvenile justice that's a
17 priority for the State. Think about teen pregnancy,
18 incarceration, unemployment. These investments in
19 early education can really make a difference.
20 So, how can New York State take advantage of
21 what we know about early education?
22 Let's start at the beginning.
23 At birth, nurse-family partnership is an
24 evidence-based program. Gives enormous payback to
25 both the mother and the child. The program pays
12
1 for itself by the time the child is six.
2 And, there's little to no funding for this in
3 New York State.
4 Right now, there's a proposal on the table
5 for a very modest, a $5 million, fund to support a
6 little bit of nurse-family partnership.
7 I wish you would give your support to that.
8 The biggest piece of this, again, as
9 Senator Savino said, for children, birth into school
10 age, we need more comprehensive support through the
11 child-care subsidies.
12 For us in Rochester, subsidies are the
13 baseline. This is how we get to ask at-risk
14 children, and their families, with the opportunity
15 for quality early education.
16 So, go back to where we started here: The
17 opportunity for that critical early brain
18 development.
19 We need two things.
20 And the first one I think is right up your
21 alley, of saying: How could you possibly do more
22 with less?
23 The first thing is: Consistent quality
24 standards across the state.
25 I looked at the maps on your websites.
13
1 And I would say, for Senator Gallivan, in the
2 several counties that you represent, you would find
3 that no two have the same regulations.
4 For Monroe County, and the seven surrounding
5 counties, no two have the same regulations for child
6 care.
7 A third of the children who are in child care
8 are in what's called "legally exempt child care."
9 There are no quality standards. There's no
10 requirement for training. There is precious little
11 oversight of those who are in legally exempt care.
12 Here in Monroe County, the infrastructure of
13 our quality child care is threatened because
14 caregivers are not paid when children are absent.
15 So, you can't run a business like that, and
16 say: I've got to meet ratio. I've got to meet
17 standards. I can't add another child to this
18 classroom. But, these two are absent today, so I
19 don't get any funding for these kids, and I can't do
20 anything to make that up.
21 These problems arise because there isn't
22 any statewide standard.
23 Setting consistent criteria and standards
24 across the state could be carried out without
25 significant dollar implications, and would make
14
1 great strides to ensure that the dollars we
2 spend are providing quality early education.
3 The second thing, of course, is that more
4 funding is needed for subsidies to reach more
5 families.
6 In Monroe, flat and reduced State funding has
7 reduced our headcount, from about 13,000, 10 years
8 ago, to under 7,000 this year. We're serving about
9 half of the children with subsidies that we did
10 10 years ago.
11 Again, a dollar invested in high-quality care
12 pays back a minimum of $7. Then, here's a place
13 to reduce New York State costs, by investing now in
14 quality care for young children.
15 I would mention another program, early
16 intervention services, which I'm sure you have heard
17 about, have been decimated, with the reimbursement
18 rates for 2012 equal to those of 1992; 20 years
19 ago.
20 Many providers in our county have stopped
21 offering this service. They can't afford to
22 subsidize it. They've been subsidizing it out of
23 their other income streams. They can't do it
24 anymore.
25 I know that, in Albany, they've made
15
1 strides toward getting insurance coverage,
2 third-party payers, for some of this early
3 intervention service.
4 The Governor is recommending a total
5 restructure of early intervention services.
6 And, ultimately, that may be good. What
7 we've got now is not working.
8 But in the meantime, if there isn't some kind
9 of an increase -- and folks are specifically
10 asking for a restoration to the reimbursement rate
11 that they got just a year ago -- if there's not some
12 restoration of those rates, we're going to lose the
13 rest of our quality early intervention providers in
14 Monroe County. They just cannot afford to provide
15 that service.
16 I would ask you to think about this: We're
17 talking about early intervention. We're talking
18 about kids who are zero, 1, 2, and putting those
19 families in a situation where they might have to
20 wait six months, or nine months, for an evaluation
21 to have services.
22 When you're one, waiting 9 months for
23 services is half your life. That's crazy.
24 Again, this is where most brain development
25 occurs. We really need to serve these young
16
1 people.
2 Pre-K is a shining -- okay, new program:
3 Pre-K is a shining star of our early education.
4 80 percent of the city of Rochester
5 4-year-olds are in the highest quality pre-K
6 programs.
7 Funding has been flat for many years.
8 Neither the community agencies, nor our city school
9 district, received adequate funding to fully fund
10 this excellent investment in young children.
11 The Regents had put forward a proposal to put
12 a little more funding back in pre-K.
13 We certainly support that.
14 Nurse-family partnership and early
15 intervention are really in the purview of the
16 Health Department.
17 Subsidies are in OCFS.
18 Pre-K is in the State Education Department.
19 These systems need to work together.
20 I would ask you to think of a continuum of
21 integrated services for our many at-risk children.
22 Because you have leadership roles in
23 New York, I ask you to stand up for young children,
24 to invest more resources in quality early education.
25 Use your leadership to represent these young
17
1 people. They can't speak for themselves.
2 Thank you.
3 SENATOR SAVINO: Thank you.
4 I just -- wait. Before you get away,
5 Jacqueline, two points.
6 The "early intervention" piece, there's been
7 some discussion there.
8 Actually, there's was some discussion
9 yesterday at the State hearing, the budget hearing,
10 on Health.
11 The other issue hanging over that -- those
12 programs, is this 1115 waiver.
13 Have you had any conversations with any of
14 the service providers about what this "1115 waiver"
15 issue would do to them?
16 JACQUELINE CADY: To them? No, I can't
17 answer that.
18 Sorry.
19 SENATOR SAVINO: It's -- you may start
20 hearing from them. It's, apparently --
21 JACQUELINE CADY: Somebody else --
22 SENATOR SAVINO: I see some people shaking
23 their heads.
24 JACQUELINE CADY: -- will speak about it.
25 SENATOR SAVINO: They'll talk about it.
18
1 JACQUELINE CADY: I'm not the one.
2 SENATOR SAVINO: It's very complicated.
3 On pre-K, though, I'm actually quite
4 surprised, and pleased to hear, that 80 percent of
5 your 4-year-olds in Rochester are in universal
6 pre-K.
7 We don't have that anywhere else in the
8 state, because most of the program -- most of the
9 school districts claim that there are so many
10 complications in implementing UPK; that you either
11 have to have a certain, you know, classroom sizes,
12 or teachers with certain evalu- -- you know, certain
13 skills, and certain --
14 Yeah, he's shaking his head in back there.
15 -- so they don't even do it.
16 JACQUELINE CADY: Right. We've got a long
17 history in Rochester. Our early childhood
18 initiative is 20 years old --
19 SENATOR ROBACH: Head Start.
20 JACQUELINE CADY: -- and was started by,
21 really, Mario Cuomo in 1990, which he declared
22 "The decade of the young child."
23 We formed a community collaboration at that
24 time. We began to work on accreditation.
25 When Speaker Silver put forward what he
19
1 called the "Ladder Program," which was pre-K, we
2 were really ready for that, and worked with the
3 school district to write a pre-K program.
4 Our children are about 55 percent in
5 community-based agencies, right now.
6 We have 15-year evaluation project that
7 shows our pre-K classrooms are -- rate, 6 on a
8 7-point scale. They're just excellent quality.
9 Whether you're in the school-district
10 program, we got about 950 children; or in a
11 community agency, about 1,050 children.
12 SENATOR SAVINO: Do most of those children go
13 on to kindergarten, or do they have a break in -- in
14 their education?
15 Because, you know, kindergarten's not a
16 requirement.
17 JACQUELINE CADY: Right. Most of them --
18 SENATOR SAVINO: What we see in the city of
19 New York is different now.
20 JACQUELINE CADY: Yeah, most of them.
21 We've got just 2,000 in pre-K this year.
22 We have 2,500 in our incoming city school
23 district kindergarten.
24 SENATOR SAVINO: And do you do center-based
25 pre-K -- center-based kindergarten, for those that
20
1 don't --
2 JACQUELINE CADY: No, because we have
3 full-day kindergarten.
4 SENATOR SAVINO: Hmm, interesting.
5 JACQUELINE CADY: The child-care centers used
6 to have kindergarten. Maybe a few do, but most of
7 them do not anymore, because, in the city school
8 district, they've got full-day kindergarten; which,
9 again, we understand is threatened across the state
10 with education dollars.
11 SENATOR SAVINO:: Very good. Thank you.
12 SENATOR ROBACH: Jackie, let me just say too,
13 I chair the Human Services Budget Subcommittee.
14 So, we go out with the Assembly, and have the
15 talk, and then go to the conference committees.
16 We're going to do that.
17 And, there's really, like, not too much new
18 money, but I think -- I'm going to make it, and I
19 think it will end up in our version of the budget.
20 We're going to adjust some money, to put more money
21 into straight child care.
22 And then, on the -- you know, I've heard your
23 story, you've heard mine.
24 On early intervention, you know, I've lived
25 it.
21
1 JACQUELINE CADY: Yeah, I know.
2 SENATOR ROBACH: I mean, I have a
3 hearing-impaired kid --
4 JACQUELINE CADY: I know.
5 SENATOR ROBACH: -- whose life completely got
6 changed by the right treatment modality, getting in
7 that Excellus program at Al Sigl, and was told, at
8 two: This kid won't go to college, like your other
9 kids.
10 That's a hard thing to hear, as a parent, and
11 have your spouse look at you, and go, you know:
12 What are you going to do about it?
13 And, I go: I don't know what I'm going to do
14 about it.
15 But, you know, a good story: Because of that
16 early intervention, and getting the right program,
17 that child is now 23; has gone to college, has a
18 pretty good job. She's the star -- I'll do the
19 commercial -- of Shear Ego in Pittsford.
20 Go there and get your hair cut. Ask for
21 Rachel.
22 [Laughter.]
23 SENATOR ROBACH: But, she's doing really
24 good, and it's because of that.
25 So, we're going to really look at these
22
1 things.
2 JACQUELINE CADY: Thank you.
3 SENATOR ROBACH: This is going to be a
4 challenge, but I think we're committed to try to
5 move some things around.
6 JACQUELINE CADY: Thank you very much.
7 SENATOR ROBACH: Okay, thank you.
8 SENATOR SAVINO: Thank you.
9 SENATOR GALLIVAN: Mark Wickham.
10 MARK WICKHAM: Good afternoon.
11 My name is Mark Wickham, and I'm the new
12 hot-out-of-the-box CEO of Catholic Family Center,
13 following in the shoes of Carolyn Portanova, who
14 was a tireless advocate --
15 SENATOR ROBACH: We've heard the name.
16 [Laughter.]
17 MARK WICKHAM: Yeah.
18 -- who was a tireless advocate for many, many
19 years here.
20 So, I'm hopeful that I can fill her shoes.
21 I'll make sure that I make some referrals to Rachel.
22 I'm not sure that I need too much of it myself,
23 but --
24 SENATOR GALLIVAN: Mark, if I may, before you
25 get started, and this is -- really is for everyone
23
1 who's providing testimony today: It's very helpful
2 to us that you provide this. And because we have
3 it, you needn't read it all.
4 MARK WICKHAM: Oh, uh-huh. Well, that's
5 good.
6 SENATOR GALLIVAN: But I think what becomes
7 appropriate is, you know, bring up the main points
8 that you really want to stress.
9 SENATOR SAVINO: Uh-huh.
10 MARK WICKHAM: Sure.
11 SENATOR GALLIVAN: And we, of course, will
12 read all of it, but, it might save --
13 MARK WICKHAM: Some time.
14 SENATOR GALLIVAN: -- might save you a little
15 bit of time, because we don't have water for you.
16 MARK WICKHAM: Yes, that's great. Thank you.
17 I appreciate that.
18 As you read through this, you'll see
19 Catholic Family Center has been around since 1917,
20 and we provide services to over -- pretty close to
21 40,000 individuals in the Monroe County area.
22 And it's, really, we provide services for
23 people in the areas of behavioral health, housing
24 services, family services, and workforce
25 development.
24
1 The pieces that I want to really focus on are
2 some of the critical, necessary services and
3 programs we offer.
4 One of the things that's important, is to
5 understand the economic impact of organizations like
6 ours on a community.
7 We are approximately 460 employees throughout
8 our organization, whom we pay $16 1/2 million to.
9 And that was in 2011.
10 And, we spent over $9 million in services and
11 good rent and supplies and equipment in our
12 community.
13 Many of our programs result in real savings
14 to New York State taxpayers, and that's really what
15 this is about.
16 You know, what people really want to know is:
17 Where are we saving money?
18 And, not only are we saving money, but what
19 are those outcomes that we're providing? And how
20 does it equate into saving money in our area -- in
21 our county; in particular, Monroe?
22 For example: We serviced 163 families and
23 421 children last year. And the annual cost of our
24 program which works with families and the children,
25 is about $1,100. So, that equates to an annual
25
1 budget of about $465,000.
2 If you looked at the annual cost for regular
3 foster-care placement in Monroe County, it's
4 approximately $24,000.
5 So even if you took one-fourth of those
6 children that we served and placed them into regular
7 foster care, that would be $2 1/2 million.
8 So there's real cost savings in terms of what
9 we do.
10 More than 70 percent of our support and
11 revenue comes from government, including service
12 contracts and fee-for-services and payments for
13 Medicaid.
14 The support -- this government support is
15 largely from New York State, either directly through
16 Monroe County or through the State.
17 One of the biggest issues that we have is
18 prompt payment. What we're finding, across the
19 board, is, we don't get paid in a timely fashion.
20 There are times that we're waiting 6, 9,
21 12 months. So, we're providing the service, and
22 we're not getting the payment.
23 SENATOR ROBACH: From contract to Medicaid,
24 or all?
25 MARK WICKHAM: From contracts, typically,
26
1 yeah.
2 Medicaid is -- right now, it's set up as a
3 fee-for-service; so, that's based on our providing
4 services and our getting reimbursed on that.
5 And I'll talk a bit about the OMIG piece,
6 but, all in all, it's really contracting. It's
7 those contracts that we have, which are, we would
8 call them "expense-based contracts." So, we have
9 the -- we're going to provide the service. We're
10 not -- it's not, we're billing Medicaid, or
11 anything. We're expecting that money to come in.
12 And most of my colleagues will say the same
13 thing: It creates a huge cash-flow problem for
14 us.
15 So, if we're outlaying -- you know, we have
16 about $15 1/2 million worth of contract services.
17 And if we're outlying 7.5 million, for 6, 9,
18 10 months, that's -- that's huge.
19 So we end up having to do is, dip into our
20 credit line, which then costs more money, which we
21 can't charge off. We have to incur that cost.
22 So, prompt contracting is critical, going
23 forward.
24 We understand that it's -- you know, that
25 it's important to delay a bit, but to delay 6, 8,
27
1 10 months, just, it makes it almost impossible
2 for us to continue providing the care to people.
3 So, prompt contracting.
4 The other one is master contracting.
5 We service many -- we service whole families.
6 So, we may have people, or children in particular,
7 programs, in various areas, who might have some
8 families in some other programs, but the funding
9 streams are very different.
10 So what ends up happening, is, we -- and
11 they're siloed. They're just very siloed. So
12 we'll -- we're waiting on money to provide care,
13 with the child, or -- and/or family.
14 It would be much easier, if what we could do
15 is, just have one contract. It just flows
16 through, so we can service the whole family, and
17 break down the silos within the -- it's, really, a
18 lot of the children services.
19 And, I think, from my standpoint, it will
20 just make it much easier to deliver services.
21 The other piece that doesn't really ever get
22 talked about is the administrative costs associated
23 with, you know, going -- trying to stay on top of
24 getting the money.
25 The more contracts you have, the more
28
1 people we have to have to manage it.
2 So, it would be less administrative costs
3 across the board, at least on our end, if we could
4 just have central, or, really, master contracting.
5 The other pieces, one of the other
6 interesting points I wanted to hit was, in an effort
7 to address the issue, this was related to --
8 I just lost my place here. Excuse me.
9 SENATOR SAVINO: It's non-profit
10 compensation. I read it already.
11 [Laughter.]
12 MARK WICKHAM: Well, thank you.
13 SENATOR SAVINO: This is where they took the
14 cheap shot at you guys.
15 MARK WICKHAM: The Office of Medicaid
16 Inspector General, last year, both Houses passed
17 unanimously, or --
18 (Off-camera comment.)
19 MARK WICKHAM: -- yeah, it was unanimously,
20 the OMIG reform legislation, which Catholic Family
21 Center strongly supported.
22 The Governor chose not to sign that bill.
23 CSC certainly believes that the efforts to
24 eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse, and corruption,
25 is critically important. We believe that that's
29
1 important.
2 At the same time, we are -- we, and similar
3 providers, are heavily burdened, financially, and
4 otherwise, by the OMIG conducts and audits.
5 For example: What we have, are five
6 full-time staff there, are set up within our
7 organization to, basically, deal with compliance.
8 And that's -- that's regulated. We have to
9 do that. We have to be watching ourselves, and I
10 think that's important. We don't think that that's
11 not important.
12 But, one of the things that's most
13 disturbing, is that we believe the State, or OMIG,
14 took an approach that they were looking at finding
15 money to help pay for bills.
16 Well, I don't know what bills, but, you know,
17 they were out to get money.
18 And, so, we weren't committing fraud.
19 Organizations like ours were not committing fraud.
20 We're catching particular pieces, and we turn them
21 in. That's what compliance does.
22 So, what we really would like to see -- I
23 would like to see, our organization and a lot of
24 executives would like to see -- are what are the
25 protocols?
30
1 Share with us the protocols of what they're
2 looking for. What is OMIG looking for when they
3 come in to do audits?
4 Let us know.
5 I mean, because, from a compliance
6 standpoint, we should know, so that we're monitoring
7 ourselves and being able to report issues as they
8 come up.
9 Moving on here. I'll try to speed this up.
10 Finally, in the Governor's proposal budget,
11 as well as the executive order that he signed
12 subsequently, it contains language that 75 -- oh.
13 I'm going to circle back, because we actually
14 added something in here.
15 The Governor just recently signed an
16 executive order regarding administrative costs and
17 overhead, in addition to executive comp.
18 One of the things that we want to say is:
19 We're very interested in making sure we keep
20 administrative overhead low. All of us are
21 committed to that in our industry.
22 We do not want that to go up, but, with
23 increased regulations, one that I just talked about
24 with OMIG, it's hard to do that. It's very
25 difficult. But, we want to work hand in hand, and
31
1 partner -- in partnership with the state government,
2 to figure out how to do it. But, to just set
3 arbitrary numbers, like, 15 percent across the
4 board, when we have an approved federal rate at
5 17.1, I don't -- I don't know, where does that come
6 from?
7 So, we want to work hand in hand, and get to
8 places that I think will work for the State, and for
9 our organizations.
10 Not-for-profit overhead costs project -- cost
11 project, the collaborative effort of the
12 Urban Institute of the Center of Philanthropy of
13 Indiana University issued a report entitled
14 "Getting What We Pay For: Low Overhead Limits
15 Not-For-Profits' Effectiveness." [sic.]
16 The project studied nine not-for-profit
17 organizations, ranging in size, from under
18 1 million, to over 40 million, in annual
19 expenditures.
20 They found that arbitrarily low overhead
21 leads to a limited ability for an organization to
22 manage their finances, fund-raise, train and develop
23 staff, and develop the IT infrastructure that's
24 critical to effectively perform in today's world.
25 So there's enough research out there to
32
1 support monitoring and watching overhead, but it's
2 important for us to do it in a responsible way.
3 I'll conclude by saying: I want to thank you
4 for taking time to come out into the community, and
5 meet with the folks like us, so that we can share
6 our concerns.
7 And, more importantly, it's not so much
8 sharing our concerns. It's, more, what can we do
9 to help you?
10 That's what we're here to do.
11 We're here to help our communities, to help
12 people to get better, to get them back to work, and
13 to make them productive members of our society.
14 That's what we're here to do. And we're
15 successful in that, every year.
16 So, we're here to tell the story, and make
17 sure we get the word out, and have you go back to
18 Albany and support what we do, because what we do is
19 valuable, important.
20 And, as you said, Senator Savino, we do have
21 economic impact in these communities, that's very
22 important.
23 I thank you for your time today.
24 SENATOR SAVINO:: Thank you.
25 Wait, don't go.
33
1 SENATOR GALLIVAN: Go ahead.
2 SENATOR SAVINO: I'll go first. Ladies
3 first.
4 You mentioned something that's kind of
5 intriguing: The idea of a master contract.
6 You know, I've been around this world long
7 enough now that I remember when you had one
8 commissioner of Social Service. Now you have OCFS,
9 and OTDA, and OPWDD, and whatever the "alphabet soup
10 of the year" is in these agencies.
11 MARK WICKHAM: Everything.
12 SENATOR SAVINO: Back when you had one state
13 commissioner of Social Services, and then you had
14 all of the services under the big umbrella, how did
15 they contract?
16 Did they have these silos of funding then?
17 Or, do you remember?
18 Does anybody remember?
19 MARK WICKHAM: I don't remember that. I
20 don't know.
21 SENATOR SAVINO:: So, walk me through this,
22 where -- so you have a family. Let's assume you're
23 servicing a family, where the mother is in
24 substance-abuse treatment, the children are in
25 foster care. One of them may need
34
1 developmental-disability services. The other one
2 might be in special ed, and family therapy.
3 MARK WICKHAM: Uh-huh?
4 SENATOR SAVINO: So, how many different
5 service funding streams are existing in that --
6 MARK WICKHAM: Five.
7 SENATOR SAVINO: -- the life of that family?
8 MARK WICKHAM: You just mentioned five.
9 SENATOR SAVINO: Five.
10 So you would have to, essentially, contract
11 with five different --
12 MARK WICKHAM: Yes. Five different
13 government organizations to provide services to one
14 family.
15 SENATOR SAVINO:: I'm trying to figure out
16 how we would streamline that into one state
17 contract. Who would administer it?
18 I guess -- I don't know, but that's an
19 intriguing idea, and it's something we should
20 explore.
21 SENATOR GALLIVAN: Yeah, and there's a model
22 right now, with the advent of the regional economic
23 development councils.
24 MARK WICKHAM: Yes.
25 SENATOR GALLIVAN: They've put together what
35
1 they're calling "consolidated funding
2 application" --
3 MARK WICKHAM: Yes.
4 SENATOR GALLIVAN: -- that brings in, now,
5 I think it's -- it's either 12 or 14 agencies, where
6 they're making one application, comes to a central
7 place, and then gets farmed out.
8 MARK WICKHAM: Yes, and then it goes out.
9 SENATOR GALLIVAN: That might be a good
10 model. We don't know it's working yet. The goal is
11 to bring in more state agencies. But, that might be
12 a good model for us to look at, for you to look at,
13 and then comment on that, how that then might be
14 able to apply in [unintelligible] social services.
15 MARK WICKHAM: Absolutely.
16 SENATOR GALLIVAN: But that's somewhat new --
17 MARK WICKHAM: Yes.
18 SENATOR GALLIVAN: -- and the jury is out on
19 it.
20 MARK WICKHAM: Yeah.
21 Well, we think that we're uniquely positioned
22 because we provide all of those five services as --
23 to be a pilot organization, to even try it. Just
24 try it in a couple organizations across the state.
25 But that's something that we definitely would
36
1 look at, Senator.
2 SENATOR GALLIVAN: Some of the United Ways
3 out west and around Albany have spoken about this as
4 well --
5 MARK WICKHAM: Yes.
6 SENATOR GALLIVAN: -- so, you're not alone.
7 There's other people speaking up.
8 What can you do?
9 Everybody keeps speaking up.
10 MARK WICKHAM: Yeah.
11 SENATOR GALLIVAN: We keep bringing up the
12 things --
13 MARK WICKHAM: Thank you.
14 SENATOR GALLIVAN: -- not just to our
15 attention, but to anybody who will listen, that
16 might be able to make a difference, and try to do
17 something about it.
18 The OMIG issue, a number of the issues you
19 spoke about, we are -- we are trying to address the
20 OMIG issue specifically.
21 We've heard horror story after horror story
22 across the state. We were not -- we passed the
23 legislation. You mentioned the Governor didn't sign
24 it. We are looking to address it, to try to --
25 MARK WICKHAM: Thank you.
37
1 SENATOR GALLIVAN: -- come to some common
2 agreement with the Governor's Office, so that it's
3 done legitimately, and not just the money grab like
4 it was.
5 MARK WICKHAM: Yes, thank you.
6 SENATOR GALLIVAN: Like many of us think it
7 was.
8 MARK WICKHAM: Yeah, no, we appreciate that,
9 and any help we can get.
10 The change in that, from our standpoint, is
11 let us know what we can do to help in this process.
12 It's not so much that we're -- we're out here
13 providing the care, and spending -- we want to put
14 as much money, and keep as much money, in the
15 programs. We don't want to be taking money out.
16 And this, in particular, it starts to take
17 money out of programs, especially when you have to
18 do paybacks, which in -- you know, you've heard
19 the horror stories. The paybacks, which are
20 astronomical, will put not-for-profits out of
21 business. Good not-for-profits.
22 SENATOR SAVINO:: Well, that, and quite
23 frankly, I found it appalling that that executive
24 order was signed, limiting executive compensation of
25 the not-for-profits to, what is it, $199,000 a year?
38
1 MARK WICKHAM: Yes.
2 SENATOR SAVINO: Well, you know, that was
3 gratuitous in many ways, because it's only for
4 executives whose salary is 75 percent of Medicaid
5 money.
6 MARK WICKHAM: Yes.
7 SENATOR SAVINO: Many of -- the only people
8 that are going to get hurt by this, are the small
9 not-for-profit organizations. It's going be
10 difficult to recruit or retain, you know, competent
11 people --
12 MARK WICKHAM: Yes.
13 SENATOR SAVINO: -- who want to run these
14 programs.
15 The larger agencies, the hospitals, their
16 funding streams come from multiple sources.
17 MARK WICKHAM: Yes.
18 SENATOR SAVINO: So, they're not really going
19 to be affected by it.
20 And I really think that -- you know, I think
21 more people need to speak up about that, because it
22 really was a gratuitous shot at people who have been
23 struggling for the past five years to provide
24 services to, you know, the most vulnerable people in
25 our state, as if, you know, you're all just getting
39
1 rich off of social service programs.
2 MARK WICKHAM: Thank you.
3 SENATOR SAVINO: It's the most ludicrous
4 thing in the world.
5 MARK WICKHAM: Thank you.
6 SENATOR SAVINO:: I just have to say, I find
7 it so offensive. I really do.
8 MARK WICKHAM: Well, we really thank you for
9 this leadership.
10 SENATOR GALLIVAN: Thank you.
11 SENATOR SAVINO: Thank you.
12 MARK WICKHAM: Thank you very much.
13 SENATOR GALLIVAN: Ann Marie Cook.
14 Senator Robach had to leave. He had a prior
15 meeting scheduled with Rochester's own
16 Lieutenant Governor Duffy, and the Rochester
17 Business Alliance.
18 And, he did want me to let everybody know, he
19 is going to try to work his way back here.
20 ANN MARIE COOK: Senator Gallivan and
21 Senator Savino, I want to thank you very much for
22 holding this public hearing today in Rochester.
23 LifeSpan is a private not-for-profit
24 organization that serves older adults and
25 caregivers.
40
1 Last year, we served about 25,000 older
2 adults in the Finger Lakes Region.
3 We have multiple programs, about
4 30 different programs and services, everything
5 from:
6 The New York State Ombudsman Program in this
7 region;
8 We work with the Office of People with
9 Developmental Disabilities, so I'm familiar with the
10 1115 waiver;
11 RSVP New York Connects;
12 And, we also operate the New York State
13 Coalition on the Prevention of Elder Abuse, and, the
14 New York State Caregiving and Respite Coalition.
15 And, we contract with five different state
16 agencies. And that's important in my remarks.
17 As you know, all not-for-profits, you know,
18 are struggling to serve an ever-increasing client
19 base, especially in this economic downturn, and with
20 State budget cuts.
21 And, certainly, that's been true at LifeSpan.
22 And I think we have the addition of an
23 incredible age wave that we're experiencing in
24 New York State. The ever-increasing older adult
25 population, coupled with this economic downturn, has
41
1 caused a demand for services, quite frankly, like
2 we've never seen before.
3 A couple of examples of that: In just a
4 three-month period last year, at the end of the
5 year, we had 6,500 calls from older adults
6 concerned about health insurance, although, the
7 State Health Insurance Information Program was cut
8 last year.
9 And this number for our region, of course,
10 was exacerbated by the Kodak announcement of
11 bankruptcy, in which we have 25,000 retirees here
12 from Kodak who are worried about their health
13 insurance, and what to do.
14 I had to field those calls with 1.5 FTEs,
15 and, you know, it ended up being, of course,
16 "all hands on deck," to make sure we're serving
17 people, but these people are desperate in need of
18 information so that they can make informed
19 decisions.
20 Second thing I wanted to talk about is:
21 LifeSpan was thrilled to participate with
22 Cornell University and the New York City Department
23 for the Aging, on the first-ever New York State
24 Elder Abuse Prevalence and Incidence Study.
25 It's the second-largest study ever done on
42
1 elder abuse in the world.
2 And, just a -- very briefly: For every one
3 case we know about elder abuse in this state,
4 24 case go unreported. 260,000 older New Yorkers
5 were abused in a one-year period, with financial
6 exploitation is the primary form of abuse.
7 Simultaneous -- almost simultaneous to the
8 release of this report, New York State, in last
9 year's budget, cut elder-abuse-prevention funding by
10 50 percent.
11 It's been devastating.
12 We also extrapolated the amount of the cost
13 to New York State, in terms of elder-abuse financial
14 exploitation, and we estimate that it cost New York
15 State $3 billion a year, because these older
16 adults can't go back to work, they can't recover
17 those funds; they have no other choice but to go on
18 Medicaid, and get State funds to help them.
19 Despite all of this -- and I could talk for
20 hours, obviously, about the issues of older
21 adults -- with the Governor coming out, saying he
22 did want to restrict not-for-profits, which is
23 fine with me, quite frankly, to 15 percent of
24 administrative funds, I wanted to talk about some
25 ways in which we can do that, because we all want
43
1 to put more money back into programs.
2 First, of course, Mark mentioned this, the
3 speaker before me: Contract delays and late
4 payments.
5 Despite the "prompt contracting" law of a few
6 years ago, I, quite frankly, have seen very little
7 relief.
8 I just want to talk about one contract that
9 I had with the State, in which it took 14 months
10 to execute.
11 But during that time, I had to hire staff, I
12 had to do reports, I had to meet with agency staff
13 to talk about it.
14 We have a wonderful program here.
15 And every time I asked about, "What seems to
16 be the problem with the contract, and then payment?"
17 I was told, they're short in the state agency, and,
18 unfortunately, that's the best that they could do.
19 But, I'm expected to up front all that money
20 before payment.
21 So, I don't know what the answer is to the
22 delays in payments, but it certainly has an
23 effect on not-for-profits, and many have to borrow,
24 waiting for those payments.
25 Second thing I would like to talk about is,
44
1 the sheer redundancy in documentation submission;
2 and request that we create a centralized system of
3 documents.
4 I'll give you an example here, too.
5 We're all required to fill out what's called
6 a "vendor responsibility form," and, there is an
7 electronic form.
8 Many of us fill that out; and many state
9 agencies take that form, but not all state agencies.
10 And, we can't print off that form and send it to
11 those that require us to mail it. It's a different
12 form.
13 The redundancy of information is just
14 incredible.
15 And, also, each state agency requires a
16 whole list of information from us each year.
17 We don't mind providing that information, but
18 if we could just upload it, or download it, whatever
19 you call it, into one centralized system, and each
20 state agency look at that, it would save us time,
21 and I'm assuming it would save the state agencies
22 time.
23 The third point is: Centralized monitoring
24 and auditing.
25 I talked about LifeSpan; contracts with
45
1 five different state agencies.
2 I, quite frankly, host a whole slew of State
3 people that are in and out of our agency every
4 day -- we have a conference room devoted to them --
5 all looking for different information, oftentimes
6 coming with conflicting information about how they
7 would like us to keep it.
8 But, if there was a way in which they could
9 work toward a single audit, in which, if each state
10 agency came in for a particular information, they
11 looked at that, but not everything all at once.
12 I have to say, in the 16 years I have been
13 at LifeSpan, we have never received serious
14 compliance or fiscal issues, but I still host these
15 people all of the time.
16 And, also, I'm required, of course, to do an
17 outside audit, that not-for-profits are required to
18 do.
19 So, I would like this single-audit approach
20 looked at, so that we can help reduce our
21 administrative costs and move more money, of course,
22 where it needs to be, to help folks.
23 And one final regulatory issue I would like
24 to talk about is, really, the finger-imaging for
25 older adults and food stamps; and request that
46
1 this requirement be eliminated for food-stamp-only
2 applicants.
3 The State, quite frankly, has requested that
4 all food-stamp applicants be finger-imagined, even
5 those in their 80s and 90s.
6 I'll have to tell you, in the last
7 two years, I have never seen the needs of older
8 adults like I have seen now. It's the first time
9 in which I have seen that we're running out of
10 emergency food almost weekly for older adults in
11 our senior centers. They're in desperate need of
12 just the basic needs.
13 And trying to find those, and trying to get
14 them eligible for food stamps, which would help,
15 this requirement seems ridiculous to me.
16 And, I would ask that it be looked at, and
17 eliminated.
18 I want to thank you for your time.
19 We really appreciate this, as we're all
20 trying to serve, I think, people, in general.
21 I think that we have to looked at these
22 administrative changes that would help us to get the
23 money where it needs to be; and, in my case, to
24 older New Yorkers.
25
47
1 SENATOR SAVINO:: On the food stamp
2 finger-imaging issue, I was of the impression
3 that -- first of all, the Governor, you heard him in
4 his State of the State, say, that he's going to
5 eliminate the waiver on that.
6 But I was under the impression, it was only
7 the city of New York that continued that practice in
8 the state. That, the rest of the counties aren't
9 currently requiring food-stamp applicants to be
10 finger-imagined.
11 ANN MARIE COOK: There are other counties in
12 the state that are requiring that, or looking at
13 that.
14 SENATOR SAVINO: Yeah. So I guess, then, the
15 good news is, the Governor -- it requires a waiver.
16 He's not going grant the waiver anymore. And
17 he's decided that this is unnecessary, as you
18 pointed out, for a whole host of reasons.
19 There may be people who will then try and
20 legislate it again, so, I think you need to talk as
21 often as you can about the importance of getting
22 food to hungry seniors.
23 And the idea of a senior, you know, at
24 80 years old, showing up at a welfare center to
25 get their fingerprint taken, is -- you know, it's
48
1 demeaning at that point in their life.
2 But, on the contract delays: So, you use
3 the example, where you had one contract, it took
4 14 months to get paid.
5 What would happen if your agency, or any
6 other agency, just decided they weren't going comply
7 with the contract while you waited to get paid?
8 What steps would the State take against
9 you?
10 ANN MARIE COOK: Well, I suppose -- I guess
11 that they would say we didn't fulfill the terms of
12 the contract. And, even though we outlaid that
13 money, they may not pay us.
14 SENATOR SAVINO: What prevents you from
15 saying the same thing about them?
16 I mean, I'm curious: Has anybody ever tried
17 to sue the State for failure to, like --
18 So, you enter -- you respond to an RFP. You
19 enter into a contract with them. They grant it to
20 you. They give you a set of requirements that you
21 must meet, and, this is how much money you're
22 supposed to get paid.
23 Under any other circumstance, anywhere else
24 in the world, if someone did not live up to their
25 end of the bargain, the place to solve that would be
49
1 in the court.
2 Does anybody ever -- has anyone ever sued the
3 State for failure to comply with their end of the
4 bargain?
5 Or do you all just wait to get paid,
6 eventually?
7 ANN MARIE COOK: We wait to get paid.
8 I've never considered suing the State, I'll
9 be honest with you. But, it's an interesting idea.
10 SENATOR SAVINO:: I'm just surprised nobody
11 does it.
12 Anywhere, if it weren't the State that you
13 were doing business with, you would be down in
14 the -- you know, whatever the appropriate court
15 venue would be, suing for --
16 Look, I see Brian in the back; he's shaking
17 his head.
18 But, it's -- it's -- it is kind of odd that
19 the State can get away with this; and, yet, you
20 guys continue to respond to RFPs, and do business
21 with the State.
22 ANN MARIE COOK: And I think, for us, I mean,
23 quite frankly, it's because we want to serve people.
24 You know --
25 SENATOR SAVINO:: But they're taking
50
1 advantage of you.
2 Could be.
3 SENATOR GALLIVAN: Along those lines: The
4 contracts on the State end of it, does it say
5 anything about the requirement of payment by the
6 State within a certain time period?
7 ANN MARIE COOK: Well, I assume it -- I think
8 it does in the "prompt contracting" law.
9 Although, I have to tell you, in my
10 experience, even since it's been passed, nothing has
11 changed.
12 SENATOR GALLIVAN: No, nobody follows it.
13 ANN MARIE COOK: No one follows it.
14 SENATOR SAVINO: You see, I've done
15 "prompt pay" legislation, but it applies to the
16 construction industry.
17 So maybe what we should do, Senator Gallivan,
18 is take my "prompt pay" statute, and see if we can't
19 figure out --
20 Barbara is sitting there.
21 -- if we can't -- apply it.
22 (Off-camera comment.)
23 SENATOR SAVINO: Right.
24 (Off-camera comment.)
25 SENATOR SAVINO: So we need to get it
51
1 through -- on these contracts.
2 SENATOR GALLIVAN: For the Human Services.
3 SENATOR SAVINO: For Human Services.
4 Hmm.
5 Well, we're gonna try again.
6 SENATOR GALLIVAN: Let me ask one other
7 question, if I may, back to the finger-imaging?
8 ANN MARIE COOK: Sure. Uh-huh?
9 SENATOR GALLIVAN: If finger-imaging is to
10 continue, and there's, you know, some laudable
11 goals for it, specifically the seniors, where
12 would you suggest the cutoff should be?
13 ANN MARIE COOK: I don't know.
14 SENATOR GALLIVAN: 80 years old?
15 70 years old? 40 years old? 100 years old?
16 ANN MARIE COOK: Senator, honestly, I work
17 with older adults, 60 and older, and I don't know
18 any of them that apply. And we have to encourage
19 them to apply.
20 I have to say, for older adults in
21 particular, there's a lot of shame involved in this.
22 SENATOR SAVINO: Uh-huh.
23 ANN MARIE COOK: So, if we get to the point
24 where we're encouraging them to apply because we
25 know they don't have enough food, one more barrier,
52
1 quite frankly, gets them where they don't do it.
2 I work with older adults, 60 and older; so
3 I'm going to say: 60.
4 SENATOR GALLIVAN: All right, thank you.
5 ANN MARIE COOK: Thank you.
6 SENATOR SAVINO: Thank you.
7 Next is Rebecca Case Grammatico, senior
8 attorney at the Empire Justice Center, to talk about
9 foreclosure prevention services.
10 REBECCA CASE GRAMMATICO: So, yes, thank you
11 for -- Senator Gallivan specifically, for inviting
12 Empire Justice Center to this hearing.
13 And, yes, my name is Rebecca Case Grammatico.
14 I am the supervising attorney for the foreclosure
15 prevention unit in Rochester, New York, just down,
16 right across the way here.
17 Empire Justice Center is a statewide legal
18 services organization, with offices in Albany,
19 Rochester, White Plains, and in Long Island.
20 My office specifically provides support and
21 training to legal services in other community-based
22 organizations.
23 We undertake policy research and analysis; we
24 engage in legislative and administrative advocacy;
25 and we represent low-income-individuals, as well as
53
1 classes of New Yorkers in a wide range of
2 poverty-law issues, including consumer public
3 assistance, child care, and disability benefits.
4 On behalf of my organization, I would just
5 like to say, thank you both, for the opportunity
6 today; and for, specifically, your continued support
7 in these areas, and specifically, also, the
8 foreclosure prevention services campaign that we are
9 currently in the middle of.
10 Our office in -- our staff members in
11 Albany and Rochester are particularly appreciative
12 of your staff, and your work with us.
13 I briefly want to, sort of step away from
14 what my testimony is, and just mention the ability
15 to sue the State for inability to fund contracts
16 in a timely manner.
17 Number one: I don't know whether there's
18 some sort of an attorney's fees provision in that
19 opportunity.
20 If there was, I suspect that my office might
21 be willing to take a look at that, perhaps, and see
22 the viability of that.
23 But the reality is, is that, in order to sue,
24 you have to have money to sue. And, of course,
25 non-profits don't have money. Sort of the
54
1 definition; right?
2 So, as you're looking at that, it might be
3 helpful to incorporate some sort of attorneys's
4 fees provision.
5 [Off-camera inaudible comment.]
6 REBECCA CASE GRAMMATICO: I'm sorry?
7 [Off-camera inaudible comment.]
8 REBECCA CASE GRAMMATICO: Oh, arbitration.
9 I'm not -- not really, no.
10 [Off-camera inaudible comment.]
11 REBECCA CASE GRAMMATICO: It is, but it
12 doesn't tend to favor the consumers; or the folks
13 who are actually the underdog in this situation.
14 So, today my testimony will focus on four
15 issues, not just foreclosure prevention work.
16 And I apologize. Unfortunately, my area of
17 expertise is strictly foreclosure prevention, so, if
18 you have questions in the welfare or the child-care
19 issues, I'm not your girl, but you can contact
20 Susan Antos [ph.] in our Albany office, or Don in
21 our Long Island office.
22 So, briefly, those issues are:
23 Improving the identification of disability
24 screening for welfare applicants, and sanction
25 policies;
55
1 The importance of full implementation of
2 final phase of the welfare grant increase;
3 The desperate need to invest in child-care
4 assistance for low-income working New Yorkers;
5 And, of course, the economic impact of
6 foreclosures on New York's families and children.
7 So, first: The welfare grant increase.
8 The work of non-profit agencies serving
9 New Yorkers faces a nearly insurmountable obstacle
10 when a safety net is in tatters.
11 The striking example of this dilemma arises
12 when circumstances compel a family to turn to the
13 public-assistance program for their existence.
14 In the 22 years since 1990, the cost of
15 living in New York has risen by more than
16 70 percent. During that period, the welfare grant
17 in New York has increased by 20 percent.
18 As a result, poor New York families have an
19 ever-increasing difficulty in meeting the most basic
20 needs.
21 In 2009, the State adopted a modest grant
22 increase, to be phased in over three years, as you
23 know. The first increase in the basic allowance in
24 19 years.
25 The first two steps were enacted, but,
56
1 unfortunately, in 2011, the State failed to
2 implement the final stage. And, the executive
3 budget now proposes to further delay that final
4 installment by phasing it in, in half of a third
5 step this year; and then half, next year.
6 If the proposal is adopted, this very limited
7 increase would only -- will have taken five years,
8 instead of the intended three, which was intended.
9 Even when fully implemented, however, the
10 grant will still bring families to an income level
11 less than half of the federal poverty level.
12 In Monroe County, the maximum grant for a
13 family of three will rise to 48 percent of the
14 poverty level. While this grant, theoretically,
15 enables them to provide for their essential needs,
16 the reality still falls short.
17 The full grant increase, estimated to cost
18 the State an additional 6 million, nevertheless,
19 will provide a very small but meaningful supplement
20 to poor families.
21 At a bare minimum, the increase pledged by
22 legislature and governor in 2009 must be implemented
23 in the 2012 session.
24 Number two: The work-related sanctions.
25 We support two legislative proposals to
57
1 address the problem of an unexpectedly --
2 unacceptedly high, excuse me, number of welfare
3 recipients who are punished for alleged
4 non-compliance with work requirements.
5 Before describing the legislation, it's
6 instructed to review the four principles that guide
7 this initiative.
8 Number one: Public assistance recipients are
9 much more likely to have serious disabilities, than
10 is the case for the population in general. And are
11 even more likely to have disabilities than other
12 low-people.
13 In the welfare system, disabilities
14 frequently are not recognized; and, therefore,
15 needed accommodations are not made.
16 Number three: People of serious physical and
17 mental limitations that have not been accommodated
18 are at much greater risk of being punished for those
19 alleged non-compliances.
20 And not surprisingly the families who are
21 sanctioned are more likely to experience hunger and
22 food insecurity, health problems, homelessness,
23 and further need for emergency services, which are
24 costly.
25 If this is a set of facts that has prompted
58
1 advocates to endorse the two pieces of legislation,
2 then one would improve the process by which local
3 agencies can identify clients with disabilities
4 first.
5 The other would serve to prevent unwarranted
6 sanctions, particularly when imposed on clients with
7 the disabilities.
8 Screening for disability, another piece: Our
9 proposed screening legislation would ensure that
10 local districts offer clients the opportunity to
11 be evaluated for disabilities soon, at the
12 application stage, and at other appropriate times.
13 Require OTDA to develop a high-quality tool
14 for screening for physical and mental disabilities,
15 and require that the districts use this tool to
16 evaluate their clients.
17 Provide, that if the initial screening
18 suggests a possible disability, that the client must
19 be offered the opportunity for a more in-depth
20 evaluation by a qualified professional.
21 And also require, that if the valuation
22 process indicates the presence of a disability, the
23 client must be offered appropriate accommodations,
24 to ensure full program access.
25 Now, the protections against those
59
1 inappropriate sanctions: The proposed legislation
2 would require that, before imposing a sanction,
3 districts must determine whether the alleged
4 failure to comply was related to a disability, a
5 problem with child care, or transportation
6 difficulties.
7 Mandatory sanctions, but they're
8 inflexible. Punishment periods would be eliminated;
9 and, instead, a sanction can be lifted once the
10 client demonstrates a willingness to come into
11 compliance.
12 And, also, a client who is otherwise
13 satisfactorily participating in assigned work
14 activities must not be sanctioned for a single minor
15 infraction.
16 We believe that these two proposals would go
17 a long way toward ensuring that no New Yorkers's
18 excluded from needed benefits because of their
19 disability.
20 Now, changing topics and focus to child care
21 now: The wages of low-income working families are
22 usually not sufficient to pay for a child-care
23 provider who cares for their children while they
24 work; and, to cover, also, that other necessities of
25 life, including, rent, utilities, and food, and
60
1 transportation.
2 As a result, child-care subsidies are
3 critical to helping low-income families retain their
4 jobs.
5 Child care is in crisis, as local service
6 districts struggle with the reduced funding; a
7 $70 million reduction in funding since 2009 and
8 2010. This $70 million gap exists, with the
9 $93 million in the State funding provided by the
10 Governor. But without that money, the reduction
11 would be approximately 163 million.
12 Our testimony explains in further detail,
13 in front of you, how this funding problem has
14 developed, and explains how, even with the
15 $93 million, there is still not enough child-care
16 assistance available to help all eligible families.
17 Under state law, families with incomes up
18 to 200 percent of poverty are eligible for financial
19 assistance paying for child care, but there is not
20 enough funding to cover all of the eligible families
21 across the state.
22 And as those funds have declined, counties
23 have taken their own dramatic steps to cope with
24 those decreases.
25 I have outlined in the testimony, several
61
1 counties across the area, but I'm only going
2 highlight a couple here.
3 In Erie County, with its lowered eligibility
4 guidelines for low-income working parents, from
5 200 percent of poverty level to 125 percent of
6 poverty, effective March of 2010, that's leaving
7 1,100 children, in 700 families, without child care.
8 Erie County was able to partially restore
9 that eligibility to 175 percent of poverty,
10 effective June.
11 The other county I wanted to mention was
12 Albany County. They've stopped taking applications
13 for child-care services from working families for
14 one year, beginning April 23 of 2010.
15 And, again, there's more in the testimony.
16 Finally: Child care is a solid investment in
17 job creation, as we have discussed already. Every
18 dollar invested in child care saves a job for a
19 working parent, and it also create as job for the
20 child-care provider.
21 All parents share in the cost of child care
22 by making co-payments, and that's an investment in
23 the education and safety of our youngest citizens,
24 that is shared by their -- the parents and the
25 government.
62
1 And, at a minimum, New York should invest an
2 additional 70 million to bring our child-care
3 investment up.
4 Now, my area that I can talk somewhat
5 intelligently on, is foreclosures.
6 The loss of a home, as you know, a
7 foreclosure auction negatively impacts the state,
8 local municipalities, and the families who are
9 specifically suffering from that loss.
10 According to a May 2009 report by the
11 Urban Institute, entitled "The Impacts of
12 Foreclosures on Families and Communities," when a
13 foreclosure occurs, the families living in that
14 foreclosed property are impacted in virtually all
15 aspects of their well-being.
16 It's an older report, but you can imagine
17 that it's still quite valid today.
18 In addition to the harm caused to the family,
19 the impact of a single foreclosed home is profoundly
20 felt the more urban the environment is.
21 So, not only through the tax lost in the
22 values of revenues -- excuse me -- the lost tax
23 revenue, and the value of the property is lost, but,
24 also, the simple cost of it cutting grass for a
25 vacant property; and, ultimately, the demolition
63
1 costs for a property that's become vacant from --
2 that also brings an additional costs, as crime and
3 public-health issues.
4 Now, I'm not going to spend a lot of time
5 talking about the trends of foreclosure. I think we
6 all know that's a serious problem.
7 But, briefly, if I could highlight some
8 numbers:
9 According to a study that we have done, and
10 the specifics are in testimony, we have estimated
11 that over 250,000 homes in New York State are either
12 in foreclosure or about to become in foreclosure.
13 We have had some hiccups, shall we say,
14 along the way, with the robo signing.
15 And, the courts have taken a particular
16 aggressive approach to that, to make sure that
17 lenders' attorneys are taking a proactive look at
18 their cases.
19 And in -- good or bad, depending on how you
20 look it, and which side of the coin you're on, that
21 has caused, in effect, a moratorium on folks.
22 So, as a result, people are stuck in this
23 limbo state right now, not actually entering
24 foreclosure.
25 Or, if they are entering foreclosure, they're
64
1 not entering into the required settlement-conference
2 process, so people are getting served. They're not
3 getting the request for judicial intervention filed,
4 which triggers the settlement-conference process to
5 begin.
6 So, folks are sitting there, without
7 loans, that are currently unaffordable, and the
8 interest continues to accrue, and people are
9 unable to actually communicate with their banks,
10 which further causes delay and costs.
11 I do want to say that New York, thankfully,
12 has taken a proactive approach to the foreclosure
13 crisis. They've been some of the -- New York has
14 been amongst the most aggressive in the country to
15 address the subprime and the foreclosure crisis.
16 New York was only the second highest of
17 11 states to experience the home-price
18 appreciation in 2010. And, we are fourth in the
19 nation in terms of loan modifications achieved
20 through the federal Home Affordable Modification
21 Program. The "HAMP Program."
22 We strongly believe that New York could be
23 poised to exit the foreclosure crisis ahead of most
24 other states. But, if we stay the course right
25 now, with the current lack of funding for the
65
1 program and activities, we will be in a much
2 worse-off shape than we already are.
3 The good news, I suppose, is that we believe
4 that we are approximately halfway through the
5 crisis; whereas, the rest of the country is about a
6 third of the way.
7 But, again, if we don't have funding for the
8 service providers on the ground -- the housing
9 counselors and legal-services providers and pro bono
10 attorneys -- to assist folks in that foreclosure
11 process, it's going to become much worse, and it's
12 going to take us a much longer time to exit the
13 crisis.
14 Now, some numbers on the foreclosure program
15 itself.
16 It started in 2008, and over 80,000
17 homeowners have been assisted, and at least
18 14,000 homes have been saved from foreclosure.
19 Every dollar invested in the
20 foreclosure-prevention program has resulted in at
21 least a $68 savings to the State. This is due to
22 the avoidance of the decreased property values and
23 the subsequent decreased tax revenue.
24 It's estimated that, today, the program has
25 saved over $3.4 billion across New York State.
66
1 If nothing is done, however, to help that
2 more than 250,000 homes entering foreclosure, the
3 cost would total, approximately, over 61 billion in
4 decreased property values and the reduction of the
5 tax base.
6 Now, the Governor has announced in his State
7 of State Address, and has included some money in his
8 executive budget, for the creation of the
9 foreclosure relief unit within the Department of
10 Financial Services.
11 To date, few details have been revealed on
12 that program.
13 We continue to work with them, to try to help
14 funnel, and have a conversation about how best to
15 implement that program.
16 But, so far, we have found that they are
17 providing a state-run mobile command center, staffed
18 with foreclosure counselors who are coming to
19 Long Island, I believe this week, or next. And they
20 provide information about loan modifications that
21 are available under federal law, and they take
22 complaints from homeowners, so that the unit can
23 investigate further.
24 There's already a system in place right now
25 to assist those homeowners.
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1 It's a great idea, as long as it's used in
2 conjunction with the program that's proven to work.
3 That's all I have.
4 Thank you.
5 SENATOR SAVINO:: Thank you.
6 The foreclosure prevention program that we
7 currently have in New York State, as you pointed
8 out, is probably the most comprehensive in the
9 nation.
10 REBECCA CASE GRAMMATICO: Yes.
11 SENATOR SAVINO: Senator Klein, who is -- was
12 the deputy majority leader at the time, actually
13 created it.
14 We had a press conference about a week ago,
15 with providers from all around the state, to focus
16 on just how important this is.
17 REBECCA CASE GRAMMATICO: Yes, and we thank
18 you.
19 SENATOR SAVINO: It would be a tragedy if
20 New York, which, you know, stepped out way in front
21 of the rest of the country, falls behind.
22 It is $25 million. And I think we're, you
23 know, making the case to Governor's Office, that
24 even if the program is going to be administered
25 through the Ben Lawsky's office, that's great, but
68
1 you got to put the money there --
2 REBECCA CASE GRAMMATICO: That's right.
3 SENATOR SAVINO: -- because we have far too
4 many people at risk.
5 I'm happy to see that you guys are supportive
6 of the idea of investing in child care. We need to
7 do it. It's something important.
8 And, you know, I actually have met with your
9 downstate counterparts, to talk about the sanction
10 issue.
11 You didn't -- interestingly, you didn't
12 mention the issue of fair hearings.
13 I don't know about the rest of the state or
14 the other counties. In New York City, they lose
15 their fair hearings -- the city loses, just about
16 100 percent of the time; which means, they
17 sanction somebody for either failure to comply with
18 workfare, or failure to show up for a face-to-face,
19 or whatever the case happens to be, and they lose,
20 every time.
21 I'm not -- is that consistent statistics
22 with counties outside of the city in
23 upstate New York?
24 REBECCA CASE GRAMMATICO: I can't say.
25 That's outside of my knowledge.
69
1 SENATOR SAVINO: Just curious.
2 REBECCA CASE GRAMMATICO: I'm sorry.
3 But I'm sure that you can get the information
4 from folks in Albany as well.
5 SENATOR SAVINO: Okay. Thank you.
6 SENATOR GALLIVAN: We actually have some of
7 that information.
8 SENATOR SAVINO: Uh-huh.
9 SENATOR GALLIVAN: And we have been working
10 with New York City to try to correct that. A lot of
11 it -- some of it was sloppy paperwork.
12 SENATOR SAVINO: Yeah.
13 SENATOR GALLIVAN: Better handling
14 internally.
15 But, no, they were not consistent with the
16 rest of the state.
17 New York City was very high. The rest of the
18 state, pretty much consistently, as compared from
19 county to county.
20 SENATOR SAVINO:: Okay.
21 SENATOR GALLIVAN: Significantly lower.
22 REBECCA CASE GRAMMATICO: If you have other
23 questions, I'm sure that those folks can offer
24 some sort of assistance to you.
25 SENATOR SAVINO: Thanks.
70
1 REBECCA CASE GRAMMATICO: Thank you.
2 SENATOR SAVINO: Next is, Jean Carroll, the
3 president and CEO of the YWCA.
4 JEAN CARROLL: Yes, I'm Jean Carroll. I'm
5 president and CEO of the YWCA of Rochester, in
6 Monroe County.
7 And I'm here today, along with
8 Lydia Rodriguez, who is one of the 1,000-plus women
9 and girls that we serve annually.
10 And, I thought that, while I have some
11 messages to share with you, I thought that it would
12 be good for you to hear first-hand from Lydia about
13 one of the services that is in danger of not being
14 continued.
15 LYDIA RODRIGUEZ: Okay, hi.
16 AS she said, I'm Lydia Rodriguez.
17 And my story is, I come from a
18 domestic-violence background. Severe domestic
19 violence.
20 My son and I fled from Syracuse. We came
21 over here to Rochester where we knew no one.
22 Nothing. Nobody.
23 We heard about ABW, and they took women.
24 I just needed to be away from Syracuse, as I
25 lived there for 23 years. And, whatever shelter I
71
1 went through, I have lived, in various parts of
2 Syracuse. I didn't want to be found.
3 I was almost killed, twice.
4 So, we made it over here, far enough from
5 Syracuse, where, I could feel safe walking the
6 streets, but close enough to where my older children
7 could come and see me if they had to.
8 Well, I ended up coming to the YWCA, by the
9 grace of God.
10 I've got into support services, where, we
11 were lost.
12 We were lost.
13 And we were being turned away from everywhere
14 that we went. And it was to the point where I felt
15 that I would have to go back.
16 And if I went back, that would be my life.
17 I had, my son was 10. Then, a 10-year-old.
18 He's 13 now.
19 And through the YWCA, they helped us. They
20 roomed us. And they helped us, through support
21 services, find an affordable and safe apartment in
22 the Irondequoit area.
23 We were close to hospitals.
24 He got to a wonderful school, which is
25 East Irondequoit Middle School. Excellent school
72
1 system.
2 We were able to, through the YWCA, to get
3 counseling, because this is 14 years of extreme
4 domestic violence. And counseling, not only for
5 myself, but for my son.
6 Throughout being here, we were found.
7 We were found, somehow. And, the YWCA, they
8 helped me to get into a higher apartment, so that --
9 because I was afraid. I was, like: He's going
10 climb through our windows.
11 We lived in a first floor.
12 They helped me to feel safe. You know, they
13 gave us the safety. They moved us to a upper
14 apartment, which I don't believe they usually do.
15 They helped us to make our Christmas.
16 With school, they helped us with school
17 supplies for my children.
18 Clothes, because we came with nothing. We
19 left everything, in the middle of the night.
20 And, they helped us in so many aspects.
21 Right now, my son is doing great in school.
22 Like I said, we're getting our mental health.
23 We're close to the hospitals, getting the help we
24 need.
25 For Thanksgiving, they helped us with food.
73
1 That first Christmas; it was August when we
2 came, so, of course, we didn't have nothing. They
3 made Christmas possible for me and my child.
4 My daughter ended up coming. She was also a
5 victim of domestic violence. They also helped house
6 her, and helped her with their service.
7 They helped me.
8 I didn't know anything about the YWCA.
9 I didn't know anything. I thought it was,
10 you know, a place where people just rent apartments,
11 or whatever. But, it was much more than that.
12 They helped us to get furniture. They helped
13 me get into public assistance. Helped me get to the
14 doctors.
15 At times, when I couldn't get to the grocery
16 store, every month, our social worker would come,
17 and she would take us grocery shopping, which was an
18 extreme help.
19 I suffer from severe asthma.
20 Her office is downstairs, and, I was having
21 asthma attack. I couldn't hardly move.
22 My support-service manager, she came in and
23 took me to the hospital. Stayed with me, you know,
24 while I got admitted, and everything.
25 And, it's just a lot of help.
74
1 I have met young girls there that were
2 homeless also, because of the economy, et cetera.
3 And, you know, it gives you a heads up.
4 It makes you feel comfortable.
5 And, I felt unworthy; I felt like nothing.
6 And, now, I can lift my head up.
7 I can walk the streets. I have a safe place
8 to live. My son is doing excellent. I'm doing
9 fine.
10 They -- where we couldn't afford, they take
11 us places, like Darien Lake. I could never afford
12 to take any son there. We had no transportation, or
13 anything.
14 They do that for us.
15 They took us to Niagara Falls.
16 They give us services, where we get together
17 and we talk about parenting, and self-help issues.
18 So, you know, we need that. And it's
19 important, because there's a lot of women dying from
20 domestic violence that don't know that they have
21 places to go. That don't realize that there are
22 people that can help. So we stay in this situation.
23 And, I believe that if I knew -- I was in the
24 situation for 14 years. If I knew that there was,
25 you know, these type of programs, that could help
75
1 me to be safe, they can get me away from this
2 violence, and -- and not only, just find me an
3 apartment and leave me there, and, Okay, you're on
4 your own, but, give me these support services that I
5 need to find help.
6 So, okay, you need mental help, you need to
7 talk, we're here.
8 Go to this program. Come to that program.
9 You know, it's very helpful. Because, like I
10 said, we're dying. And a lot of women, you know, I
11 could have died.
12 I was a statistics. I have been in the
13 hospital, twice. I had to have surgery to have
14 discs removed that were crushed from being choked.
15 I had bones -- when I came to the YWCA, bones in my
16 face broke, and I still can't barely see from one
17 side of my face.
18 But, I thank God that I found the YWCA, that
19 I ended up here, because they saved my life.
20 So...
21 SENATOR SAVINO:: Thank you, Lydia, for
22 sharing.
23 JEAN CARROLL: Thank you, Lydia.
24 You know, there is nothing more compelling
25 than a firsthand account of how, what you have done,
76
1 and what we try to do as a community, makes a
2 difference in an individual's life.
3 At the YWCA, we serve a 1,000 women and
4 children every year.
5 We have a continuum of housing services.
6 We start out with emergency housing. And
7 then we have, in addition to that, transitional
8 housing, and supportive living. And, then,
9 long-term permanent housing.
10 And, women can come in at any point along
11 that continuum.
12 And we do, often, get women who have been
13 victims of domestic violence at our emergency
14 housing. About 40 percent of the women who come
15 through our housing program have been victims of
16 domestic violence.
17 A critical component along any person's
18 journey, when they're found to be homeless, whether
19 it's because of domestic violence, or, you know,
20 lack of financial resources, or mental or physical
21 health, a critical component is the support
22 services.
23 And, the YWCA has relied on many sources to
24 provide support services to the women that we serve.
25 In the past, we have had funding from
77
1 New York State. It was originally called
2 "supportive housing for families and young
3 adults." And, we have had that funding for about
4 seven years, and, we no longer have that funding.
5 So, we have had to cut back on our staff, and
6 not been able to provide the level of support
7 services that are needed.
8 Over the past three years, in fact, you
9 know, while funding has been cut, we've seen an
10 expansion in the need for emergency housing and
11 longer-term housing.
12 We did expand our services to families,
13 because it is, in fact, women with children who are
14 one of the greatest areas of increase in
15 homelessness.
16 One of the things that is very true about
17 homelessness, is that it doesn't happen overnight,
18 and it doesn't get solved by short-term
19 emergency-shelter stays.
20 That is why the permanent affordable
21 apartments, linked to on-site services, is really
22 the solution. It's a proven cost-effective and
23 humane way to provide stable homes to
24 individuals and families who have difficulty
25 finding and maintaining housing.
78
1 This year's underfunding endangers a lot of
2 the stability of very fragile residents at the
3 YWCA, and around the state.
4 The supportive housing program is the area
5 where we would have been funded, where we are not
6 currently funded. It was a consolidation of many
7 other programs under that umbrella last year, and,
8 went from substantially a higher rate of funding to
9 a much lower one.
10 One of the stats on this, is that, over
11 12,800 disabled tenants in 163 residences really
12 have inadequate services because of the underfunding
13 in the supportive housing program.
14 Underfunding also puts federal funding at
15 risk.
16 New York State leverages significant
17 federal resources, up to four federal dollars for
18 every State dollar.
19 So, from a cost standpoint, or from a
20 leveraging standpoint, having those services in
21 place is very important.
22 The other area that I wanted to talk about,
23 since I know that you also have oversight related to
24 the Office of Children and Family Services, is our
25 program where we serve teen moms.
79
1 We work with about 250 teen moms annually;
2 teenagers who are pregnant and parenting, and at
3 risk of dropping out of school.
4 Typically, nationwide, about 75 percent of
5 teen moms drop out of school.
6 At the YWCA, we have really focused our
7 programming and our services. We are currently in
8 seven of the city high schools, on site, and we
9 provide the teen moms that are at those schools with
10 the highest-quality, evidence-based teen outreach
11 program approach to service.
12 In fact, this past school year, 76 percent of
13 the senior girls in our "young-parent support
14 services" program, graduated.
15 And, 86 percent of girls in the program,
16 18 months or more, delayed a repeat pregnancy.
17 Excellent results such as these should be
18 supported; yet, because of changes in funding and
19 administration in New York State, we're losing our
20 ability to continue providing these services.
21 A program-funding stream called, "APS," or,
22 "adolescent pregnancy and parenting services,"
23 administered through the Office of Children and
24 Family Services, provided support to these
25 vulnerable young women and their children.
80
1 This was transitioned out of the
2 Department of Office of Children and Family Services
3 and into the New York State Department of Health.
4 The Department of Health now targets
5 teens for primary prevention services, which is
6 focused on preventing an initial pregnancy.
7 And while I certainly agree that it would be
8 better for these young women, for themselves, and
9 for their children, to delay sex and childbearing,
10 cutting services and support to teens who are
11 moms and have young babies, teens who are moving
12 towards graduation, and post-secondary education,
13 is not the result that any of us want.
14 I'm hopeful that you may be able to help to
15 direct me to alternative funding that already exists
16 within New York State budget, that can continue the
17 kind of success that we have had.
18 This is not a one-year success rate.
19 This, we have been doing this for about
20 20 years, so -- and with the teen outreach program
21 fully functional for about five years.
22 So, we have really shown the results. It
23 does make a big difference.
24 And I would very much like any advice that
25 you can give me on this.
81
1 As an administrator, I struggle every day
2 with how to prioritize our services, between housing
3 for women and children, and services to teen moms.
4 I knowing that your job as senators is
5 probably even more daunting than mine, in terms of
6 making decisions related to this the State budget.
7 I ask that you consider Lydia, and my
8 testimony, and the impacts that the funding levels
9 within New York State have on a very, very
10 vulnerable population in our community.
11 Thank you.
12 SENATOR SAVINO:: Thank you.
13 Lydia, we'd like to thank you for sharing
14 your story. You're reminding us of what these
15 dollars actually do, and the difference they make
16 in people's lives.
17 On the teen-pregnancy issue, are you not at
18 all frustrated by the fact that television has now
19 glorified this?
20 We have this weekly reality show now called
21 "Teen Mom." And they go out and recruit some
22 15-year-old girls to show their -- and they become a
23 reality -- like Jersey Shore.
24 It's really outrageous, Senator Gallivan.
25 And now they're on the front cover of
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1 magazines. You can't come out of the supermarket
2 without seeing these girls and their babies, and,
3 you know, they glorify them, and turned them into
4 stars.
5 Are you -- how do you, as a service provider,
6 then, talk to a teenaged girl about this situation
7 that she finds herself in?
8 JEAN CARROLL: Most of the young women that
9 we're working with, they don't intend to become
10 pregnant. They really are not setting out with that
11 as a goal in their life.
12 Often, the biggest issue with the teen moms
13 that we're dealing with is, really, the lack of
14 guidance in their lives. And, they're not seeing
15 a future for themselves.
16 Rochester -- the city of Rochester, which is
17 where we provide our services, has the highest rate
18 of teen pregnancy outside of New York City. It is
19 very, very high -- tenth -- in child poverty in the
20 country.
21 So, there are many forces that are at work
22 that probably aren't very well reflected on the show
23 that you see on cable, in terms of the challenges
24 that these young women are up against.
25 Often, they have not had the opportunity to
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1 even get out of their own neighborhood, to see what
2 the potential is for them, long term.
3 So, a lot of it has to do with, working with
4 these young women, to build themselves up. To help
5 them to develop a sense of their own future.
6 And surprisingly enough, I have heard many of
7 the young women say, that, now that they have a
8 child, they have a better sense of responsibility,
9 and look more to the future than they did before
10 they became pregnant.
11 SENATOR SAVINO: I hope so.
12 JEAN CARROLL: They -- yeah, well, you know,
13 you can't take anything for granted.
14 SENATOR SAVINO: No.
15 JEAN CARROLL: So, helping these young women
16 on their way, you know, we can't change the fact
17 that they have a child.
18 We can certainly do everything that we can,
19 in terms of primary prevention, which I think we
20 should. But once they have a child, the critical,
21 critical issue, is making sure they get educated,
22 not only get out of high school, but also continue
23 for a post-secondary education, so that they can
24 have a future beyond poverty, for themselves and
25 that child.
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1 So, that's what we're all about, is making
2 that future happen.
3 SENATOR SAVINO:: What is the cost to this
4 program for your agency?
5 JEAN CARROLL: Well, I would say -- let me
6 think.
7 Usually, for each case manager, I would say
8 it's about $50,000 for each school that we're in.
9 And we're in seven different schools.
10 So, 350,000, about, for the program.
11 SENATOR GALLIVAN: One question.
12 And, Lydia, my thanks, also, for sharing your
13 story with us.
14 Regarding domestic-violence victims and
15 emergency housing, and you may not know this off the
16 top of your head: Are you able to tell us what the
17 average length, or the duration of, the services
18 that you're providing for domestic violence
19 victims, as it relates to housing?
20 5 days? 100 days? 3 years?
21 JEAN CARROLL: Oh, no.
22 We're pretty limited in terms of the services
23 that we provide.
24 We, generally, I would say the average stay,
25 if it's an individual person, a single woman, it's
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1 probably two weeks.
2 If it's a family, it tends to be 30 to
3 45 days.
4 SENATOR GALLIVAN: And, then, are you in all
5 of those cases, or, can you put a percentage on the
6 assistance?
7 Are you providing assistance as they're
8 transitioning -- transitioning, excuse me, out of
9 the emergency housing?
10 JEAN CARROLL: We were.
11 We are not currently able to do that
12 because --
13 SENATOR GALLIVAN: Because of funding.
14 JEAN CARROLL: -- because of funding.
15 That was another New York State Emergency
16 Solutions Grant that was cut.
17 We did, in the past, receive funding for
18 staff that we had on site, that the women would get
19 to know while they're there. And then they would
20 follow them after they left, for six months to a
21 year.
22 They would have, you know, at minimum, of
23 every two weeks, meet with the women, to ensure
24 that, once they leave our facility and move into an
25 apartment, that they maintain housing stability, and
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1 that they get other services in the community.
2 So, it was a very de-institutional approach
3 to serving the women, but still giving them
4 supports.
5 And, we've had to discontinue that, in
6 November, when we didn't get additional funding for
7 that purpose.
8 SENATOR GALLIVAN: All right, thank you.
9 JEAN CARROLL: Uh-huh.
10 SENATOR SAVINO:: Thank you.
11 We're going to take a two-minute break. I'll
12 be right back.
13 But next up --
14 SENATOR GALLIVAN: And, Clyde Comstock will
15 be next up.
16 [Pause in the proceeding.]
17 [The proceeding continued, as follows:]
18 SENATOR GALLIVAN: Okay, Clyde.
19 SENATOR SAVINO:: You don't have to read the
20 whole thing.
21 CLYDE COMSTOCK: Does this look a little
22 long?
23 SENATOR SAVINO: Yes.
24 CLYDE COMSTOCK: My name is Clyde Comstock.
25 I'm the chief operating officer for the
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1 Hillside Family of agencies. And, I'm also the
2 president of the New York State Coalition for
3 Childrens's Mental Health Services.
4 And, particularly, I would like to welcome
5 you to Rochester.
6 Today is Hillside's 175th anniversary, on
7 this very day. So --
8 SENATOR SAVINO: Wow.
9 CLYDE COMSTOCK: -- thanks for coming to our
10 birthday.
11 SENATOR SAVINO: You don't look a day over
12 140.
13 [Laughter.]
14 CLYDE COMSTOCK: We have good water in
15 Rochester.
16 Hillside serves children and families in
17 about 45 different locations; 120 different
18 programs; 2,300 employees; 24 counties. Our
19 budget is about $135 million.
20 And, we are licensed by nearly everybody that
21 funds services for children and families:
22 The Office of Children and Family Services, OPWDD,
23 OMH, OASAS, and SED.
24 There is a lot of advantages to Hillside,
25 in being able to bring to our various communities
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1 the wide range of services and regulatory bodies
2 that we can offer services through.
3 There are also some pretty serious
4 disadvantages.
5 We do have about 50 audits per year; so,
6 virtually, every week we have somebody from a
7 different piece of the State coming in to audit a
8 different part of our programs.
9 We also have our reporting, on a computerized
10 level, happens through 15 different IT systems to
11 the State, each of which has tried to solve their
12 own particular problem in their own area, so that
13 they make life easier for the people on the ground
14 by having a computerized IT system. But, the State
15 systems don't talk to each other, nor do they all
16 upload information from our own system, so, we end
17 up reporting through these 15 different systems.
18 So, it's one of our hopes, as the
19 SAGE Commission dives into organizational
20 complexity, is that they take a look at life on the
21 ground for agencies that serve children and families
22 whose needs really span all of the various funding
23 streams.
24 One of the issues that concerns us
25 greatly at the moment is Medicaid.
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1 That, as Medicaid, within three to
2 five years moves to a managed system, to try and
3 deal with the escalating costs of Medicaid that
4 we've all read about, the challenges to this new
5 system, to understand and meet the needs of children
6 and families, particularly children and youth who
7 have chronic mental-health needs that are beyond
8 what the insurance companies have generally been
9 used to, our system, the new system, is going to
10 have to be able to really understand these chronic
11 long-term needs of children and families, and also
12 understand the difference between serving adults
13 and serving children; and that primary difference
14 is, that parents have a key role in the service
15 system.
16 And as these new products are getting
17 designed around managed care, for the most part,
18 they put the patient first. But, with children, you
19 really need to put parents right along with their
20 children.
21 New York, as we shift, I think Hillside is
22 probably about a third Medicaid-funded; so, a little
23 over $50 million worth of services are in Medicaid.
24 All of the payers and regulations and
25 requirements for that amount of money and that
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1 amount of services, within three to five years, is
2 going to change.
3 So, we're going to be changing into:
4 Increasing the Medicaid managed-care basic
5 plans to the insurance companies;
6 Regional behavioral health organizations.
7 And, for Hillside, we deal with two regions: one
8 in Syracuse, and one in the western part of the
9 state;
10 Health homes for adults over 18;
11 Regional -- or, health homes for children
12 that are currently being designed;
13 The new APG system for outpatient
14 mental-health services, that goes from about 3 or
15 4 rates for children's outpatient, to well over
16 25 different rates, for billing for those
17 services;
18 The medical homes;
19 The developmental-care individual support-
20 and care-coordination organizations, or, "discos,"
21 as we know them through the OPWDD.
22 So our worry, as all of this is changing --
23 and each of those things that I mentioned are
24 rolling out right now. So, they're either in design
25 phase or they're actually happening.
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1 And our worry is: Who's watching out for
2 children and families' needs, as the systems that
3 New York State has spent a long time building,
4 carefully constructing, are going to all change into
5 this new structure?
6 It's going to require the legislature to pay
7 particular attention to how this plays out.
8 I have a somewhat detailed example of what
9 it's like when managed care moves in, and what it's
10 like for an organization, and what it's like for a
11 child and family.
12 In October -- starting in October, anytime we
13 have non-typical psychotropic medications being
14 prescribed, it has to get approved through a
15 managed-care company.
16 Conceptually, that makes some sense: have
17 someone else taking a look at what the
18 prescription -- what the prescribers are doing.
19 The way it has played out, I'll just go
20 really fast through this one: December 19th, we had
21 a child who had a prescription for Abilify written.
22 He had been on it for four years.
23 It was denied by MVP Option because it needed
24 prior authorization.
25 That was completed, and it was then denied,
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1 because the diagnosis did not justify use.
2 Made calls to MVP Option to see what else we
3 needed to do. They referred us to Medco.
4 We made calls to Medco. Got no calls back
5 from them.
6 December 21st, the child now had no
7 medication.
8 We then re-called MVP. They then wanted a
9 list of all past medication, back to before Abilify
10 started. And, they couldn't do an emergency fill.
11 We then started to try and investigate who
12 actually started Abilify, because the child had been
13 in multiple placements and hospitals before they
14 came into our service.
15 School then closed, while we're still trying
16 to do the research. We were unable to reach anybody
17 during that time.
18 We finally found who first prescribed the
19 Abilify; but then they said they had to go back
20 four years -- two to four years, to find out what
21 the story was, and it would take them a while to
22 copy the records.
23 January 11th, our psychiatrist finally
24 decided that we couldn't wait any longer; we needed
25 to switch medication.
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1 So, the medication that the child should have
2 been put on, they could not be.
3 And the amount of time that our staff had to
4 spend, virtually, doing nothing except trying to
5 chase down how could we get the -- get anybody to
6 actually hear the whole story; this, is our primary
7 worry.
8 Managed care done well could be very
9 flexible. Could allow us to do different things for
10 kids and families that could be helpful.
11 Done poorly, it will mean that we end up
12 adding a whole layer of cost inside all of our
13 organizations, to do this chasing, and, someone else
14 who's actually on the other end of it will be
15 getting paid to also do the following-up on each of
16 these.
17 So, it's going add a lot of cost, and needs
18 to be watched very carefully.
19 One of things I did want to bring up today,
20 is that we recently lost funding, along with a
21 number of other organizations across the state, in
22 our Reinvesting in Youth Program.
23 It was a statewide RFP that went out last
24 year, to provide services for youth, to prevent them
25 from going into the juvenile justice system. It was
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1 supposed to be a -- I can't remember if it was a
2 3- or a 4-year contract.
3 We were terminated before the end of the
4 first year, as was every other program in the state.
5 Hillside was a lead agency, with seven or
6 eight other agencies across Monroe County, and was
7 having a pretty good degree of success at keeping
8 kids in their communities, and not having them go
9 into the juvenile justice system.
10 So, if there's any way to reinstate that
11 program, that would be very helpful.
12 At the same time that we have all of these
13 challenges, there are a couple of budget items
14 that we want to make sure we support.
15 One is, the reauthorization of the child
16 welfare financing;
17 Second, is maintaining the community optional
18 preventive services funding;
19 And, third, is the new area of supporting the
20 effort to incentivize the combination of private
21 investment and public investment in the
22 public-private partnership program.
23 While all of these challenges are
24 happening, the agencies on the ground are also
25 looking at: What can we do that will -- that could
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1 innovate and change the life of our children and
2 families?
3 Hillside has been involved in two key areas
4 with this.
5 The first one is: Family finding.
6 We have, in our OCFS-licensed, mental-health
7 licensed, and an OPWDD-licensed services, kids who
8 have been in the system for many, many years.
9 I just reviewed a child yesterday, who had
10 32 placements over the course of her life; and she
11 was 15 at the time, yesterday.
12 We have a new methodology that we imported
13 from California, that helps us find family
14 members. We use the Internet, and a number of
15 other search methods, to find family members for
16 kids who are entering the system: the OCFS, OPWDD,
17 or mental-health system.
18 Find their families, bring them to the table,
19 help them plan for the child. Be a resource, either
20 to support a parent, so the parent can help take a
21 high-needs child home, or, to actually be able to
22 have that child be discharged into their own home.
23 We have, in our initial pilot projects,
24 where we do groups of 25 kids, we, and the counties,
25 together, started off knowing about 100 family
96
1 members for those 25 kids. That's all we knew
2 about.
3 By the time we finished the project, we were
4 up to 1,000 family members, that we knew about,
5 and that we could then reach out and bring them to
6 the table.
7 If we can do that successfully and early, we
8 can dramatically shorten the length of stay for
9 kids, and increase our success with kids and
10 families, who really should -- or, kids who should
11 not be growing up in the public system.
12 The other creative services, that Hillside
13 work-scholarship connection, that works with
14 youth, generally, nine through twelfth grade, who
15 are at risk of not graduating from high school.
16 Hillside currently has about 3,500 kids
17 enrolled in this program, in Buffalo, Rochester, and
18 Syracuse.
19 And we significantly improve the high school
20 graduation rate and the college success rate for
21 kids who enter the Hillside work-scholarship
22 program. That is partially funded through
23 education, and through the COPS -- the various
24 COPS funding streams.
25 So, we would like to see that sort of
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1 innovative program that's focused on high school
2 graduation increase.
3 Hopefully, I got that through in a hurry.
4 SENATOR SAVINO: We know we'll see you on
5 Monday. You will be -- either yourself or your
6 agency will be testifying --
7 CLYDE COMSTOCK: Yes.
8 SENATOR SAVINO: -- at the Human Service
9 Budget Hearing.
10 CLYDE COMSTOCK: Yep.
11 SENATOR SAVINO: I would, though, at some
12 point, like to meet with you, to talk to you more
13 about this "family finding" program, and see --
14 downstate, the Children's Aid Society has been
15 working on this chronic problem of young people who
16 are aging out of the system into independence, but
17 with no connections to the world.
18 It's been a chronic problem in the
19 child-welfare system everywhere, where young -- you
20 know what happens. They get to a certain age and
21 you can't place them anymore, and they wind up
22 living in the system until they're old enough to get
23 out.
24 It's a terrible way to spend your childhood,
25 and it's a terrible way to be introduced to the
98
1 world.
2 But, I think this is an interesting model,
3 and I would like to spend some more time with you,
4 on that.
5 CLYDE COMSTOCK: Great.
6 And we have a training institute that we've
7 developed a curriculum for. So, we'll train other
8 organizations, private agencies, or counties.
9 And, the City of New York, actually, we're
10 talking to at the moment.
11 So, we would be happy to train anybody who
12 would like to be able to do this as well.
13 SENATOR SAVINO:: Thank you.
14 CLYDE COMSTOCK: Great.
15 SENATOR GALLIVAN: Thank you.
16 See you Monday.
17 SENATOR SAVINO: Next is, Tim Weider, for the
18 Child Care Counsel [sic].
19 Come on down.
20 TIM WEIDER: I regret that I do not have
21 something to give you today, because --
22 SENATOR SAVINO: That's -- okay.
23 TIM WEIDER: -- I didn't anticipate I would
24 be able to be here because of my teaching schedule.
25 You're also going to will be victims of my
99
1 policy, of never giving my students notes before
2 the lecture, because I don't want them to
3 distracted.
4 Thanks for the opportunity to be with you.
5 About a 20-minute drive from this room, there
6 is a 12-foot razor-wired, double-gated fence.
7 And behind that fence, children, in
8 red-and-khaki uniforms, march single-file.
9 Now, I taught in an adult prison for several
10 years, many years. It's no different.
11 That facility is certified by the
12 American Correctional Association. It is a
13 certified prison.
14 The children in that prison, 80 to 90 percent
15 of those children have multiple diagnostic labels:
16 developmental, psychiatric, behavioral, and
17 learning.
18 And two-thirds are receiving psychotropic
19 medication.
20 95 percent of them, are children of color,
21 who come from somewhat chaotic urban
22 neighborhoods.
23 So, from one perspective we might say, that
24 we are incarcerating disabled children.
25 The juvenile justice system has, for decades,
100
1 operated on a correctional model that came into play
2 after the '90s, and it has not worked.
3 And, fortunately, we have had a commissioner
4 that acknowledged that: That we must change, and we
5 must better understand the behavior of these young
6 people.
7 And the research indicated that their
8 behavior, for the most part, comes out of multiple
9 experiences of trauma in their lives.
10 And, so, OCFS began a process about
11 four years ago, to change their system, from a
12 correctional, to a therapeutic model.
13 It was hopeful. It was promising.
14 And it's over.
15 And, so, I'm here today, simply to speak for,
16 probably, the most disenfranchised and fragile of
17 our population who have no one to speak for them.
18 Their parents are exhausted.
19 First of all, I want to say that, in
20 discussing the systems, I'm not discussing the
21 staff. The staff of OCFS are dedicated, caring, and
22 hard-working.
23 But the policies and the system must change.
24 There's been the gradual understanding now,
25 and I'm not sure whether it came from the budget
101
1 interests, or others, that were shifting juvenile
2 justice away from facilities into the community.
3 Now, we have been through reinvestment
4 before. The old OMRDD did it. And back in those
5 days, I helped close Craig Developmental Center,
6 and create that OMRDD, now, that system.
7 Not bad.
8 Residential services, they're dealing now
9 with some quality-of-care issues, but, not too bad.
10 And then we moved on to reinvest in mental
11 health.
12 Not so good; as more and more people with
13 mental-health issues are in the homeless shelters,
14 and the prisons.
15 And now we're talking about reinvestment of
16 our juvenile justice system.
17 And as the previous speaker alluded, there
18 was a program here in Rochester called
19 "Reinvestment in Youth," that, before it got through
20 one year -- it was highly collaborative,
21 community neighborhood-based, and successful.
22 Before it got through one year, it was
23 defunded.
24 There's a sense right now that juvenile
25 justice is in chaos. There's no sense of a common,
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1 rational plan.
2 There's a sense that things are happening
3 simply on the basis of the budget.
4 The tragedy would be, balancing this budget
5 on the backs of these children.
6 We have to assure that every dollar saved, by
7 closing those facilities and laying off those staff,
8 is, in fact, reinvested at the community level.
9 These youngsters represent, not only high
10 human costs, but, indeed, high social costs, because
11 the tragedy will be, they will either end up in a
12 cell, or a coffin.
13 Some of the issues we need to deal with is,
14 first of all, collaborative planning.
15 Albany has been making decisions and
16 micromanaging, programmatically, for the local
17 level, and it is not working.
18 We need the folks in Albany to provide to
19 come out into the community, and sit with the
20 community resources and plan together. And what
21 works in New York City does not work in Rochester,
22 New York.
23 Number one.
24 Number two: Ten years ago, at one
25 elementary school in Rochester, 41 percent of all
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1 the students in that school were diagnosed with
2 lead poisoning, and had certifiable permanent brain
3 damage, that meant decreased cognitive functioning
4 and decreased impulse control.
5 The community responded by running to those
6 houses and cleaning up the lead, but they never
7 followed those children. And ten years later, we
8 don't know who those children were, but we do know
9 that we have increased numbers of children in
10 special education and juvenile justice.
11 It is critical that we begin to follow those
12 young people who have been placed at risk in urban
13 neighborhoods.
14 The incoming president of the
15 American Academy of Pediatrics is a Rochester
16 pediatrician, and this is one of his agenda items.
17 And, therefore, we need to look at: What can
18 we do with State policy to support that process?
19 We -- one of the biases that I -- I think
20 it's some of the bias -- is that young people need
21 be returned to their families.
22 As a sociologist, I kind of see that as kind
23 of a nice middle-class concept. But the reality is,
24 the families of these youngsters are emotionally
25 drained and exhausted. Okay?
104
1 And, therefore, even though we must reach
2 out, because, if you find a traumatized child, you
3 find a traumatized parent. We clearly need to reach
4 out to those parents and families, but we need a
5 community-based residential resource for many of
6 these youngsters, who are released from a facility
7 and disappear within the first six months.
8 There is at least four kids from this
9 community, today, we don't know where they are.
10 There is an empty group home in Brighton,
11 kind of an upscale community, that's has sat empty
12 for the last, at least, five or six years. Okay?
13 But we need that kind of resource as an
14 intermediary between the fence and the family.
15 At the same time we're talking about
16 reinvesting in the community, we are defunding the
17 community's resources.
18 We can't defund the Youth Bureau at the same
19 time we're saying, we need to provide these services
20 at the community level.
21 That's where this collaborative planning;
22 that's where folks need to come out of Albany, come
23 into the community, understand the resources in that
24 community, and begin to build a rational, healing
25 system for these young people.
105
1 There is a group that was functioning under
2 the aegis of the Rochester City School District and
3 the local Department of Human Services, that did
4 some research on young people in these systems.
5 And one of the recommendations was, providing
6 resources that follow the child.
7 So rather than fund programs, fund the
8 child, and have those resources that follow that
9 child respond to the specific needs of that
10 particular child.
11 It's a funding mechanism that's more
12 person-centered. Okay?
13 So, number one: Collaborative planning,
14 together with the community, in terms of: What is
15 the future of juvenile justice? And, how can we
16 create that future together, not mandated from
17 above?
18 Number two: We must understand the behavior
19 of these young people in a non-criminal context.
20 And that means, their trauma history, and
21 the potential for lead poisoning.
22 Number three: We need to look at residential
23 settings in the community, as an intermediate
24 step, perhaps, between facility and family.
25 Number four: We need to assure that
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1 reinvestment is genuine reinvestment, and not a
2 mechanism to solve our budgetary problems.
3 And, finally: A potential for serving young
4 people in the community, is to have a mechanism
5 whereby the funding follows the youth, and is
6 based, ultimately, on: What are the needs of the
7 particular -- of an individual youth, as well as,
8 what are their strengths and competencies?
9 It's through that kind of mechanism that we
10 can fund programs like, a teen empowerment, the
11 Youth Bureaus, and others, that can be those
12 resources in the community.
13 Thank you.
14 SENATOR SAVINO:: Thank you.
15 As you point out, juvenile justice reform is
16 going to be one of the most complicated things that
17 we are going to be taking up.
18 And, unfortunately, up until now, the
19 discussion really has been about money: Who pays
20 for it? Who -- who shouldn't?
21 And, you know, unfortunately, for us in
22 New York City, the majority of the kids who are
23 placed upstate, in facilities, are from the city of
24 New York.
25 TIM WEIDER: Exactly.
107
1 SENATOR SAVINO: There is a real desire to
2 bring them close -- actually, the program, they want
3 to call it, is, "Close To Home."
4 TIM WEIDER: Sure.
5 SENATOR SAVINO: And, towards that end, the
6 city has taken DJJ as a separate agency, that was
7 correction-based, and merged with it the
8 Administration for Children Services.
9 I'm not sure how it's going of work yet, but
10 their hope is, bring the kids home, it will cost the
11 City less money. We'll put services in place at the
12 community level.
13 They're not quite there yet, though, but it
14 will have an impact on the City programs.
15 TIM WEIDER: Well, let me provide with you an
16 opportunity.
17 Monroe County, I believe, is the only county
18 in the state that has its kids, in OCFS, in our
19 county.
20 So, the kids from this county are out in
21 Rush, New York, at the Industry Residential Center;
22 and, therefore, they're close to their families,
23 they're close to their home, and they're close to
24 the communities and neighborhoods that they're
25 going to be returning to.
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1 So, we can build that model here. We've got
2 that leg up.
3 SENATOR GALLIVAN: I would like to go, kind
4 of the beginning of your testimony; and you talked
5 about, four years ago, there was a movement from
6 a -- for a juvenile justice correctional model, a
7 therapeutic model, and it's over.
8 TIM WEIDER: Yeah.
9 SENATOR GALLIVAN: Why's it over?
10 I mean, what --
11 SENATOR SAVINO: What happened?
12 SENATOR GALLIVAN: -- what happened --
13 TIM WEIDER: What happened?
14 SENATOR GALLIVAN: -- what happened, that
15 turned it from the direction that you think is the
16 proper direction, to the opposite direction?
17 TIM WEIDER: Essentially, the budget.
18 So, what happened was, when -- four or
19 five years ago, when OCFS looked at the research,
20 what they found was, again, that the behavior of
21 many of these young people was based on the trauma
22 they've experienced.
23 If I grew up in a neighborhood where I
24 regularly hear gunfire; if I personally know people,
25 even family members who have been shot and murdered,
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1 including kids, okay; if I lived in a household
2 that's food-insecure, okay; if I'm seen as a failure
3 in school -- et cetera, et cetera -- those are
4 multiple areas of trauma that, in fact, change the
5 brain structure of that child, that leads to their
6 behavior.
7 So, based on that research -- two of us went
8 down to outside of New York City and were trained in
9 trauma-informed intervention, using the sanctuary
10 model. Okay?
11 And there were experts in that
12 trauma-informed model that came into the facility,
13 and began to train -- spent a whole year training
14 the staff, because we need to -- as adults, and
15 staff, need to know our trauma before we understand
16 the kids' trauma.
17 So, a great investment. Okay?
18 And then, only after the staff were trained,
19 did we begin to roll that out with the young people
20 in the facility.
21 A wonderful model; it began to show success.
22 Okay?
23 They began -- I told the --
24 Sandra Bloom [ph.], who was the psychiatrist at
25 that -- who was responsible for this model, that:
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1 You know, you can do this in the facility, but, send
2 them back to the neighborhood and it will last about
3 six seconds. That we need to have that same
4 perspective in the neighborhoods.
5 That process began, okay, very hopeful. And
6 then the budget hit. And we haven't seen those
7 folks from Sanctuary Initiative in, probably,
8 almost a year.
9 So, we need to revisit that, okay, and
10 reinstitute, and continue New York State along that
11 pathway.
12 SENATOR SAVINO:: Thank you.
13 TIM WEIDER: You're welcome.
14 SENATOR GALLIVAN: Thank you.
15 SENATOR SAVINO: Next is, Garth Freeman, from
16 Monroe County Runaway Group Continuum.
17 GARTH FREEMAN: We have a whole bunch --
18 SENATOR SAVINO: Yeah, the kids are coming
19 too; right?
20 Yeah, come on down.
21 CJ MOLLIS [ph.]: Hi. My name is
22 CJ Mollis [ph.], and I would like to thank
23 Senator Savino, and Gallivan, for hosting this
24 forum, and for the outgoing commitment to the youth
25 service and social service throughout New York
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1 State.
2 MALIKA: My name is Malika [unintelligible],
3 and I would also like to thank you two Senators, and
4 their staff, for bringing this event to Rochester.
5 Today we will like to speak about the
6 importance and the impact of positive youth
7 development, and runaway and homeless youth service,
8 programs funded by the New York State Office of
9 Children and Family Services.
10 CJ MOLLIS [ph.]: Youth Bureau system has
11 provided generations of New York State youth with
12 quality programs that have given youth, like me, the
13 opportunity to develop leadership skills, and
14 become engaged and connect with my community.
15 I am currently the co-chair of Youth As
16 Resources, a youthful [unintelligible] program of
17 the Rochester, Monroe County, Youth Bureau, that is
18 funded through OCFS. I have been involved in the
19 program for over three years.
20 I am also involved in TLI, and other
21 community programs.
22 MALIKA: I have been a board member of Youth
23 As Resources, also known as "YAR," for over
24 three years.
25 CJ MOLLIS [ph.]: We look to you and your
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1 colleagues to be stewards and -- of these funds, and
2 need you to be champions of all youth, and our
3 state, and beyond.
4 So, here are some facts.
5 Youth Bureau funding consists of
6 three funding streams: Youth development, and
7 delinquency intervention; special delinquency
8 prevention program; and, Runaway and Homeless Youth
9 Act.
10 If we look at the Governor's proposal for
11 2012 and 2013 budget, these three funding streams
12 for the Youth Bureau in New York State will be cut
13 at 62 percent -- 62 percent since 2007 and 2008.
14 MALIKA: The entire proposed New York State
15 fiscal year 2012-2013 budget is $132.5 billion.
16 The proposed budget for New York State youth
17 development, and runaway and homeless youth,
18 programs is 16.4 million; or, expressed as
19 percentage of a whole, .12 percent of the entire
20 proposed budget.
21 The language in the current proposed budget
22 makes it sound like this budget will even provide
23 funding from last year.
24 That is misleading, and the, State-,
25 local-elected officials needed to be made aware of
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1 the following facts:
2 Our programs were cut 50 percent over the
3 two years, in 2011-2012 budget.
4 So, today, we are looking for another
5 25 percent cut from the total associated in
6 2010-2011.
7 Simple. Right?
8 CJ MOLLIS [ph.]: Actually, the cuts in the
9 years's budget are a 33 percent cut from last
10 year's allocation.
11 Again, super. Right?
12 Unfortunately, no. It's not simple, at all.
13 And this is why we are urging you to share
14 and help clarify these facts with your colleagues in
15 Albany.
16 And, importantly, to take us by -- supporting
17 us, in and reinstating a $60 million to
18 youth bureaus in New York State.
19 MALIKA: So back to the Youth Bureau funding,
20 and the proposed in the 2012-2013 budget: If
21 passed, as is, allocates $4.44 annually, per
22 month, ages 5 to 18, and our services really
23 impact youth, up to 21, and beyond.
24 That's a little more than one cent per day.
25 Split up among all New York State
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1 taxpayers, let me be clear:
2 1 percent, per day, dividend among all
3 New York State taxpayers. Not a penny out of each
4 person's pocket each day; one penny spent by all
5 taxpayers.
6 What if it was all, two cents per day?
7 I'm just saying.
8 CJ MOLLIS [ph.]: So what happens when these
9 programs and services are not funded?
10 We believe in -- and evidence supports,
11 that it puts our youth in greater risk of engaging
12 in high-risk behaviors, like, drug use, violence,
13 and as the name of the funding stream suggests,
14 delinquency.
15 Remember to that -- Remember, too, that these
16 funding streams also support emergency shelter and
17 crisis intervention programs that provide a safe
18 bed and supportive environment for most vulnerable
19 youth.
20 Without these funds, youth shelters' beds and
21 support services will be decreased.
22 Youth will find themselves without place to
23 stay, will be forced to put themselves in an unsafe
24 situation that jeopardizes their future, and our
25 future as a community.
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1 MALIKA: The financial cost to New York State
2 taxpayers are also undeniable.
3 Compared to the $4.44 per youth, annually,
4 for the youth bureaus, to the 120,000 annual cost of
5 keeping a youth in the secured detention.
6 We know that these programs can't end.
7 They're there for all juvenile detentions.
8 But, if we could keep just one young person
9 out of detention, we can save taxpayers,
10 literally, hundreds and thousands of dollars per
11 year.
12 CJ MOLLIS [ph.]: You may be thinking that
13 someone else prepared these remarks, and that Malika
14 and I are just a mouthpiece for these positions.
15 And, in some ways you're right.
16 However, in most ways you're wrong.
17 We met with our adult support staff at the
18 Youth Bureau and talked about these issues, to learn
19 the vocabulary, terminology, and the numbers, to
20 gain insight into the government system, and
21 community needs; and to formulate our own opinions
22 about what is important for ourselves, and our
23 neighbors, communities, and the state of New York.
24 I am a proud member of Youth As Resources, a
25 program that is funded by New York State OCFS,
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1 because it has impacted my life. It has impacted my
2 family's life.
3 I have bettered my education. I have the
4 support that I do need, to move on in my life, and
5 move from the things that I have struggled with
6 before.
7 I get to do things, I have the opportunities
8 to do things, that most youth my age do not have the
9 chance, and most adults that are older than me
10 have not got a chance to do. Like, doing
11 interviews; and coming to these things; and going to
12 conferences, traveling around the United States.
13 I have been to Atlanta, I have been to
14 Cincinnati, so far. And, I will be going to Albany.
15 So this is something that I keep dear to my
16 heart.
17 I have been part of Youth As Resources for
18 five years, because I love it, and because these
19 things are important to me.
20 MALIKA: That is how our youth programs
21 function. We work in partnership with adults, to
22 learn and gain the valuable skills and experiences
23 that will serve us today, and into the future.
24 If I was not involved with YAR, I wouldn't be
25 able to stand in front of you today to present this
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1 information.
2 Maybe, but I know, that without this group,
3 and other youth groups like it, I would not be the
4 person I am today.
5 I am a proud member of YAR, and a program
6 funded by New York State OCFS, because it is helped
7 me to become a better person. And, I also have, you
8 know, I've also become better in my education. It's
9 given me more family support, and social support.
10 And, also, to provide this information for
11 you is a great opportunity, because, people also my
12 age, you know, they don't get to have this
13 opportunity as I do. And, it's a great opportunity
14 for me.
15 CJ MOLLIS [ph.]: Youth As Resources is the
16 family. And without this support of you, and all of
17 the other senators, and stuff, and the funding that
18 we need, we would not be together as we are.
19 We are -- it's just a big family in the
20 Youth Bureau. And, it's something that we do need,
21 in the county, in the state...youth bureaus all
22 over.
23 TRISHA GLYKOFF [ph.]: Hi. My name is
24 Trisha Glykoff [ph.].
25 I have relied on homeless youth services more
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1 than once, and have got much support from homeless
2 youth services.
3 Shelters for homeless youth give children
4 an immediate safe place to stay, rather than staying
5 in an environment where CPS is involved, and the
6 child just has to wait for them to investigate while
7 they're still in an unsafe place.
8 Shelters are immediate. It's very
9 important for youth to feel like they have somewhere
10 to go if they feel unsafe.
11 There are a lot of homeless youth today that
12 not a lot of people recognize, and they don't pay
13 attention to it as much. So, they don't think that
14 shelters are important, or the services are that
15 important.
16 And, youth services provide counseling,
17 support, for the homeless, and, just emotional
18 support too.
19 If there weren't services like this, I
20 personally don't know what I would have done,
21 because they give you emotional support, and they
22 help you through everything.
23 SENATOR SAVINO:: Thank you.
24 SENATOR GALLIVAN: Thank you.
25
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1 SENATOR SAVINO: I know, for both
2 Senator Gallivan and I, these programs are top of
3 our list of restorations. There's not a lot of
4 money, statewide.
5 You know, last year we were very disappointed
6 to see the Governor cut the Runaway Homeless Youth
7 Program.
8 We're got a lot of support from our
9 colleagues in other parts of the state, and county
10 governments, and City of New York, to demand the
11 restoration of this money, because, as you pointed
12 out, it could be the difference between life and
13 death for a young person who has to leave home
14 because they're in danger.
15 Thank you.
16 The big people back there, do you have
17 anything to say?
18 BILL GUTSCHOW: I just wanted to say -- my
19 name is Bill Gutschow. I'm the program manager of
20 the Salvation Army's Genesis House, a runaway
21 homeless youth shelter that serves ages
22 16 to 20.
23 You mentioned earlier in this hearing, or,
24 beginning of the hearing, you know: What do you do,
25 more with less?
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1 SENATOR SAVINO: Uh-huh.
2 BILL GUTSCHOW: And a lot of our shelters
3 have been doing more with less.
4 Since 2009, when funding started to get cut,
5 we have seen a 20 percent increase in the need for
6 services. So, we received 80 percent cuts, and
7 receive 20 percent increase. And we've worked with
8 that amount of need.
9 We have decreased staff to the lowest, per
10 OCFS regulations, but we have maintained bed space.
11 Additional cuts in fundings could result in
12 loss of beds for the Genesis House.
13 And that's what we just wanted to call the
14 attention to, you, for coming today.
15 Thank you.
16 SENATOR SAVINO: Thank you.
17 SENATOR GALLIVAN: Thank you.
18 UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: I would just like to
19 add, I want to echo, [unintelligible], and everybody
20 coming up here today, around, permanency.
21 The runaway and homeless youth services, for
22 years, have provided that safety net for these
23 other systems -- for CPS, for foster care, for
24 juvenile justice systems -- where we, either,
25 catch youth coming out of them, or we're helping
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1 youth avoid them, or we're helping youth reconnect
2 to the services and the systems that can really help
3 them.
4 And we do it really efficiently, and for not
5 a lot of money.
6 And, so, I think that it's important, when
7 we're thinking about that permanency, with Hillside
8 was talking about the family finding, runaway and
9 homeless youth services have had to do it for years.
10 Most of the young people we work with, go
11 home. That, we're creating those bridges, and
12 building those connections, and those permanent,
13 life-long situations where these young people can be
14 successful.
15 UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Thank you.
16 UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: So, I'm going to add
17 something --
18 And is this on?
19 SENATOR SAVINO: Yes, that's on.
20 A COUNCILWOMAN: Okay.
21 How are you?
22 Is it okay?
23 I can also shout, you know that. You folks
24 know me.
25 And I'm a city councilwoman. I'm on your
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1 side an awful lot. So, I'm so grateful that you're
2 sitting here all day, and your words are so
3 heartwarming.
4 We're going to give you a speaking-out piece
5 that actually appeared in a very timely way.
6 You may actually have it.
7 It's not my story. It's Kendra's story.
8 And Kendra came to the Center for Youth,
9 where I am the executive director, when she was in
10 her mid-teens, totally without family support.
11 And, today, at 24 --
12 And this, of course, is in celebration of her
13 24th birthday.
14 -- she's holding a diploma from RIT. She's
15 enrolled in graduate school, here in the community,
16 and, she's working, which is why she's not here
17 today.
18 She calls me "mom." My kids are jealous.
19 That's okay.
20 So, Kendra is the reason I'm here, because,
21 we kept her out of systems. We kept her in
22 cost-effective systems that made an impact on her
23 life.
24 And you both know, I mean, this is not news
25 to you: We already are not able to meet the need.
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1 At the Center for Youth, we are the only
2 agency that can take emergency foster -- emergency
3 homeless -- not foster -- emergency homeless kids,
4 12 to 15.
5 In the last two years, we turned away as many
6 as we took.
7 A 12- to 15-year-old cannot be on the
8 streets. It's just not acceptable in our
9 community, and in our state.
10 I know you don't want that.
11 We don't want that.
12 In fact, OCFS has tried so hard to work with
13 us, that they added a thirteenth bed when we asked
14 them to give us another bed.
15 So, they got it.
16 And that's, of course, is the irony: Adding
17 a bed in a shelter at the same time you're taking
18 away funding.
19 We will not close our doors.
20 We will not.
21 But we can't keep the kids, the number of
22 kids we need in our system, without your support.
23 We can't take another 25 percent cut. The
24 youth bureaus can't take the cut.
25 If they try to hold us harmless, they'll hurt
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1 something else.
2 We're all in this together. We're in a big
3 boat, and if you make a hole, here, we're all going
4 go down.
5 So, read about Kendra. I wish she was here,
6 so you could say "Happy Birthday" to her.
7 She spent her 24th birthday in Las~Vegas, so
8 it made me a little nervous.
9 SENATOR SAVINO: Good for her.
10 A COUNCILWOMAN: But you know, what?
11 She won, and she's back, and she had the best
12 time.
13 And that's what 24-year-olds do.
14 And when I met her at 15, I had my doubts
15 about whether she would live to 24.
16 SENATOR SAVINO: How much of your budget do
17 you -- are you able to derive from private
18 donations, philanthropy?
19 A COUNCILWOMAN: We leverage -- I mean, let
20 me tell you about United Way, just for that.
21 United Way is leveraged dollars, at this
22 point.
23 And I think this is embarrassing: Our
24 United Way allocation is more than you're giving me
25 from OCFS for my homeless shelter. More than.
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1 When I started at this agency 10 years ago,
2 we had $333,000.
3 If you cut us, the way you're projected,
4 we're at $187,000 dollar.
5 United Way allocation for my shelter,
6 two twenty-seven.
7 So I'm leveraging every second.
8 We have private donators, funders, who
9 give us whatever they can, but it's not going help.
10 The other thing is, that we -- and I hope
11 you -- I invite you back, both of you, for
12 Fashion Week. We run something called
13 "Fashion Week." We raise money.
14 We do everything we can to leverage our
15 dollars. At some point, the inn is full.
16 I'm just so grateful for your work, and,
17 thanks so much.
18 SENATOR SAVINO: Thank you.
19 SENATOR GALLIVAN: Let me ask: The kids that
20 you're turning away, where do they go?
21 A COUNCILWOMAN: That's a good question.
22 They couch-surf. They end up back in unsafe
23 situations. We see them on street. They end up
24 hanging out with older kids in incredibly unsafe
25 situations.
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1 Then you have another level of crisis and
2 trauma.
3 So, we can't keep them safe. That's the
4 whole point.
5 Everybody says: Where do they go?
6 They go back where they were, which was
7 unsafe to begin with.
8 The other thing is, our shelter's completely
9 voluntary. There are no mandates. So, you know
10 those kids are coming to us in pretty desperate
11 situations, on their own.
12 So, they're staying in places, they're
13 doubling-up. They're sleeping on the streets.
14 You know, we've had a mild winter, but, it's
15 still Rochester.
16 So, thank you, Senator.
17 SENATOR GALLIVAN: Thank you.
18 BILL GUTSCHOW: [Unintelligible] to say is,
19 abandoned houses, where drug abuse is prevalent, as
20 well as any other type of delinquency.
21 Obviously, the heat and utilities are not on
22 so it's still cold in the houses.
23 I believe earlier this year, a 17-year-old
24 youth was -- they found dead in one of those houses.
25 So what we -- the Genesis House, as well,
127
1 turns away over 150 youth a year, due to being
2 full.
3 And, they will find places to go, but not
4 home, and not somewhere safe.
5 SENATOR GALLIVAN: Okay. Thanks everybody.
6 A COUNCILWOMAN: Thank you, Senators.
7 BILL GUTSCHOW: Thank you for your time.
8 SENATOR SAVINO: And our last speaker is,
9 Dan Ross, from the Children's Agenda.
10 DAN ROSS: Tough act to follow.
11 Thank you for accommodating me, despite a
12 foul-up on our end in making the appropriate
13 arrangements. I appreciate it.
14 SENATOR GALLIVAN: Glad you're here.
15 Dan Ross: I'm Dan Ross. I'm chair of the
16 Children's Agenda policy committee.
17 The Children's Agenda is a local, small
18 not-for-profit organization. We do two things,
19 basically:
20 We advocate for evidence-based programs,
21 and we do analysis of city and county and,
22 hopefully, school district, and in future budgets.
23 To maintain our objectivity, we do not accept
24 funds from either government agencies or from
25 service providers. So, it's philanthropic, and a
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1 lot of hard work to get a little money.
2 We're a very small organization.
3 Before I retired, I was the director of
4 Child and Family Services for the Monroe County
5 Department of Social Services. So, I know many of
6 the issues that people have been talking about
7 today, in some ways a little better than I would
8 like to.
9 This decade, the twenty-first century, has
10 been terrible for families and children. It really
11 has.
12 The report I gave you is a local one, modeled
13 on some work that I think Nick Kristof did at
14 "New York Times," talking about "the lost decade."
15 But, we have data from Monroe County, and,
16 things are not getting better, they're getting
17 worse. And there's some areas where they're getting
18 better, but, they're getting worse. And we
19 really -- really need to pay attention to that.
20 We've also done a brief overview of the
21 Governor's objective budget. I'm going to have to
22 mail that to you because, someone is out sick today
23 and we're sort of playing catch-up. But, I will do
24 that.
25 I'm going to talk about, in fairly general
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1 terms, about four issues facing our families.
2 One is, child care;
3 One is, home-visiting programs;
4 One is, homeless -- runaway and homeless
5 youth services;
6 And one is, services for children with
7 special needs.
8 I may actually weave my biography into this
9 because it fits in some cases.
10 Ten years ago, there were 12,000, slightly
11 more, children in -- receiving daycare subsidy in
12 Monroe County. It's down to about 7,000.
13 Jackie's figures are probably more accurate
14 than mine, but it's close to a 50 percent reduction.
15 One of the very first things I did when I
16 came to Monroe County -- I was hired as a planning
17 coordinator -- was -- and this was during the budget
18 cuts during the early '80s, and we cut subsidized
19 daycare for a large number of families then.
20 My first task was to try to track those
21 families. And we tracked them, and we had a
22 comparison group that we could compare them to.
23 We went in, and -- because of what everyone
24 said, and you have heard this is: They'll go off
25 welfare. They'll go into welfare. They'll quit
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1 working, and go into welfare. Well, they can't do
2 it.
3 And beyond that, families really want to
4 work. Parents want to set a good example for
5 their children. They want to be productive
6 members of society.
7 So they did not -- the rates of people going
8 onto public assistance were no higher than they were
9 before the programs were cut.
10 What did happen, though, frightens me; and
11 that is, that children became latch-key children.
12 Children became kids who were at home, being cared
13 for by an older, nonetheless, pre-adolescent
14 sibling. They became kids who spent time in four or
15 five different care settings each week. Grandma's
16 one day, an aunts's another day, the neighbor when
17 the neighbor could do.
18 And we all know, the evidence is
19 overwhelming, that what children need in those early
20 years of development is, a consistent, loving,
21 knowledgeable caregiver: a parent, a grandparent,
22 a daycare provider.
23 But, consistency, is really critical.
24 Otherwise, you just don't get the kind of
25 development you should have.
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1 We make up for some of that in Monroe County
2 with what is, arguably, the best pre-K program in
3 the nation, that meets international standards,
4 but, we're playing catch-up.
5 We realize the problem is driven largely by
6 the lack of federal funds.
7 Monroe County invests more than it's required
8 to, in child care. New York State is investing a
9 little more than it's required to, in child care.
10 But, we need to figure out ways to do better.
11 And, more importantly, I think we need to
12 work together, to ensure some increase -- seems
13 unlikely, but I'm always hopeful -- in federal
14 funds, because that's the backbone of this service.
15 I was very fortunate that I was supervising
16 day care here, when -- or administering it, when the
17 rule was: Okay, if you can spend it, we'll
18 reimburse you.
19 And we grew the program to, thirteen,
20 fourteen thousand kids.
21 That's no longer the case.
22 Those were all people who need. It's
23 probably the best indicator of the magnitude of the
24 need: The number we were serving who meet the same
25 criteria, in theory, that we have now.
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1 Second issue: home visiting.
2 Monroe County is actually the home of the
3 nurse-family partnership.
4 Began 30 -- more than 30 years ago, at the
5 University of Rochester. The initial work was in
6 Kentucky. It's been replicated throughout the
7 country. And it's finally come home to
8 Monroe County, and, to New York City.
9 There's a big home -- there's a big
10 nurse-family partnership program in New York. We
11 joined Mayor Bloomberg in supporting $5 million, to
12 be dedicated to funding for the nurse-family
13 partnership.
14 But we strongly believe that the best
15 long-term solution is to heed the Medicaid Redesign
16 Team's recommendation to make NFD a fully covered
17 Medicaid-preventive service for high-risk,
18 first-time mothers, and their children.
19 And we urge that that program be extended, I
20 suppose, through, say, State Health Insurance
21 Department, to private insurers.
22 Building this kind of care into medical care
23 is sensible, appropriate, and would really help the
24 issue.
25 Services for runaway and homeless youth:
133
1 Shelters are a part of the safety net, and
2 the safety net is frayed.
3 We don't want to wait for a law, a new law,
4 to be named after an adolescent who died on the
5 streets. But we're going to get one if we don't
6 pay more attention to those service.
7 Kids need a safe place to go.
8 I was -- this goes back a long way -- but I
9 was chairman of the board of the Center for Youth,
10 who you just heard speaking, a long time ago, when
11 we bought the place that's the shelter now.
12 It's a wonderful home. It's a marvelous
13 place for kids in need to be.
14 And we need to be able to meet the needs of
15 those kids.
16 We cannot -- "we cannot" -- afford a
17 33 percent reduction. We can do better.
18 Children with special needs:
19 Through an accident of fate, I was
20 responsible for Monroe County's Early Intervention
21 Program for about three years. And during -- so I
22 really know how rapidly it has grown, and how
23 expensive it has become.
24 Nonetheless, I believe there are
25 opportunities for us to become more efficient, to
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1 save money, and to continue to provide top-quality
2 services. But we can't simply cut our way to
3 quality. We need some time -- some time, and spend
4 some real energy, figuring out how to do these
5 services better.
6 Let's slow down just a little bit, improve
7 the system.
8 And we'll run into resistant service
9 providers who say: You can't do it better.
10 But, we've been through that.
11 We can do it, if we spend some time on it,
12 and some energy on it, and we don't do the cuts up
13 front.
14 Make sure that we do the work effectively in
15 the long run.
16 Figuring those out will be difficult, but we
17 can do better.
18 And, finally, it's not really a program, but
19 it fits in with the agenda of the
20 Children's Agenda: We really believe strongly in
21 the importance of evidence-based programs. And we
22 advocate for them.
23 Most of the programs that we work for are
24 evidence-based.
25 Good information about evidence program --
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1 evidence-based programs is widely available now.
2 There's a federal government center that
3 collects it. The legislature of the state of
4 Washington has had a standing policy group doing
5 work on evaluating evidenced programs for 10 to
6 15 years. There's additional work being done in
7 California.
8 You don't need to reinvent the wheel. You
9 need to figure out what's out there, that meets the
10 needs of the group you're trying to work with, and
11 take advantage of it.
12 I also need to say, because, sometimes when
13 people talk about evidence-based, it's been
14 asserted, we don't always have to meet the highest
15 evidentiary standards. There is not going to be a
16 double-blind experimental study for every kind of
17 program. And some of them don't need it.
18 I would argue, the Center for Youth Services
19 Runaway Shelter doesn't need it. But what you need
20 for them, is to make sure kids are safe, and, track
21 outcomes.
22 But, you should try, in any program, for the
23 highest possible standard of evidence-based that is
24 applicable to that program. And that means, doing
25 some work -- the state bureaucrats are pretty good
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1 at some of this -- at figuring out:
2 What is working other places;
3 What the cost benefits are;
4 And, then, probably biding -- and this isn't
5 in here -- but what may be the most difficult bullet
6 for people like you, and that, is: The realization
7 that costs are always in the short run, and benefits
8 are always in the long run; and it really creates
9 a dilemma for all of us.
10 Thank you for your time.
11 SENATOR GALLIVAN: Thank you.
12 SENATOR SAVINO:: That's it. We're done.
13 SENATOR GALLIVAN: We're good.
14 SENATOR SAVINO: Yeah, we're done.
15 SENATOR GALLIVAN: Well, we thank those of
16 you that have remained, for being here, and
17 everybody who testified.
18 Thanks.
19
20 (Whereupon, at approximately 3:25 p.m.,
21 the jointly held roundtable held by the New York
22 State Senate Standing Committees on
23 Social Services, and, Children and Family
24 Services, concluded.)
25 ---oOo---