Establishes the home delivered meal assistance program

1 Co-sponsor

• Velmanette Montgomery

BILL NUMBER:S348

Title of bill

REVISED 12/20/11

An act to amend the elder law, in relation to establishing the home delivered meal assistance program

Purpose

Establishes the home delivered meal assistance program.

Summary of provisions

Section 1. Amends the Elder Law by adding a new section 224. Provides that any person who: is over sixty years of age or that person's spouse, and meets established criteria, and receives a standardized assessment conducted by the local area agency on aging, and is currently on a waiting list and not receiving home delivered meal services due to inadequate funding, shall receive the services of the home delivered meal assistance program.

Section 2. Reporting requirements

Section 3. Provides that the Director of the Office for the Aging shall implement rules and regulations for the effective implementation of this act.

Section 4. Specifies that the responsibility of the area agency on aging shall be contingent upon the appropriation received pursuant to section 1. Prohibits a private right of action against the Area Agency.

Section 5. Effective Date

Existing law

None.

Justification

The supplemental nutrition assistance program began in 1984 as the Governor's Initiative to "improve health status and well-being of its most fragile citizens by reducing their levels of hunger, malnutrition and nutritionally related illness." Programs were expected to "provide nutritious food supplementation and be designed to target the needs of individuals, who are either homeless, frail elderly, or low-income women, infants and children who are at nutritional risk." The home delivered meal assistance program to the frail elderly is one component of these important nutrition programs.

Frail Elderly are identified as persons over age 60 at or near the poverty level who are mentally or physically disabled, socially isolated or otherwise nutritionally at risk. Priority was to be given to individuals who were not receiving assistance; who were below or near the poverty level and living alone; who had one of the following

chronic diseases: heart disease, cancer, diabetes, chronic obstructive lung disease, arthritis. Minority individuals were expected to be a substantial part of the priority group.

Home delivered meals are a critical component in assisting the frail elderly to remain at home. Several counties have reported seniors on waiting lists and other counties report that they typically run out of State funding for home delivered meals in July or August of each year. As a result, some counties rely on local tax dollars in order to supplement funding for this State program in order to continue to provide home delivered meals.

Current waiting lists for home delivered meals are not required to be reported to the New York State Office for the Aging. Recent estimates suggest that approximately 2,000 seniors throughout New York State are eligible for, but not receiving home delivered meals. This number, however, can vary greatly. Recent administrative changes to New York City's home delivered meal program significantly reduced the waiting list. As the City's economic crisis worsens however, seniors could once again find themselves needing, but unable to receive, home delivered meals.

This legislation seeks to provide adequate funding for the home delivered meal assistance program in order to eliminate current waiting lists that exist due to inadequate state funding.

Legislative history

2011: S.348 - Reported and Committed to Finance/A.396 - Referred to Aging 2009-10: S.3340D Reported and Committed to Finance/A.7152C - Amend and Recommit to Aging

Fiscal implications

To be determined.

Effective date

180 days after it shall have become law.