Tuesday, April 12, 2011

DON’T CUT CASE MANAGEMENT TO HOME-BOUND SENIORS BY $6.6 MILLION 

  A coalition of aging service advocates lead by the Council of Senior Centers and Services (CSCS), Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies (FPWA), United Neighborhood House (UNH), CityMeals on Wheels, the Human Services Council, and UJA-Federation will assemble on the Steps of City Hall to inform the public and to speak out against the proposed cuts to case management. 
    Mayor Bloomberg is proposing the $6.6 million cut, a 30 % cut to case management. The Mayor tried this cut mid-year, but the funds were restored by the city council. Now, the mayor is trying to cut case management again.

·         Impact to seniors: Based on a CSCS survey done last November when the cut was first proposed –
Ø  Upwards of 8000 homebound elders, average age 85, will lose case management services
Ø  Almost 900 seniors were already on case management waiting lists
Ø  The average caseload, already 70, would increase to 85 and higher
Ø  112 social workers (called case managers) would lose their jobs

·         Social workers provide a valuable service to home bound seniors and can help to save lives

·         The coalition is working to “baseline” case management funds:  Baselining is a budget word which means that the Mayor allows the case management funds to remain in the Department for the Aging (DFTA) budget so there is not a cut and the funds flows into the budgets of case management agencies immediately.  This will ensure continuity of services to home bound elderly New Yorkers   
Thursday, April 14 from 10:00 – 11:00    --  Steps of City Hall  

for more information contact -- Matthew Hynes, mhynes@cscs-nyc.org, 212-398-6565 X237

 

No comments:

Post a Comment