NORWICH – The number of new social services cases are down in the county despite an influx of individuals applying for assistance, and officials say it’s due to successful diversion tactics.
“We’ve been able to get cars back on the road and help people to find jobs so that they are on assistance for a shorter term,” Chenango County Social Services Commissioner Bette Osborne said during her third quarter report to town supervisors Tuesday.
The Department of Social Services has the largest budget in the county. It represents about approximately $12 million of the county’s $22.7 million budget.
All budget lines after September were at least 75 percent or below, especially for day care, family assistance and home energy assistance. New York State picked up the latter costs in July of this year.
Daycare case loads came down in Chenango County as well even though the numbers in this category increased in most every other county in the state. A new social services law implemented last spring required custodial parents to name the non-custodial parent of their offspring in order to continue receiving child support.
“Our custodial parents didn’t want to go after anybody,” the DSS Commissioner said. “It was surprising.” State regulators are reconsidering the mandate to be more fair to children who may now be going without adequate care.
Spending for medical assistance is up $110,000 due to 25 percent increase in transportation costs, rising gasoline prices and higher insurance premiums.
In addition, rectification numbers are up, which means more people are staying on public assistance longer than the traditional 5-year period. Osborne told members of the Health & Human Services Committee that the number of recertifications would change any time soon.
“When people are close to the five year mark, they are usually suffering from mental illness. Nobody wants to hire a person with mental illness,” she said.
Traditional year-end requests for emergency heat and food assistance have begun to increase, but Osborne said the annual cycle is not very noticeable except when temperatures drop considerably.
A recently created advisory committee on long-term care services in the county has found a lack of adequate assisted-living options for seniors. The need is there, Osborne said.
“It’s important that we find a way to keep people in their homes longer,” Town of Smyrna Supervisor James B. Bays, a member of the committee, said.
Town of Afton Supervisor Robert D. Briggs asked how much local taxpayers were paying to institutionalize youths in state facilities. Osborne said there were three adolescents in institutions currently, though one is being afforded by the New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Disabilities. The local share cost is $9,000 per month per child.
There were 11 Chenango County youths institutionalized in 2002.