Rockland Meals on Wheels Has Proven Results

NANUET, NY — Meals on Wheels Rockland has proven results — data goes to its board, the county and the state — that show how its work benefits the community and saves taxpayers money.

But President Donald Trump's proposed federal budget includes cuts in two places that could decimate the agency's budget, and White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney alleged Meals on Wheels hasn't shown results in the 40 years that the federal government has contributed a little to the thousands of MOWs around the country.

That baffled Rockland MOW's executive director, Don Hammond, who said a meal a day helps seniors stay in their homes and out of the hospital, and who has national research results as well as local statistics at his fingertips.

"Come to my office, I'll show you the proof," he said. "Come deliver a meal with me and I'll show you."

Every day in Rockland County, 700-800 senior citizens are fed a nutritious meal that they might otherwise not have thanks to the Meals on Wheels program.

With those meals go interactions — with volunteers who deliver meals to hundreds who are homebound, and with workers at five local senior centers — that help keep tabs on those seniors, making sure they are safe and healthy.

In addition to the meals and the senior centers, Rockland Meals on Wheels runs an adult day care center for seniors with dementias and a learning center to help seniors navigate the constantly-changing technologies that govern so much of modern life. The senior activity centers are visited by 175-200 seniors a day, who receive a hot meal and activities for mental and physical well-being. The adult day care center sees 25-30 seniors with dementia every day.

The research shows that without all these kinds of resources, senior citizens who cannot afford home health care aid would end up in institutions, whether it's a long-term care facility or a hospital, where the cost of care is far higher, Hammond said.

The federal funding that supports Meals on Wheels Rockland and thousands of programs like it that serve senior citizens across the country could be gone next year, however.

First, the $3 billion federal Community Development Block Grant program is one of the items proposed for elimination under Trump's proposed 2018 federal budget. The block grant program, which falls under the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, is funding distributed to the states, which then distribute it in a variety of ways.

This year one of the sources of funding for the daily meals from Meals on Wheels Rockland is $25,000 from a federal Community Development Block Grant.

"It costs $1,900 a year to feed a senior in Rockland," Hammond said. "Without the block grant, 25 people wouldn't know where their next meal is coming from."

And the CDBG program is only one of dozens of cuts proposed in the "America First, A Budget Blueprint to Make America Great Again" document that gives preliminary details on Trump's 2018 budget.

And that's where the second danger lies: funding through the Older Americans Act contributes $1.6 million (that includes local matching money) to the Rockland agency annually, 42 percent of its annual budget.

The Trump administration's budget plan cuts spending for health and human services by nearly 18 percent.

It's ironic that the White House should be attacking the program now on the basis of results, Hammond said.

"For about the last year we have been researching evidence based program models for each of our three program areas, our Senior Activity Centers, our Home Delivered Meals, and our Adult Day Care," he said. "About 6 months ago we started to gather both quantitative and qualitative data on some of the program models through both written and phone surveys. We continue to gather this information and refine our surveys in order to gather the right data to demonstrate success and discover where we need to improve.

"We have always reported statistical data to the Rockland County Office for the Aging and the New York State Office for the Aging. We have always gathered anecdotal information about the impact of our programs. The partnership we enjoy with the RC Office for the Aging has always been positive. They receive monitoring reports each month and audit our programs at least once a year. The State also audits us."

Rockland County in general and County Executive Ed Day in particular have been strong supporters of Meals on Wheels.

Day delivers meals every Thanksgiving. Several years ago, he delivered the agency's 9 millionth meal.

"Our support of Meals on Wheels in Rockland is unwavering," Day said. "This organization does crucial work - it is a lifeline for many elderly people in Rockland. It will continue."

Local government support for Meals on Wheels Rockland:

• Rockland County: $1,835,000
• Village of South Nyack $1,000
• Village of Spring Valley $5,000
• Town of Ramapo $10,000
• Village of Haverstraw $4,000
• Town of Haverstraw $1,500
• Village of West Haverstraw $1,500

In response to the Trump budget plan, the national Meals on Wheels organization has seen a surge in online donations.

On a given day, Meals on Wheels receives about $1000 in unsolicited online donations but on Thursday, the day the budget blueprint was released, the organization raised more than $50,000 online, Jenny Bertolette, a spokesperson for the organization, said in an emailed statement to Patch. The organization also saw a nearly 500 percent increase in in volunteer signups that day.

The national organization also pointed out that other programs aimed at needy senior citizens are at risk, including Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program which helps with heating bills. The organization provided this information to its members across the country about the Trump budget plan:

• Reductions to NDD Programs: Proposes $54 billion in reductions to NDD programs, and the President says, "We are going to do more with less, and make the Government lean and accountable to the people." However, Meals on Wheels and other senior nutrition programs across the nation simply cannot do more with less: The senior population in the U.S. is growing exponentially while federal funding has not kept pace. The gap between those in need and those being served through OAA Nutrition Programs continues to grow, and waiting lists are mounting.
• Decreases to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS): Requests $69.0 billion for HHS, demonstrating a $15.1 billion (17.9 percent) decrease from current levels. The majority of senior nutrition programs receive funding from HHS, so it would be difficult to imagine a scenario free from harm.
• Elimination of Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program & Community Services Block Grant: Proposes to eliminate the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) – which offers low income households assistance with energy costs – and the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG), which provides funds to help address community-level poverty. We know many of the seniors you serve rely on LIHEAP for cooling in the summer and heating in the winter.
• Elimination of Funding for the Community Development Block Grant Program: Proposes to eliminate the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program – a program run by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). One of the longest-running grant programs in the nation, the CDBG acts as a source of funding to state and local governments nationwide, giving those communities flexibility to steer funds where needed. This program has typically received bipartisan support, though CDBG funding has been cut every year since 2013. Every state works with the money received from CDBGs in their own way, and some local Member programs rely on these grants for significant portions of their annual funding.
• Elimination of Senior Community Service Employment Program: Proposes to eliminate the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP), which is a job training program for older adults, authorized by the OAA and aimed at helping low-income unemployed individuals find work. The SCSEP helps to support operations for some of your programs.

WHAT THE BLUEPRINT DOES NOT SAY

Here's what is not explicitly outlined in the President's budget:

• Elimination of Meals on Wheels: Though the budget does call for the elimination of several significant sources of funding for our Member programs nationwide, it does not call for the elimination of Meals on Wheels services as a whole.
• Specific Funding Levels for OAA Nutrition Programs: At this time, the President's proposal contains no mention of specific funding levels for OAA Nutrition Programs. The OAA covers 35% of the total cost to provide nutritious meals, safety checks and friendly visits to seniors, and local programs rely on contributions from state, local, private donations and other resources to cover the rest.
• Specific Funding Levels for Social Services Block Grant / Other USDA Nutrition Programs: The Budget Blueprint contains no mention of specific funding levels for Social Services Block Grants (SSBG) – a program that provides funding to help states deliver social services – or other USDA Nutrition Programs that our Members care about, such as the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) and the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).

Karen Wall and Feroze Dhanoa contributed to this report.

Image: Thanksgiving dinner prep/ Meals on Wheels Rockland