By Michael Ryan
CATSKILL - An impassioned discussion unfolded in the chambers of the Greene County Legislature, earlier this week, surrounding changes in providing meals and visits to elderly and homebound residents.
Lawmaker Daryl Legg (District 7, Hunter, Lexington & Halcott) raised the issue during a County Services committee meeting, Monday night.
Present in the room was Amanda Lyons, executive director of the county’s Human Services Department, overseers of the various assistance programs including Meal on Wheels.
Legg said he was responding to concerns expressed to him, by and about folks on the mountaintop, who have been on county programs for some time, even years, but were recently and abruptly removed.
“We have six or eight people up here who really need this and we’re cutting them off,” Legg said. “I have constituents telling me this is a life-saving thing for them so yes, I’m fired up.”
A key phrase has emerged in interviews with Legg, Lyons and other county officials including legislature chairman Patrick Linger and county administrator Shaun Groden regarding the situation.
The key phrase is “in the meantime” as county officials observe an internal overhaul of programming at Human Services being conducted by Lyons, started by her predecessor, Kim Kaplan.
Kaplan took the position on an interim basis nearly a year ago after the sudden departure of agency head Stephanie Schleuderer.
Upon her arrival, Kaplan initiated an internal audit that has been continued and expanded by Lyons, according to legislature chairman Patrick Linger.
Linger says Kaplan discovered, “a lot of things costing a ton of money that maybe we didn’t need to be doing” within the Meals on Wheels program and elsewhere, beginning a housecleaning now passed on to Lyons.
“There had been a lot of changes handed down by the State Office of Aging that have to do with eligibility requirements and what our requirements are for providing these programs,” Linger says.
Significant changes, dating back as far back as two years, had not been implemented prior to Kaplan, and then Lyons, taking over, Linger says.
And some of those changes date further back to the Covid pandemic when the federal government set aside limitations on receiving assistance.
“They opened the flood gates to cut down on congregate meals, especially with the elderly who were the most vulnerable people,” Groden says.
“Essentially, anybody who asked was getting home meals. When covid ended, that plan ended. The county never adjusted,” Groden says.
Until now. “[Lyons] is basically starting from scratch, reverting to the State requirements which are pretty specific,” Groden says.
“These meals are meant to be meals for shut-ins and now we are getting a lot of hurt feelings because people not meeting those requirements are being removed from the list,” Groden says.
“[Legg] has his real concern but at the same time, some people simply aren’t eligible anymore,” Groden says.
In the meantime, Legg is adamant there are people in need who should be attended to, regardless of their new status, letting the expense fall on the county, if need be.
The county is partially reimbursed for expenditures under the Meals program, as long as the county adheres to the letter of the law.
In the meantime, Legg strongly feels a way should still be found to prevent any resident from slipping through what he feels are bureaucratic cracks.
“I”m hearing different stories from people about what’s going on here, and what people are being told,” Legg says. “I don’t want to bash the county.
“But I have a question. What is everyone so afraid the State will do to us if we take care of these people and eat the cost? I don’t think it’s the big gloom and doom everyone claims it will be,” Legg says.
Revealing a harsh reality, lawmaker Patty Handel (District 9, Durham) says, “I know for a fact that several people are getting [assistance] and not needing it. I praise [Lyons] for going strictly by the regulations.”
Lyons, in a telephone interview said, “this is not a punitive situation. I understand this is a difficult situation. I understand the frustration.
“When I came into the job in 2024, looking at this through an auditing lens, the question was, ‘how do we keep going?’” Lyons said.
“I don’t think anybody really had a good handle on the monies. Our budget was inflated because of [federal Covid and American Rescue Plan Act] money that stopped, but the programming continued,” Lyons said.
“So we are working through every program [within the agency’s internal branches of Aging, Youth and Veterans Services],” Lyons says.
“Our intent is to find every person who truly needs the assistance and can participate in the programs,” Lyons said.
“Our goal is to make sure seniors are living full lives, staying in their homes as long as they can and be interacting in the community,” Lyons said.
Responding to Legg’s claim of hearing differing stories coming from Human Resources and his constituents, Lyons said, “the only people we can [legally] rely on for official information are the actual clients.
“I understand the hardship for families, the stress they can be under. We can’t officially rely on volunteers [who deliver meals and visit with the homebound] or even other family members,” Lyons said.
“If we have family members telling us one thing and telling [Legg] another thing, I understand there could be confusion,” Lyons said.
“Hopefully, [Legg] reaches out to me and we can discuss his concerns case-by-case or have the client call us,” Lyons said.
A meeting is reportedly planned between Lyons, Legg, lawmaker Sherry True (County Services committee chairwoman) and lawmaker James Thorington (District 6, Ashland, Jewett, Prattsville, Windham).
On the table, with Linger and Groden also likely present, will reportedly be seeking a formula for the county to shepherd home any wayward seniors.
That could possibly be done by tapping other agency programs or making a decision to fund the service without reimbursement, although there is worry that could open another floodgate of requests for exceptions.
In the meantime, officials say phones have been ringing off the hook after letters were sent out in early April to all active clients, seeking updated information, leading to a sharp trimming of the list of recipients.
Meals being delivered have reportedly dropped from the low 400’s to the mid-100’s over the past year and longer, including those to numerous recipients eligible under the relaxed pandemic-era standards.
“We want to get to the point where everyone who qualifies is getting the service, and get a good grasp on the whole situation,” Linger said.
“No one is being ignored. Maybe the rollout could have been more gradual but [Lyons] is not done. In a [legislative] workshop, she told us that if we want her to pay for these things, she will do it,” Linger said.
“In the meantime, she has been told to err on the side of caution. She is amazing at her job. At the same time there is a lot of respect for [Legg]. He’s not afraid to share his opinions,” Linger said.
Legg said, “it’s all well and good that they are proud of reducing the number of meals we’re paying for, but we’re talking about people’s lives too.”
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