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-- Programs and Services -- Contact Information State budget update...
Some time this month, the FY ‘06 Budget will move from the House to the Senate. The Senate will then develop its recommendations. Once this happens, the House and Senate will meet jointly through committee to negotiate the differences between their versions of the budget. Once the House and Senate reach agreement, the budget, which originated with the Governor, will go back to him for his signature. The Governor can veto any line item or section of the budget as he chooses. The House and Senate can override any of these vetoes if two-thirds of the members of each chamber vote to do so. The target date for a finalized budget is July 1, 2005, which is the start of FY ‘06.
Thus far in 2005, as many as 700 elders a month have been on waiting lists throughout Massachusetts for basic home care services. Home care programs serve more than 36,000 elders statewide by providing assistance with personal care needs (such as dressing, bathing, and bathroom assistance), and homemaking needs (such as laundry and cleaning). This assistance, together with such programs as Meals on Wheels, helps these elders to continue to live in their own homes with dignity and independence. In Berkshire County, Elder Services’ Home Care and Meals on Wheels programs serve more than 1,500 elders a month. Adequate funding for these core services is essential to ensure that elders can receive care and services in the least restrictive setting appropriate to their needs.
The following budget priorities for fiscal year 2006 are designed to provide an appropriate level of funding for care and services in the home and the community, which is where most elders want to receive their services.
1. Elder Lunch Program (Meals on Wheels - line item 9110-1900) - Last year Elder Services prepared more than 250,000 meals in our Lanesboro kitchen - an increase of more than 5,000 meals from the previous year — an average of 1,000 meals a day Monday through Friday. As the number of frail, homebound elders continues to increase, so does the number of home-delivered meals needed to serve them. Last year our Meals on Wheels drivers delivered more than 194,600 meals to homebound elders throughout Berkshire County — between 750 and 800 each weekday. This program has been seriously underfunded for years while the cost of preparing, serving, and delivering the meals has continued to increase. The current funding deficit for Berkshire County is $.47 per meal, which means that this year’s projected deficit is $117,500 ($.47 per meal x 250,000 meals = $117,500). Our Meals on Wheels program needs a significant funding increase to ensure that any homebound Berkshire elder who needs a hot nutritional noon-time meal will be able to receive it.
2. Home Care and Care Management (line items 9110-1630 and 9110-1633) - The Home Care program provides assistance with personal care needs, such as dressing, bathing, and bathroom assistance, and homemaking needs, such as laundry and cleaning. Care Managers and Client Services Coordinators arrange and monitor these services to assure that the elders’ needs are met. Appropriate funding must be available to meet the need for these services so that any eligible elder will be able to receive these services in his or her home.
3. Enhanced Home Care (ECOP line item 9110-1500) - This is an enhanced version of the home care program, providing a greater level of service to elders who are more frail.
4. “Caring Circle” Initiative (line item 4000-0600) - This is a new program that would allow family members (excluding the spouse) to be paid for some of the care they provide in their homes to an elder relative. This is a cost-effective and humane way to support families in their essential efforts to care for aging relatives.
5. Protective Services (line item 9110-1636) - Almost 10,000 allegations of elder abuse or neglect were reported this past year to the 24 agencies in Massachusetts, including Elder Services, which form the first line of defense against elder abuse by investigating allegations of physical and verbal abuse, financial exploitation, and self-neglect. This line item also funds the Money Management program, which helps elders on limited incomes who are at risk because they cannot manage their financial affairs.
Appropriate funding in the FY’06 state budget for each of these line items is essential to ensure that no elder in need will have to wait for these services.
Ed Note: Contact information for the Berkshire County legislative delegation is in the box below. To learn more, see related articles pages 2 and 3, visit Elder Services website at www.esbci.org, and/or Mass Home Care’s website at www.masshomecare.org.