QUESTION
What are the roles and participation of the Senior Advisory Council and the Cabinet for Older New Yorkers?
1:12:04
·
5 min
The Senior Advisory Council and the Cabinet for Older New Yorkers serve distinct functions, with the former offering consultative advice and the latter focusing on service acceleration and identifying gaps for older adults.
- The Cabinet consists of city agencies analyzing and enhancing services for older adults, also addressing outreach efforts.
- The Senior Advisory Council, comprising leaders in the aging field, including older adults and providers, advises the Department and serves as a feedback mechanism.
- Commissioner Cortes-Vazquez holds quarterly meetings with the advisory council to ensure a consultative and participatory process.
- The Cabinet for Older New Yorkers is a model for other councils, reflecting high participation rates from commissioners across 24 agencies involved in aging services.
Crystal Hudson
1:12:04
Can you please clarify the differences in response abilities and functions between the senior advisory council and the cabinet for older New Yorkers.
Lorraine Cortes-Vazquez
1:12:12
Oh, very different functions.
1:12:14
The cabinet is city agencies looking at services that they currently provide and how we could accelerate those services or also identify the gaps, look at the message and outreach efforts towards older adults.
1:12:33
That's the work of the cabinet.
1:12:34
The advisory council is a lead it's a council of leaders in the aging field.
1:12:40
I think 50% of them, somebody like me.
1:12:43
Most of them have to be.
1:12:45
Some they have to be older adults, but they could also be providers.
1:12:48
So, you know, sort of like me.
1:12:49
I'm a what is it?
1:12:50
I always say I'm commissioning.
1:12:51
I'm a client.
1:12:52
So you can you can have over overlapping roles, you know, so you can be an older adult and also be a provider and serve on the cabinet.
1:12:59
But its function is it it really is, and and I meet with them quarterly.
1:13:04
It is advising counsel to to to us.
1:13:09
And also a way of us reporting back to them what we're doing.
1:13:14
And it is a consultative process.
1:13:16
It's not I don't see it as just ministerial and a rubber stamp that we have to do.
Crystal Hudson
1:13:22
Thank you.
1:13:23
And what is the full list of agencies and offices that comprise the cabinet?
Lorraine Cortes-Vazquez
1:13:28
I got it.
1:13:28
I had that here.
Crystal Hudson
1:13:29
And do all parties participate in every meeting of the cabinet?
Lorraine Cortes-Vazquez
1:13:33
Well, I'm glad you mentioned that.
1:13:36
I am pleased to say that many, many, many of the commissioners come to the quarterly meetings.
1:13:42
It it it has been such a model that the tenant protection counsel or cabinet has been formulated based on the work and the structure of this aging cabinet.
1:13:55
That's great.
1:13:57
So 24 commissioners So I'm gonna give you a list or you want me to just email that to you.
1:14:02
You want me to list 24 agencies now for the record?
Crystal Hudson
1:14:04
Good list them now, if you don't mind.
Lorraine Cortes-Vazquez
1:14:08
Thank you very much.
1:14:13
So it's a civic engagement unit, commission on human rights, department for the aging, obviously.
1:14:20
Department of Consumer And Worker Protection, by the way, I meet with the mission of the Consumer Protection and myself go to many older adult clubs.
1:14:29
We're doing this little circuit thing now, where we're informing them about fraud and scams and tax preparation, and we're doing that as 2 commissioners.
1:14:40
The Department of Cultural Affairs, the Department of Education location, Department of Health And Mental Health, Department of Parks And Recreation, Department of Small Business Services, that's because we're looking for opportunities for workforce for older adults.
1:14:55
Department of Social Services And the Human Resource Administration Department of Social Service and the Department of Homeland Services, Department of Transportation, Department of Veterans Services, Department of Youth And Community, Housing Preservation, in Maya's office of community mental health, the Maya's office of immigrant affairs, the Maya's office of people with disabilities, May is a public engagement unit, h and h, New York City Housing Authority, New York City Public police department, NYC Service, and the Office of Technology And Innovation.
1:15:29
And I misspoke before.
1:15:31
The other agency that we work with on Intergenerational is a New York City service.
1:15:36
We're just starting a project with them and the board of education.
1:15:41
They no longer call that.
1:15:42
New York City Public Schools, and we're looking at intergenerational programming with them centered around Penn pals, again, started by a high school student.
Crystal Hudson
1:15:51
Wonderful.
1:15:52
Thank you so much for listening to agencies.
1:15:55
When you said many, many, many of them attend, do you have an approximate number or percentage out of the 24.
1:16:01
Is it like 20 out of 24?
Lorraine Cortes-Vazquez
1:16:03
It's probably
Crystal Hudson
1:16:03
on average.
Lorraine Cortes-Vazquez
1:16:04
Probably probably out a good 18 into 24, and it varies.
1:16:09
You know?
1:16:09
We all have different schedules
Crystal Hudson
1:16:10
Yeah.
1:16:10
Of course.
Lorraine Cortes-Vazquez
1:16:11
Which is why we're trying to schedule them well in advance so that we can lock the date.
1:16:15
Right.
1:16:16
And I must say that our deputy mayor is very, very supportive She attends every meeting, and our deputy mayor also encourages other deputy mayors to encourage the principals to attend.
1:16:30
Which is why it serves as a model.
Crystal Hudson
1:16:32
Yeah.
1:16:32
That's great.
1:16:34
Is there a reason why certain offices like the mayor's office of food policy were not in Included in the cabinet?
Lorraine Cortes-Vazquez
1:16:41
Because we have a we that's not if you're not in the cabinet, it doesn't mean that we don't have a strong working relationship with you.
Crystal Hudson
1:16:47
Right.
Lorraine Cortes-Vazquez
1:16:47
We work with many agencies that we are not in
Crystal Hudson
1:16:51
they're not in the cabinet.
Lorraine Cortes-Vazquez
1:16:52
They're not in the cabinet.
1:16:54
We work with the mayor's office of food policy on a regular basis because they our nutritionists work with their units all the time.
1:17:04
So that's an ongoing relationship.