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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Jeannine Cahill-Jackson, Citywide Director of Elder Law at The Legal Aid Society
1:53:21
ยท
4 min
Jeannine Cahill-Jackson from The Legal Aid Society testifies about challenges their clients face with Adult Protective Services (APS). She highlights issues with the CityFHEPS rental subsidy application process, financial management services, and lack of assistance in finding alternative housing for seniors at risk of eviction.
- APS takes 6-9 months to complete CityFHEPS applications, putting seniors at risk of eviction
- Financial management services can take over 6 months to start, leaving seniors vulnerable to financial abuse
- APS does not provide assistance in locating alternative housing for seniors with CityFHEPS vouchers
- There is a lack of alternative organizations that can provide housing assistance or subsidies for seniors who don't qualify for APS services
Jeannine Cahill-Jackson
1:53:21
Okay.
1:53:21
Thank you.
1:53:22
Good morning, councilmember Hudson and members of the committee.
1:53:25
I'm Janine Cale Jackson, the director of elder law with the Legal Aid Society.
1:53:29
Our clients are often in need of adult protective services assistance to prevent their eviction and remain in the community.
1:53:35
The assistance APS provides is crucial to so many older New Yorkers, but there are several areas where both we and our clients have experienced challenges.
1:53:43
The primary APS service that our clients are in need of is the CityPEPS rental subsidy.
1:53:48
A senior can qualify for CityPEPS by having an active APS case.
1:53:52
Many seniors depend on APS to submit these applications for the subsidy.
1:53:57
However, in our experience, it can take from six to nine months for APS to complete the application and obtain an approval, which often places seniors at the precipice of eviction as the housing case moves far more quickly than that.
1:54:09
This could be prevented if APS gave legal aid permission to submit applications on behalf of these seniors.
1:54:15
However, they often refused to do so, leaving our hands tied and our clients at risk.
1:54:19
Additionally, APS has refused to apply for CDFAPs in some cases despite extreme rent burden for the senior.
1:54:28
Another APS service that our clients are frequently in need of is financial management.
1:54:33
This can be an essential this can be essential particularly for seniors experiencing financial abuse.
1:54:39
However, in our experience, it can take over six months for financial management to start, often causing seniors to remain in unsafe circumstances for extended periods of time while waiting for the approval and management to actually take place.
1:54:54
In one specific case, the result is currently delaying in a senior in Brooklyn remaining with zero income because her son continues to take her social security checks that continue to be mailed directly to her.
1:55:08
For the last six months, she's had her APS financial management pending and is left with no income.
1:55:14
My staff has been told it could take up to a year for this to be completed.
1:55:18
Additionally, once financial management starts, it's not uncommon for rent or other bills to go unpaid for the senior at various times with no explanation.
1:55:27
This again places the senior at risk.
1:55:31
Lastly, a need for many of our clients is unmet by APS and any other community based organization to which they might seek to refer them, and that is to help them locate alternative housing and to move.
1:55:45
Specifically, APS may approve someone for a CDFHEPPS voucher, they have the moving voucher, and then are left with no assistance to locate this other apartment that they might need to move to.
1:55:57
With the exception of one client in Brooklyn who was eventually connected to an individual called a housing specialist, we have been told repeatedly that this is not a service that APS provides and they will only intervene moments before the eviction by filing an article 81 guardianship, seeking the appointment of a community guardian to be given the power over the senior themselves and their property despite many less restrictive options to assist the senior and prevent their homelessness.
1:56:26
If I may continue, I just had two brief additional points.
1:56:28
Sure.
1:56:29
Thank you.
1:56:32
Additionally, just in regards to the article 81, guardianship and finding an apartment, it actually remains unclear how this process would prevent their homelessness.
1:56:41
And these cases I refer to are still underway with our office.
1:56:45
I just had two brief points to address testimony that was given before.
1:56:54
APS did testify that they'll make referrals to other organizations and try to connect when they identify the seniors not eligible for CDFEPPs through them.
1:57:06
However, there are no other organizations that either find housing or provide a different subsidy.
1:57:12
So if they aren't if they don't have a history of homelessness and they're not a veteran and they don't qualify for APS, their options are waiting on a decade long NYCHA waiting list if it happens to be open and waiting for a Section eight waiting list to be open and perhaps a housing lottery.
1:57:26
So the approval for APS services for clients that are in need of a housing subsidy and often in need of other things is really crucial and not met by actually met by any others, unfortunately.
1:57:41
Additionally, council member Ayala raised a point I wanted to address a little further regarding the recertification for CDFAPs and SNAP.
1:57:48
In our experience, and it's my understanding that APS, if they have just ongoing APS case management services, not a more restrictive community guardian through the Article 81 process, that APS does not do recertifications for city, FAFSANAP, or public assistance even if they initially helped enroll.
1:58:09
Thank you very much, for your time, and we'll also be submitting a written testimony.
1:58:14
Thank you.
Crystal Hudson
1:58:15
Thank you so much.