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Q&A
Discussion on DFTA contract registration delays and root causes
2:50:51
·
107 sec
Council Member Julie Won questions DFTA about the high percentage of retroactively registered contracts in fiscal year 2024. DFTA's First Deputy Commissioner Michael Ognibene responds, expressing uncertainty about the 90% figure and emphasizing the agency's commitment to timely payments and connecting staff to the work they do for older adults.
- DFTA questions the accuracy of the 90% retroactive registration figure
- Ognibene highlights DFTA's efforts to connect staff with the impact of their work
- The exchange reveals a disconnect between the reported issues and DFTA's perspective on their performance
Julie Won
2:50:51
Okay.
2:50:51
My last set of questions is for DFTA.
2:50:55
In fiscal year twenty twenty four, nearly 90% of DFTA's contracts were registered retroactively.
2:51:02
What are the root causes of delays in registering DFTA contracts, and what is the agency doing to address them?
2:51:23
So that's even worse if all of you guys are 90% registering contracts However,
2:52:32
Okay, but what is the root cause of the delays?
2:52:34
Is it because you guys are all out in the fields and nobody's processing the work?
Michael Ognibene
2:51:14
If that's from the comptroller's report from yesterday, we're still reviewing it.
2:51:18
But the 90% number you mentioned may be a description of many agencies and not just us.
2:51:28
we didn't take payments and registrations seriously because providers deserve to be paid.
2:51:33
We do have a shared goal here, and one of our priorities is to pay providers on time.
2:51:41
You know, we have presented a face to the story, if I may say.
2:51:50
Last year, for example, like why do we work at NYC Aging?
2:51:53
Why does someone work at Aging or DYCD or DSS?
2:51:57
Certainly if you're on the program side, it makes sense, but if you're not, then why am I there?
2:52:01
We had every single staff visit an older adult center last year.
2:52:05
Every single staff.
2:52:06
No matter where you worked, you had to go out and visit because we wanted to put a face to the story.
2:52:10
Here's the work that we do.
2:52:11
It's important.
2:52:12
It's ultimately about serving older adults.
2:52:14
We can talk about contracts, paperwork, but really it's about delivering services for older adults.
2:52:18
So we connect our staff right to the work that we're doing.
2:52:22
Every single staff wrote a letter to all of our caregivers last year thanking them for the work that they do.
2:52:27
By doing that, we have a better connection with our provider community.