ALBANY COUNTY — During the last two years, dominated by the pandemic, the county’s Department for Aging has served 18,936 seniors and helped another 2,000 get vaccinated against COVID-19.

“The seniors of Albany County continue to be well served,” said Deb Riitano, commissioner of the county’s Department for Aging, responding to a series of Enterprise questions raised by a recent report from the state’s comptroller, Thomas DiNapoli.

The comptroller’s audit found that, despite $15 million in appropriations for each of the years from 2019-20 to 2021-22, intended to reduce or eliminate reported Unmet Need, weaknesses in the state’s Office for the Aging in getting Unmet Need funds to area agencies on aging undermined the goal.

The assumption had been that “more senior citizens likely required home services due to the isolation and restrictions imposed with the COVID-19 pandemic,” the report said.

Of the $30 million in Unmet Need appropriations for 2019-2020 and 2020-21, a total of $5.9 million allocated to 29 agencies on aging remained unspent as of July 30, the audit said.

The state’s Office for the Aging responded, in part, “Despite expectations that there would be an increase in in-home services due to the pandemic, in reality, many older adults refused in-home services for fear of contracting the virus from aides (if they were available) and due to increase in informal support from family and friends who were home during the pandemic period.”

The report includes a list of Unmet Need allocations and expenditures for 2019-10 and 2020-21 for each of the state’s 62 counties. For the first year, it says Albany County was allocated $330,910 and spent exactly that amount.

For the second year, it shows Albany County with the same allocation, $330,910, but the county’s expenses are listed at $385,887. While many other counties are listed with substantial remainders — the central criticism of the comptroller’s report — only Albany County is listed with a substantial overage, of $54,977, for the second year.

(Yates County is the only other county listed with a remainder in 2020-21, having spent just $72 more than allocated.)

Asked how her department was able to get into homes and serve seniors during the pandemic while other counties did not, Riitano said, “Albany County adjusted its business model to help people in the midst of an unprecedented pandemic. We did not have any reduction in services or programs. The Comptroller looks at funds in the state financial system. However, this review does not reflect differences due to timing of the county voucher systems.”

Riitano went on, “One of the services offered by Albany County home care is laundry service.  This was accomplished through a contactless process. We are the only county that offers that service through EISEP,” she said of the Expanded In-Home Services for the Elderly Program. “That program went on without a hitch.”

The purpose of EISEP is to provide flexible services to elderly New Yorkers — such as delivered meals, personal care, or transportation — so they can maintain daily living in their own homes; the program serves about 51,000 New Yorkers.

“Some folks did in fact cancel their home care,” said Riitno, “but that struggle is global.”

Asked where Albany County spent its Unmet Needs funds, Riitano said they mostly went to pay for meals as well as shopping assistance. 

“We also saw an increase in legal assistance and caregiving support calls,” she said. “Generally speaking, we saw a huge increase — not just us, but statewide. We were able to ascertain that from the many supportive phone calls from the AAA Association as well as the calls with NYSOFA,” she said of the Area Agency on Aging Association and the New York State Office for the Aging.

Despite the comptroller’s report listing $54,977 over the allocation in Unmet Needs spending for Albany County, Riitano said, “As for the $54,000 you asked about as an overage, it was EISEP regular allocation not Unmet Need money. That was assigned incorrectly by either the auditor or NYSOFA.”

Riitano concluded, “We are very optimistic about senior services and our new programs. We recognize that the fastest growing segment of the population is sixty plus.

“At this point, we expect most of our congregate meal sites will re-open Feb. 1. We have a new caterer for our West Hill site. We have a new Social Adult Day Service opening … As you can see, we have a lot to look forward to.”