Of the $17.2 million in awards issued through Governor Kathy Hochul’s Family-Centered Services initiative, $1.8 million was earmarked for the Finger Lakes region and $165,385 was carved out of that for Genesee County’s more strenuous cases, county Social Services Commissioner Carla Mindler says.
The state released information to counties in July, and “these funds are allocated to allow local DSS offices to hire additional staff or develop contracts with providers to support the needs of families whose circumstances require a more intensive level of case management,” Mindler said to The Batavian Monday.
“These services will target Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) eligible families with complex needs in an effort to help stabilize their household conditions. While use of these funds is optional, Genesee County does intend to utilize them to help supplement the services we currently provide,” Mindler said. “These funds will allow a broader focus on stabilization and well-being of the families we serve who may have a greater spectrum of needs and destabilizing conditions such as homelessness, substance use disorders, mental health conditions, developmental disabilities or domestic violence.
“Local DSS administrators have an upcoming call with the state later this week to discuss options in more detail,” she said. “Our plan is due to the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) by August 30, 2024.”
The $17.2 million of funds are meant to strengthen social services that help vulnerable families achieve financial stability and help social services departments across the state to hire more staff, according to a press release issued from Hochul’s office on Friday.
“We’re strengthening the critical resources that help struggling New Yorkers meet their essential needs and transition to economic security,” Hochul said in the release. “By giving local social services departments the funding to hire more staff and bolster operations, we can bring more families out of poverty and into a brighter future.”
Finger Lakes was one of 10 regions in the state awarded a piece of the total awards pie.
The Family-Centered Services initiative was first announced in the 2024 State of the State address and continues Governor Hochul’s deep commitment to strengthening the social service network and lifting families out of poverty, the release states.
The initiative addresses the challenges of family poverty by ensuring local social services departments across the state will have trained staff available to provide targeted interventions that support the entire family. This includes assisting families with complex needs such as mental health conditions, developmental disabilities, substance use disorders and those experiencing homelessness or domestic violence.
The funding will enable local departments to hire from one to seven full-time credentialed or appropriately experienced staff, depending on the size of the county’s caseload. The new staff will provide a range of case management services that could include in-depth assessments, crisis intervention, resource navigation and peer support to stabilize household conditions, among others.
Local departments will tailor their initiatives to meet the unique needs of the households they serve. Some may choose to focus on the needs of homeless families or households facing mental health conditions, while others may focus more on encouraging paths to employment. Families will be referred to the program based on locally developed criteria.
