The Cayuga County Legislature’s Human Services Committee on Oct. 16 approved a package of departmental contracts and personnel changes and heard updates on programs ranging from youth services and homelessness response to SNAP rule changes and public‑health contracts.

The committee voted to approve multiple resolutions on contracts and staffing: a scope‑of‑work amendment for a youth program receiving ARPA funds; two new animal‑care contracts for the health department; contract renewals and short‑term shelter arrangements with Chapel House for case management and transitional housing; and a set of position changes in the Department of Social Services (DSS) and Health Department. All listed resolutions on the agenda were carried.

The resolutions cleared by the committee included:
- HH12 — Authorize the legislature and the youth bureau director to amend the scope of work and executed agreement with Human Counseling Services. The county confirmed the award is ARPA‑funded (approximately $15,000) and the vendor has until December 2026 to spend those funds. The amendment lets the provider shift from an initially proposed Big Brothers‑style program to on‑site and community‑based youth relationship and peer‑building activities, with an estimated 26 activity types and roughly 100 unduplicated children served countywide.
- HH3 and HH4 — Contracts with Chapel House: HH3 funds a supportive case manager for people experiencing homelessness (contract amount stated in committee materials as $81,632); HH4 funds a six‑month contract (11/01/2025–04/30/2026) to maintain Ray of Light, a 16‑bed emergency/transitional shelter while a new rescue‑mission shelter is built. Committee discussion noted the county will need an alternative plan for unsheltered clients when the site transfers to the rescue mission and the on‑site program closes.
- HH1 and HH2 — Health department contracts adding Canine Cove Kennel as an alternate contractor for animal pickup/boarding and Ciccarelli Wildlife Solutions to provide specimen preparation and euthanasia for wildlife suspected of rabies (the latter does not handle domestic animals). Both resolutions carried.
- HH8 — Continued monthly access to prior electronic medical records (storage fee discussed as $53/month) to preserve clinical histories and billing records after the department switched EMR systems; carried.
- HH9 and HH10 — Acceptance and budget adjustment resolutions for opioid settlement regional abatement funds that flow to the county and pass‑through funds to the City of Auburn; carried.
- HH11 — Contract with a community provider (Cuba Counseling Services) to serve as a court‑based mental‑health navigator, to support people with mental‑health diagnoses who are involved with the criminal justice system; carried.
- HH5, HH6, HH7 — Position actions in DSS and Health: create/fill a principal account clerk and abolish two clerical positions (HH5); permission to fill two human services examiner positions in SNAP and public assistance (HH6); create/fill an accountant position to support the Health program (HH7). These staffing moves were described as intended to consolidate accounting functions, enable cross‑training and sustain operations; all carried.

Why this matters: The committee’s approvals preserve operations for multiple county programs — youth services funded with ARPA dollars, short‑term shelter capacity for people experiencing homelessness, and animal control and public‑health backstops. Several items are time‑sensitive (ARPA expenditure deadlines, short‑term shelter contracts aligned with the rescue‑mission project schedule), and the DSS briefing described an imminent federal/state policy change that could affect SNAP eligibility and local casework workload.

DSS and SNAP: DSS staff told the committee that the federal/state waiver that had exempted some groups from SNAP work requirements is being removed and that the state‑level waiver timeline has accelerated. County staff reported they received notice last week that New York’s waiver ends and that the state is moving the implementation date to Nov. 1, 2025; the department is preparing client notices and tracking paperwork. Committee discussion covered which populations were previously exempt (homeless individuals, certain veterans and people who aged out of foster care) and the administrative burden the change will create — staff said units will need to document work, job training or participation and will prepare communications when ADM guidance is finalized. (Transcript referenced OTDA/ADM guidance and USDA communications.)

Homelessness response and transitional housing: Committee members and staff discussed the Chapel House contracts in the context of the county’s sheltering strategy. The transitional contract for Ray of Light runs only through April 30, 2026, because the property is scheduled to transfer to the rescue mission and the rescue mission’s new shelter operation and any negotiated county support will come later. Staff emphasized that the county will need to plan temporary alternatives (hotel placements or other beds) during the 2026–2027 gap before the new facility opens.

Other program updates: Committee members heard that the Youth Bureau received 27 applications this year for local workforce/grant support, requesting about $322,000; staff said roughly $160,000 was available and 20 projects were funded, including 10 organizations newly supported by the bureau. Health department presenters said mobile‑crisis calls and follow‑ups are up (over 200 visits year to date) and that some DOH grants for homelessness outreach/care management were extended an additional two years.

Budget and countywide presentations: Later in the meeting county department heads presented budget materials. Highlights included a highway presentation that said the highway fund balance has grown in recent years and that equipment replacement timing and warranties are important to control repair costs; the sheriff described an ongoing jail staffing shortage (reported as multiple vacancies and elevated overtime due to difficulty recruiting and an aging workforce) and cautioned that staffing attrition is pushing overtime higher; the district attorney described rising discovery and electronic‑data costs (Axon/body‑cam storage and case‑management expenses) and the creation of a small special‑prosecutor contingency line to cover conflicts when other DA offices cannot accept cases. The planning department summarized more than $22 million in grant funding secured over the last decade and noted several state‑mandated review duties it performs for municipalities and county agencies.

Votes at a glance: All resolutions presented on the Human Services agenda were approved (the meeting record shows each motion “carried” or “passes”). Where amounts or detailed vote tallies were discussed in the transcript, the committee discussion or the department presenter’s remarks provide the figures cited above; several items (opioid settlement passthrough amounts, some contract totals) were referenced verbally and will be included in the formal resolution text filed with county records.

What’s next: County staff said they will issue SNAP client notices once final ADM guidance is released and will return with further budget/resolution items as the rescue‑mission shelter project and other capital moves proceed. The youth bureau, health department and DSS will continue implementation steps for the approved contracts and staffing changes.