Albany County Department of Social Services renews shelter and service contracts, approves OCFS grant applications

Albany County — The Albany County Department of Social Services on an evening agenda voted to renew a series of agreements that fund emergency and transitional shelter beds across the county, authorized a grant application to the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) for behavioral-health services tied to child-protective work, and approved a county interdepartmental screening agreement for substance-use and mental-health assessments.

County staff summarized a set of shelter renewals that together continue funding for dozens of beds and case-management services. The board authorized contract renewals for Mercy House (20 beds) at a county cost share described as 60% of $919,437, the Sheridan Avenue Shelter (30 beds) at a contract listed as $1,060,000 (64% county share), and the South Ferry Street Shelter (20 beds) at $966,608 (61% county share). Staff said Sheridan Avenue saw 205 unduplicated residents in 2024, a 13% increase year over year.

Staff also presented a renewal for the Schuyler Inn family shelter (operated by the Altima program). They reported 124 families served from Jan. 1 through Oct. 31 and provided a contract figure recorded in the transcript as “2,000,008,912 dollars”; the amount appears to be a transcription error and was not clarified in the meeting record.

The board approved a new agreement with Saint Catherine’s Center for Children to operate the Merrilock Family Residence, a tier-2 family shelter with 24 family units. Staff said the county served 80 unduplicated families there in 2024; the contract was described as “up to $1,827,350,” with the funding mix listed as 27% county, 12% state and 61% federal.

On child-welfare supports, staff described an OCFS grant application to continue a part-time behavioral-health/clinical social worker who accompanies child-protective staff under a program the presenter called Captacara, which focuses on engaging parents with substance-use disorders and linking families to treatment. "This individual is a part-time employee," staff said, "and this continuation of funds has continued." The board voted to authorize the submission of the grant application.

The board also approved an interdepartmental agreement between the Department of Social Services and the County Department of Mental Health to provide two full-time certified alcohol and substance-use counselors to perform mandated screenings and assessments under the Welfare Reform Act of 1997. Staff reported the contract is for $250,000 and said 1,215 assessments were completed between Nov. 1, 2024 and Oct. 1 (year not specified). When asked what "sanction" means for noncompliance, staff replied that recipients can lose public-assistance benefits until they comply with required treatment.

On workforce services, the board renewed a contract with The Ultimate Program to deliver employment, job-readiness and post-placement retention services for TANF and safety-net recipients. Staff said the program engaged 2,124 clients between Oct. 2024 and Oct. 2025 (a 36% increase) and quoted a contract amount of $434,700 described as 100% federally funded. The presenter characterized the program’s employment placements as modest: "on average... about 4 individuals a month" secure employment, and staff cited barriers including undiagnosed mental health or substance-abuse issues, transportation problems and lack of child care.

Board members asked several operational questions during the meeting: where detention and family-shelter facilities are located, whether local expansion is fiscally feasible, the length of stay at family shelters (staff said stays can range from 60 days to six months depending on assessed need), and outstanding problems with SNAP/EBT benefit reinstatements for some families.

Votes at a glance

- Item 1: Acceptance of previous meeting minutes — approved. - Item 2: Authorization of agreement for Safe Harbor initiative (human trafficking training and victim services) with OCFS and a local crime victims/violence center — approved. - Item 3: Authorization to submit OCFS grant application for behavioral-health support with child-protective services (Captacara) — approved. - Item 4: Authorization for Together for Youth non-secure detention services (existing beds/House of Good Shepherd expansion discussion) — approved. - Item 5: Mercy House contract renewal ($919,437) — approved. - Item 6: Altima/Schuyler Inn family shelter renewal (transcript-listed amount appears erroneous) — approved. - Item 7: Interdepartmental screening agreement with County Department of Mental Health ($250,000) — approved. - Item 8: Altamont/Thornton Avenue women's shelter renewal ($323,575) — approved. - Item 9: Sheridan Avenue Shelter renewal ($1,060,000) — approved. - Item 10: South Ferry Street Shelter renewal ($966,608) — approved. - Item 11: Saint Catherine’s Merrilock Family Residence agreement (up to $1,827,350) — approved. - Item 12: The Ultimate Program employment-services renewal ($434,700, 100% federal) — approved.

What was raised and not resolved

County staff and members noted several items that require follow-up: (1) staff offered to provide approximate counts or additional data on trafficking victims in Albany County, (2) the Schuyler Inn contract amount as read in the transcript appears to be a transcription error and needs verification, (3) a precise success-rate metric for The Ultimate Program beyond the presenter’s monthly-placement average was not provided, and (4) SNAP/EBT reinstatement problems for certain families continue to be an unresolved administrative issue.

Who spoke

The meeting transcript records multiple unidentified presenters and questioners (identified in the meeting record by speaker numbers). Several individual names were read during roll call (Rosado; Simpson; Cleary; Epiphoro; Andrew Joyce; Miller; Stein; Lockhart; Mauriello) and were recorded as present; the transcript also mentions "Commissioner Manning" in the room. Quotations in this account are attributed to speakers generically where the transcript did not attach a name to a spoken turn.

Next steps

Staff will supply requested clarifying numbers on trafficking incidence and on program outcomes where available, and the county will proceed with the authorized contracts and the submission of the OCFS grant application. The meeting record shows approvals on all listed agenda items; no items were tabled or denied.