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Albany County approves state pass-throughs to local mental‑health and supportive‑housing providers
Summary
County officials approved 2025 budget amendments to pass state funds to Second Chance Opportunities and three supportive‑housing providers — Equinox Incorporated ($7,929), Homeless and Travelers Aid Society ($17,180) and Rehabilitation Support Services ($165,188) — while staff said they are monitoring federal funding risks to state aid.
Albany County moved to amend its 2025 budget on several state-funded pass-through grants for addiction‑ and mental‑health providers, approving allocations to local service providers for supportive housing, clinics and recovery residences.
Michael (identified by first name in the transcript), a county staff presenter, asked the board to "approve to amend our 2025 budget in order to pass through COLA funds to the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports, also known as OASIS," and said the $4,875 allocation to Second Chance Opportunities is 100% state funded.
Board members then discussed whether state grants are funded in whole or in part by federal sources. An unidentified presenter (addressed as "doctor" in the meeting) cautioned that the state aid the county receives is "partially funded at the state level with federal block grants, and it's not quite clear how that's going to affect" future funding, and said staff are tracking developments and getting regular updates from the state.
The board approved three corrective budget amendments within the Department of Mental Health to pass state funds through to local supportive‑housing providers. The presenter described Equinox Incorporated as "a long standing provider in the community" with housing programs, a clinic and recovery residences, and requested an amendment to pass $7,929 for Equinox operations. A motion to move that item was made by Mister Bessin and seconded by Mister Miller; the transcript records the vote as unanimous.
The board then approved an amendment to pass $17,180 to the Homeless and Travelers Aid Society for supportive housing, forensic beds, outreach and transportation; that motion was moved by Mister Lane and seconded by Mister Miller. Finally, the county approved an amendment to pass $165,188 to Rehabilitation Support Services, described by the presenter as having "one of the largest footprints in the Hudson Valley" for subsidized and scattered‑site housing and outpatient services. Committee members asked whether Rehabilitation Support Services serves clients with co‑occurring substance‑use and mental‑health diagnoses; the presenter confirmed some residential programs do serve people with co‑occurring disorders.
Motions on the agenda items were moved and seconded according to the transcript (Equinox: moved by Mister Bessin, seconded by Mister Miller; Homeless & Travelers Aid: moved by Mister Lane, seconded by Mister Miller; Rehabilitation Support Services: moved by Mister Miller, seconded by Mister O'Lane). The transcript records affirmative voice votes to move the items; explicit vote tallies or individual roll‑call votes are not listed in the transcript except where the Equinox item is recorded as "unanimous." The meeting adjourned after the final item.
The requests recorded were described as state pass‑throughs (County acting as fiscal conduit). Staff repeatedly cautioned that some state aid includes federal block‑grant funding, which could affect future allocations; they said they will continue to monitor state guidance and report updates to the board. The transcript does not record ordinance numbers, formal contract numbers, or explicit start dates for the funding allocations.
