Senate oversight panel asks audit after $800,000 for senior meals largely went unused as wait list swells

The Senate Legislative Oversight Committee on Wednesday voted to adopt its subcommittee report on the Department on Aging and authorized the Legislative Audit Council to investigate why emergency state funds intended for senior meal services have not been distributed or used in most regions.

Co-chair Senator Young said the committee found “since 2023, the wait list for all services statewide has grown from fewer than 2,000 requests for services to over 14,000 as of February of this year,” and described a troubling gap between available funding and services. “Of the $800,000 awarded, only $133,158 as of last week has actually been utilized,” he said.

The report, which the committee adopted by voice vote, lists 19 findings and 17 recommendations. Members highlighted three closely related problems: a rising demand for senior services, uncertain federal funding, and rules that require area agencies on aging (AAAs) to use federal funds before tapping state dollars.

Senator Hutto, co-chair of the subcommittee, said the committee sought an immediate LAC review to determine why funds were not reaching providers and whether administrative triage and communication issues between the Department on Aging and AAAs contributed to the problem. “We asked the chairman to initiate a letter to the Legislative Audit Council, to do further inquiry into matters that we believe should be looked into further,” Hutto said.

Committee members cited prior action to release contingency carry-forward funds: last year officials authorized the Department on Aging to release $800,000 from contingency for meal programs after consulting the governor’s office. According to testimony reported to the subcommittee, only two AAAs — the Lower Savannah AAA and the Catawba AAA — used the funds to purchase meals for seniors.

Members said the shortfall partially reflects a statutory requirement that AAAs exhaust federal funds before state funds may be used. The committee noted that the Department requested an Attorney General opinion on whether a waiver could be granted; “the attorney general’s office said that they couldn’t grant the waiver,” a committee member said.

The Legislative Audit Council will be asked to review program administration, the statutory framework that governs spending priority, how AAAs triage clients on wait lists, and communication practices between the department and local providers. The oversight committee said it will reconvene to consider further action once the audit council reports back.

The committee also discussed potential legislative fixes, including pursuing a statutory amendment or a short-term bill to allow more flexibility in deploying state funds if federal funds are delayed. The motion to authorize an LAC inquiry and to adopt the subcommittee report passed by voice vote; the committee recorded no roll-call tally in the hearing record.

The oversight chair closed the meeting by thanking members and reminding subcommittees to continue work through the fall.