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Office for Aging Services details funding, demographics and programs as county’s older population remains high
Summary
Dana Corwin, director of the Office for Aging Services, told the Human Services Committee that federal and state funding together total about $4 million with a $1 million local share, highlighted demographic pressures (65+ roughly 21% of county population), and described programs that keep older adults at home as a cost‑effective alternative to institutional care.
Dana Corwin, director of Chautauqua County’s Office for Aging Services, presented an extended status update to the Human Services Committee on funding, demographics and core services for older residents.
Corwin told the committee the Older Americans Act bill S2102 “has been sitting since last year in the senate, and today it passed the senate,” and said New York State also increased funds for unmet needs. She summarized the local funding picture presented to the committee as federal and state funding combined with a county local share (federal/state roughly $4,000,000; local share listed as $1,000,000) and urged members to consult the office’s website for a full list of services.
Corwin said the county’s population age 65 and over is about 21%—above the state (17%) and national (16%) averages—and that the Office for Aging focuses on keeping older adults in place through home‑based services. She described local capacity as roughly four long‑term care or skilled nursing facilities (with 290 beds in the South and 256 beds in the North) and a combined assisted‑living bed total near 627. She said the office serves older adults 60+ and estimated the older adult population at about 30,000.
Corwin highlighted program work: home‑delivered meals (meals on wheels), adult day centers, home repair and transportation, Medicare enrollment help, and a volunteer program launched in May. She framed these services as cost‑avoidance: Corwin presented comparisons showing community‑based care costs far lower than assisted living or nursing home care and said, for example, a home‑based package she described could cost about $1,518 a month versus assisted living costs cited around $6,300 a month in the region; she noted some national and state median nursing‑facility figures shown in her slides.
Corwin also described population characteristics—higher female share among older adults, many living alone, and an average service age she cited in two places (82.4 in one slide and 84.1 in another) while explaining the office’s assessment tool and cost‑share rules. She invited committee members and the public to a public hearing on September 8 with two watch‑party locations and a livestream from the Government Office Building.
What happens next: Corwin offered to return with further updates and asked committee members to attend the September 8 public input session.
