A Message from NYSOFA Director Greg Olsen on Federal Actions and ... April 30, 2025 | 2:02 PM EDT Learn more about A Message from NYSOFA Director Greg Olsen on Federal Actions and Agency Restructuring Efforts (May 2025 Update)

By NYSOFA Director Greg Olsen

I know that there is unease and uncertainty about the status of programs and services in the federal budget that supports older adults and their families, regardless of age. While there have been no actions that directly impact NYSOFA at this time, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Fiscal 2026 budget request provides details on what HHS is proposing to continue to fund, versus what it is proposing to eliminate. The information below is factual and comes directly from the HHS proposed budget, but it must be approved by Congress and signed by the President in order for it to become law beginning October 1, 2025, which is the start of the federal fiscal year.

By way of background, NYSOFA learned a month or so ago that our federal administrating agency, the Administration for Community Living (ACL), has been dissolved and that 50% of ACL staff were terminated. The Administration on Aging, which implements the Older Americans Act, provides NYSOFA and all the other states with funding to support older adults, such as funds for home delivered and congregate meals, transportation, personal care, case management, evidence-based programs, support for caregivers and more.  Some of ACL’s functions have been moved to different parts of HHS.

NYSOFA and the Association on Aging in New York presented at the national American Society on Aging (ASA) conference last week to show our many innovative projects, and to provide a more in-depth conversation on the proposed Federal FY 2026 budget request from HHS. Below is a small snapshot of the HHS request for FY 26 that we are paying attention to. We will continue to analyze all departments at the federal level to better understand additional possible impacts being proposed that affect older adults and their families.

Administration for Community Living

The following programs are proposed to be eliminated in the federal budget:

• Title IIID – evidence-based programs to improve overall health, manage chronic conditions, prevent falls, etc.
• Title VII – the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program, which provides staff and volunteers for nursing homes and residential facilities to assure quality of care on behalf of the residents.
• Title VII – Elder Abuse prevention and mitigation.
• Lifespan Respite to provide respite services to individuals caring for someone else.
• SHIP/HIICAP – programs that provide objective information and assistance to help individuals on Medicare choose their coverage and prescription plans, problem solve, assist with benefit applications, etc.

Additional Programs Proposed Eliminated

• Adult Protective Services – investigates and helps solve elder-abuse cases.
• Falls prevention programs that reduce the fear and risk of falls for older adults.
• CDSME – chronic disease self-management programs to help older adults manage their conditions and remain healthy.
• LIHEAP – the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which provides assistance with heat in the winter and cooling in the summer.
• CSBG – The Community Services Block Grant (CSBG), which provides financial assistance to states, territories, and tribes to support services aimed at alleviating poverty and improving the conditions of low-income communities.
• Title V – Older worker program helps individuals age 55+ access employment and teach employment skills.
• Alzheimer’s disease research
• Rural hospital grants
• Mental health and substance abuse programs, including overdose prevention
• Health care workforce programs
• National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health
• Cuts to food banks

I have used the words “proposed” many times because, at this time, that is exactly what these are: proposed program eliminations. The beauty of living in a democracy is that we all have a voice. To learn more, visit https://agingny.org/.