Needs being met by Department of Social Services

In 1938, the people of New York state ratified a new constitution, including Article XVII dedicated to social welfare, which reads in part, “The aid, care and support of the needy are public concerns and shall be provided by the state and by such of its subdivisions.†On the county level, the Department of Social Services (DSS) helps meet these needs.

A review of DSS’ programs might benefit community members struggling in today’s tough economy. For the rest of us, know that your taxes are making the difference in the lives of the poor.  The 2008 DSS annual report provides the most up-to-date statistics.  

u      u      u

In 2008, 1,668 area residents benefited from DSS assistance, including 337 in Millbrook, 169 in Wassaic, 205 in Amenia, 602 from Pleasant Valley, 170 from Salt Point and 185 from Stanfordville.  

In addition to legal and fraud-investigation units, a sampling of DSS’ programs includes:

• Financial services. Providing relief to low-income households comes in many forms: In 2008 5,313 applied for food stamps, 1,820 applied for HEAP (Home Energy Assistance Program) and 7,572 received Medicaid health benefits.  

• Temporary assistance. DSS offers temporary cash and noncash assistance to help persons return to self-sufficiency. $13,825,133 was paid in temporary assistance in 2008.  

• Protective services for adults. Community members over the age of 18, regardless of income or resources, who are physically or mentally impaired, are entitled to many services including payee services and linkage with community assistance. In 2008, Dutchess County served as guardian for 32 individuals and as a payee for 133 individuals.

• Child protective services. Investigates and intervenes in allegations of abuse and neglect and provides access to case managers 24/7, assisting with removals as needed. In 2008, 58 children awaited adoption, with 34 successful adoptions.  

• Foster care. Two hundred eighty-three kids were with DSS in some type of placement in 2008, including 116 in foster care. The county certifies foster homes. There are currently 84. Additional foster and adoptive homes are needed. Those willing to open their homes to children in need should contact DSS. Subsidies are available.

• Community Work Experience Program. With 40 participants in 2008 who faced setbacks or illness in their life assigned to public or nonprofit agencies, this  program helps people build confidence and re-enter the workforce while learning basic skills.  

• Child support enforcement. Locates absent parents, helps establish paternity, collect arrears and initiates violation proceedings. In 2008, DSS processed 7,337 family court petitions.

• Indigent burials. In 2008, 120 burials took place.

• Employment. Assistance is given to help able-bodied clients re-enter the workforce by developing employment plans, mentoring or via BOCES vocational training. In 2008, 106 people participated.

• Low-income daycare. One thousand four hundred sixty-three children were looked after in 2008 so their low-wage-earning parents could work.  

u      u      u

For those of us in east/central Dutchess County, the Eastern Dutchess Government Center in Millbrook permits close-to-home access.  

The Department of Social Services serves our poorest neighbors. Many more struggle but exceed the eligibility threshold. Consider supporting local food pantries and nonprofits to help those who slip through the cracks.

Michael Kelsey represents the towns of Amenia, Washington, Stanford, Pleasant Valley and the village of Millbrook in the Dutchess County Legislature. Write him at KelseyESQ@yahoo.com.

Latest News

South Kent School’s unofficial March reunion

Elmarko Jackson was named a 2023 McDonald’s All American in his senior year at South Kent School. He helped lead the Cardinals to a New England Prep School Athletic Conference (NEPSAC) AAA title victory and was recruited to play at the University of Kansas. This March he will play point guard for the Jayhawks when they enter the tournament as a No. 4 seed against (13) Samford University.

Riley Klein

SOUTH KENT — March Madness will feature seven former South Kent Cardinals who now play on Division 1 NCAA teams.

The top-tier high school basketball program will be well represented with graduates from each of the past three years heading to “The Big Dance.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Hotchkiss grads dancing with Yale

Nick Townsend helped Yale win the Ivy League.

Screenshot from ESPN+ Broadcast

LAKEVILLE — Yale University advanced to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament after a buzzer-beater win over Brown University in the Ivy League championship game Sunday, March 17.

On Yale’s roster this year are two graduates of The Hotchkiss School: Nick Townsend, class of ‘22, and Jack Molloy, class of ‘21. Townsend wears No. 42 and Molloy wears No. 33.

Keep ReadingShow less
Handbells of St. Andrew’s to ring out Easter morning

Anne Everett and Bonnie Rosborough wait their turn to sound notes as bell ringers practicing to take part in the Easter morning service at St. Andrew’s Church.

Kathryn Boughton

KENT—There will be a joyful noise in St. Andrew’s Church Easter morning when a set of handbells donated to the church some 40 years ago are used for the first time by a choir currently rehearsing with music director Susan Guse.

Guse said that the church got the valuable three-octave set when Harlem Valley Psychiatric Center closed in the late 1980s and the bells were donated to the church. “The center used the bells for music therapy for younger patients. Our priest then was chaplain there and when the center closed, he brought the bells here,” she explained.

Keep ReadingShow less
Picasso’s American debut was a financial flop
Picasso’s American debut was a financial flop
Penguin Random House

‘Picasso’s War” by Foreign Affairs senior editor Hugh Eakin, who has written about the art world for publications like The New York Review of Books, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker and The New York Times, is not about Pablo Picasso’s time in Nazi-occupied Paris and being harassed by the Gestapo, nor about his 1937 oil painting “Guernica,” in response to the aerial bombing of civilians in the Basque town during the Spanish Civil War.

Instead, the Penguin Random House book’s subtitle makes a clearer statement of intent: “How Modern Art Came To America.” This war was not between military forces but a cultural war combating America’s distaste for the emerging modernism that had flourished in Europe in the early decades of the 20th century.

Keep ReadingShow less