Nearly half, 49%, of all Mid-Hudson Valley residents believe funding for senior citizens’ services in their community is adequate while 37% think it is too low.
This finding is consistent with public opinion in 2002. At that time, 49% of residents in the Mid-Hudson region felt spending for these services was on target, and 34% believed more resources should be allocated.
At the county level, residents in Dutchess, Orange, and Putnam Counties are more likely to be satisfied than not with the resources allocated by their community for services for senior citizens.
In Greene, Sullivan, and Ulster Counties, residents are more closely divided. However, more residents in each of these counties feel that spending on services for senior citizens in their community is on target than think otherwise.
In Columbia County, residents are split. 45% of county residents believe the amount of resources dedicated to services for senior citizens is about right, and 45% believe it is not enough.
Ironically, residents age sixty-five and older are considerably more likely than younger residents to believe the community is spending enough on services for senior citizens. Again, this difference is largely due to the fact that a greater proportion of younger residents do not have an opinion about these services.
Seniors who do not have a disability are considerably more satisfied with the current level of funding directed toward these services than seniors with a disability. Still, a majority of both groups believes spending is adequate.
51% of African American residents in the Mid-Hudson region think too few resources are directed toward services for seniors. In contrast, only 37% of white residents and 36% of Latino residents hold this view. A similar divide along racial and ethnic lines was evident in 2002.
