Now some of the other things that we have done, we had $18,000 of CSA money that was "one-shot" money. By that we mean it was money that was given to us that we could do with what we saw fit. About the time that we received this money, some of the meal sites were being set up in the six-county area but they didn't have funds to purchase equipment for the meal sites. Many of the programs were financed for the meals, or part of them, but they didn't have funds to buy stoves or refrigerators and that sort of thing. Sometimes you can get used equipment. But when do you give a refrigerator away? Usually when it is worn out, sometimes not. You don't have the type of stove, usually, that they need for that. That $18,000 was distributed among the sites so that they could buy equipment, so the sites could get started, so they could have meals in various areas. Then another $5,000 that we received from CSA was emergency food money and was supposed to be used for emergency food in some manner or other. We felt, if we called in the social service directors within the six-county area and talked to them and asked them perhaps what would be the best way, that they might have suggestions. So we called in the social service directors and talked to them. We said, "Now we have $5,000; do you have any need or can you use it or dispense with it in any way?" They said, "Yes, we can use emergency money." There are times when people come in and have to have emergency money for food and we don't always have that. The upshot of all that was this: We gave five counties $800 eachone county $1,000. They allocated the money and sent the bills to us. We made the check out to them. That is the way it was handled. Then we have the center systems, of which there are five. We don't happen to have one at Bedford, but they are in the backbone of our total system. You are looking at one of the centers right here-you are sitting in one of them. Louise Forsyth, sitting right next to me, will be talking about that a lot more later. I am not going to go into any more of the organization or any more linkages of the programs, or that sort of thing. We will go into the winterization program. I think, perhaps, this is one of the best programs that we have had in a long, long time. It is one of the programs that has gotten a lot of good for a lot of people. Within this program, the original grant amounted to $26,150 Federal money and the State of Iowa allocated $3,495. THE WINTERIZATION PROGRAM Whenever money of any kind, Federal or State, is allocated, there are always guidelines that you have to follow. Federal dollars were for all age groups, but 90 percent of the homes that we worked on were elderly occupied and, again, this was because of the need. The guidelines for the elderly poor-we could go 25 percent above poverty guidelines for winterization. State dollars were earmarked for 62 years and over. In other words, for people 62 years and older, we could use State money. The work schedule or accomplishment: What did we do or what have we gotten done within that program? First of all, under Federal regulation we could not exceed $250 per home. Senator CLARK. You could not spend more than $250 on a home for winterization? Mr. PALS. That is correct. We planned to work in 185 homes. I will explain this a little more clearly. Actually, we worked on 302 homes. Now there are different phases within this project. For example, we started out, first, with what we call protecting the home from air infiltration by using plastic and caulking the home, doing the best we could. We get those that have the greatest need. We finally decided perhaps a storm window might be a better route because plastic would not last that long, and maybe there was a better way. So we started with storm windows and we did quite a bit. We started doing that and we had 40 homes that had permanent storm windows, which was better. Then we went to ceiling insulation, and we have done 57 homes so far. So you see, we have various homes in various phases-not all complete, but in various phases. We will go back and do more next year. Besides this, we have put in vents in the roof, vents in the side walls, and this sort of thing. We traded off 55 tons of old paper, enough to do 20 attics. We are the only agency in the State of Iowa to have done this and we have to give credit to the center people and you people who brought in old papers. This was trucked to Des Moines and traded in on insulation. We got enough by trading in to do 20 attics free; this is what it amounted to. Then we generated 1,160 hours of volunteer time. We picked up 1.000 old storm windows. We put on plastic, and used windows where possible. Those that didn't fit right into the old windows were screwed on to the outside. We could not use all of them. It would not have been possible to do all this without the help of our center supervisors-our CETA people. What are we talking about? We are talking about CETA people-the Comprehensive Emplovment Training Act. MATURA is, or was, using five carpenters provided by CETA under titles II and VII. All of them are under a title II contract, presently, because of the funding within the two programs. The title VII funding ran out within the area, so it was all transferred to title II, and presently they are on that. As I understand, that is to run out on January 1. and I am hoping that that will continue, Senator. Senator CLARK. We are going to be voting on that, as a matter of fact, in about 7 or 8 days, so we are hopeful that it will. CETA FUNDS NECESSARY Mr. PALS. It is indeed fortunate that MATURA could avail themselves of the CETA contracts, as it would have been impossible to have accomplished what we did because neither our own budget nor the winterization budget had allowed for this kind of needed manpower. Without CETA, MATURA would need at least an additional $30.000 to $35,000 to continue a program of this kind another year. Now, as to the future of CSA-it has been kind of up and down, as you all know, and my guess is that is true of any new program. I will read what I have here on the future of CSA. I hope I keep within my time. For those working within an organization like MATURA, especially those who have any tenure at all, realize the many frustrations we have gone through; we have never been quite sure each year if we would be funded. When President Nixon's order came out to dismantle the total organization, this was very disheartening to CAP people. All agencies seemed to lose ground and, again, when it looked like President Ford might transfer us to HEW, it seemed almost as bad. After 10 years of dedicated work, it seems as if we are still struggling up a fairly steep incline, whereas we should be on a plateau progressing forward with less concern about annual funding as well as how much funding we will receive. MATURA has had the same funding level for the last 5 or 6 years. With cost-of-living increasesincreases in rent, utilities, telephone, et cetera-there is only one answer, and by now you've guessed it. Thank you. [A poverty guideline table submitted by Mr. Pals follows:] CSA POVERTY GUIDELINES FOR ALL STATES EXCEPT ALASKA AND HAWAII Note: For family units with more than 6 members, add $900 for each additonal member in a nonfarm family and $760 for each additional member in a farm family. Senator CLARK. Thank you very much. You may be on the incline, but it looks like you have accomplished a great deal; in particular, the winterization program which is the kind of program that, it seems to me, can have a lot of practical effect with a fairly small amount of money expended. We compliment you on that. I just want to point out that Congressman Tom Harkin on my immediate right, as you know, is also sitting in on the hearings. We are going to go ahead with the panel and then, Tom, if you have anything you would like to say at that point, we would be happy to hear you. Representative HARKIN. Thank you. Senator CLARK. We are going to hear now from our next witness who is, in fact, the director of this center, Mrs. Forsyth. I want to start, Louise, by saying we are very, very grateful to you for making the arrangements here and allowing us to use your center. STATEMENT OF LOUISE FORSYTH, DIRECTOR, MADISON COUNTY MULTIPURPOSE CENTER, WINTERSET, IOWA Mrs. FORSYTH. We are most happy to have you, and we are glad to do it. Welcome to everyone who is here. I am extremely pleased to see such a large turnout and so many strange faces. This means there are people from without our area. My roots are planted quite firmly in Madison County. I was born. and raised in Lincoln Township and have lived in Madison County all my life, except for 9 months spent in California in 1955-56. My great grandfather was a country doctor in that neighborhood in the late 1800's and early 1900's. My personal association with Madison County Multipurpose Center was on January 16, 1974, when I began work as assistant director on a part-time basis. I did not know at that time that I would become the director, as I have in a short 212 years. The center staff at that time consisted of the director, Mr. Herb Flint; a part-time outreach worker; and myself. I knew relatively little about CAP agencies-their purpose, operation, or funding. When I started work, the funding for future operation was very shaky, and remained that way for quite some time. The first experience I had in dealing with public officials and others outside of the CAP agencies was when we compiled a report on center activities and services, presenting them to the mayor and city council and enlisting the support of the Madison County Board of Supervisors just in case we were not funded again through the OEO program. When I came on board, the title VII nutrition program was operating in four sites: Earlham, Truro, St. Charles, and Winterset. The meals for Winterset participants were served 5 days a week at the multipurpose center and the associate director for the program hadand still has-her office at the center. COUNTYWIDE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM In the summer of 1974 we-the area agency on aging staff, Madison County Board of Supervisors, center people, and other interested people in the community-began putting together plans for a countywide transportation system for our senior citizens who could not provide their own and needed such a service in order to remain in their own homes. Mrs. Stroeber has told you this started off on February 3, and she and Mrs. Carter from Macksburg were the first riders. As we worked on this plan, Glenda Knight, a planner with the area agency on aging, began to think of expanding the use of the transportation service by multifunding. This could be done by setting up a contract for purchasing services with the Department of Social Services, thereby making it possible to provide transportation to the blind. the handicapped, and the disabled, as well as those over 60 years of age. I think, probably, if I had known how much bookwork, extra hours, headaches, hassles, et cetera, were involved, I probably would have opted out of any involvement with the program. Nevertheless, I am not sorry I didn't know, and I feel it has worked out very well. We are in our second year of operation and are gaining friends and participants every month. One project leads to another. In the spring of 1974, the nutrition program in Winterset, particularly, was not gaining-people were not participating. With some funds that MATURA had available, they purchased a used car-a 1968 Bel-Air Chevrolet four-door-and provided a driver and gas for 6 months as an experiment to see if transportation lack was part of the reason for the low numbers participating. On about May 1, 1974, the car was put in service. We were also aware that there was considerable misinformation circulating in regard to the program. The area agency decided to use some funds allocated for supportive service to provide an outreach worker to work exclusively at contacting people over 60 and explaining the program and its purpose. In the 10 weeks this outreach person worked, meal participation in Winterset doubled, and also increased in the other sites. The transportation provided by the center car was a factor that could not be taken lightly. If my memory serves me correctly, I think that 60 percent or more of the people availing themselves of the use of the car were coming to the meals; this percentage has continued. We still are operating this 1968 Chevy. We have not received any Federal, State, or county funds since the end of the first 6 months. This operates exclusively within the city limits of Winterset. The donations of the participants, the community, and the city keep it going from day to day. Sometimes it gets a little shaky but, so far, faith, the community, and the people that use the car have kept it going. The only other public transportation in the town of Winterset is one taxi and the county van, when it is in town and which is not available 5 days a week for the people in Winterset to use. Neither the car nor the van operate on weekends, so this means that people are without transportation unless they have their own. On February 10, 1975, Therese Brittain, associate nutrition director, and I attended a town meeting called to discuss community needs. Except for a group interested in finding a solution to the problem of inadequate sewers, we were the only ones attending. A representative from the Central Iowa Regional Association of Local Governments gave a brief résumé of the Federal Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 and the related community block grant program. Certain city activities were eligible for funds under these programs. The one that caught our attention was acquisition, construction, and reconstruction of senior citizens' centers. Now we knew why we had attended the meeting. NEEDED: A KITCHEN By this time it was becoming apparent that any congregate meal program, particularly in a small community, could operate more economically if the food was prepared at the serving site. The kitchen facilities in our center were inadequate to prepare a full meal, so we submitted plans and estimates to the city council to build a kitchen in another room of the center-the room occupied by the kitchen to be converted to office space. Our plans were made part of the application sent to HUD for approval. On Friday, August 1, 1975, confirmation of the approval by the Department of Housing and Urban Development of the grant for $293,000-$285,000 for sewer improvement and $7,500 for the center kitchen-was received by the city mayor. Then came a long period of frustration of planning and estimating, waiting on approval, et cetera, and, in the meantime, everything had gone up in price. Finally, all the adjustments, deletions, and changes were made and a contract to get the work started was let the first of June 1976. The kitchen is practically completed. We still lack a garbage disposal and the booster heater on the dishwasher. Today we are initiating it and will soon be preparing meals for our elderly. I think we have proved that, with the cooperation of the community, a goal can be achieved that would have been impossible for one segment alone. 80-319-1977- --3 |