Albany, NY, Jan 01, 2013 — Food pantries and soup kitchens say they're reluctantly becoming a permanent part of the nation's safety net for the poor.

In a new report on New York's charitable food distribution system, the groups say government needs to step in and lend a helping hand.  Go to full article

Dec 14, 2012 — A once powerful social services agency in the North Country will close its doors for good on Saturday. ComLinks is based in Malone. President Joe Selenski says attempts to survive years of theft and mismanagement have failed.

The Adirondack Daily Enterprise reports that board members decided there was no way to make it financially viable, and shutting down the organization was their only option.  Go to full article

Aug 28, 2012 — A once powerful social services agency in the North Country is now headed towards closing its doors. ComLinks, based in Malone, says attempts to survive years of theft and mismanagement appear to have failed.

As recently as three weeks ago, Comlinks was talking with local lawmakers and making plans to start over as a grassroots not-for-profit. But board president Joe Selenski says it turns out there's just too much to overcome.  Go to full article

Albany, NY, Jan 23, 2012 — Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich intends it as an insult when he calls President Obama, the "food-stamp President." New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo seems not to fear being called the food stamp governor; he's proposing ways that more New Yorkers in need can access the federal program. Karen DeWitt has this report from Albany.  Go to full article

Jul 05, 2011 — A health care advocacy coalition reports cuts to federal Medicaid spending, now being considered in Washington, would cost New York more jobs than any other state.

Families USA also says the loss of government entitlement programs will hurt the state's most vulnerable populations.

The Innovation Trail's Emma Jacobs reports.  Go to full article

Jul 22, 2010 — A state audit is slamming the management of one of the North Country's largest non-profit social service agencies. A Comptroller's report released yesterday claims that ComLinks, headquartered in Malone, has suffered for years from mismanagement and nepotism.

The audit also alleges that former ComLinks CEO Nancy Reich diverted nearly $100,000 in funds for her private use.  Go to full article

Lowville, NY, Feb 19, 2009 — This week, we're viewing the recession through the lens of one North Country community: the village of Lowville in Lewis County. Yesterday we heard from Main Street merchants struggling to make a living. Climb the hill from Main Street, up the Tug Hill Plateau, toward the East's largest wind farm, and you reach Lewis County's social services building. Inside, caseworkers are flooded with new clients. Heating assistance and food stamp applications are up 40%. As David Sommerstein reports, those who hold the safety net want even more people to use it.  Go to full article

Dec 18, 2008 — A case now in St. Lawrence County Family Court sets the county Social Services Department against religious beliefs of the old order Amish in the North Country. Family Court Judge Barbara Potter ruled this week that an Amish couple neglected their year-and-a-half year old son by refusing medical treatment for his life-threatening heart condition. Gideon and Barbara Hershberger of Winthrop say surgery needed to repair the defect violates their religious beliefs. Judge Potter will decide next Tuesday whether to allow the social services department to remove Eli Hershberger removed from his parents' custody for the surgery. Public defender William Galvin represented the family. He declined to comment on the case.

Anthropologist Karen Johnson-Weiner has been studying Amish language and customs for 25 years. She's also become with many North Country Amish families during that time. She doesn't know the Hershbergers, or their son, but she testified at trial this fall on their behalf, particularly about the Amish sect they are part of: the ultra-conservative Swarzentruber Amish. Not all Amish live by the same rules; each church community sets its own. All Amish accept modern medical care, Johnson-Weiner says, but only to a certain point, and that point differs from community to community. Johnson-Weiner told Martha Foley Swartzentruber Amish draw the line at open heart surgery, and pacemakers. And that puts the Hershbergers at odds with the surgery doctors say Eli needs.  Go to full article

Oct 23, 2008 — New York's Health Commissioner toured the North Country this week, talking about the doctor shortage that continues to plague the region's hospitals and clinics. A new program is being launched next summer, designed to train new doctors to work in rural areas. But as Brian Mann reports, healthcare experts say that won't be enough.  Go to full article

May 24, 2004 — Martha Foley talks with Sue Rabideau, Director of Financial Services for the Franklin County Social Services Department. She's the primary person working on behalf of the homeless in the county.  Go to full article