3-minute read
Lucy Lang
| Special to the USA TODAY Network
Like so many New Yorkers in and around my age, my family and I find ourselves facing the challenges of supporting an aging loved one who requires expert care. Identifying and accessing the resources necessary to help enable them to continue to live with dignity is a Herculean task. And this problem isn’t going anywhere; Americans alive today will live longer than any generation before, and New York is fourth in the nation in terms of our aging population. Only five years from now New York State is projected to have more than 1.2 million residents over 80 years old. The costs — material and otherwise — of elder care are straining families and whole economies alike. The recent publication of New York’s Master Plan for Aging is a vital step towards preparing for our future, which must include effective oversight of an increasingly complex set of interconnected systems.
As State Inspector General, I am mindful that the introduction of programs and facilities requires the development of quality control mechanisms to identify gaps and prevent misconduct. As successive generations live longer and longer, and our infrastructure expands to support the needs of that population, we will need high-quality watchdog programs to check fraud and abuse.
In leading New York State’s primary oversight body, I am particularly encouraged by the model offered by New York is the State Long Term Care Ombudsman Program, currently a program largely staffed by volunteers, which has grown into a potent force for advocacy, accountability, and reform in long-term care. The program — commonly known as LTCOP — offers a promising blueprint for what empowered, properly resourced oversight can achieve, and reminds us that effective governance starts with hearing and protecting the most vulnerable voices.
LTCOP serves over 163,000 residents in nearly 1,400 nursing homes, assisted living, and other adult care facilities across New York. These are our parents, our grandparents, our neighbors — New Yorkers who deserve safety, dignity, and responsive care. Through its network of 15 regional programs, LTCOP gives these residents a voice by investigating complaints, monitoring facility conditions, providing information, and intervening when residents have concerns about their rights are being violated.
My office sees the ripple effects when gaps in oversight go unchecked. They show up in reports of abuse, involuntary discharges, neglect, and regulatory noncompliance. LTCOP helps close these gaps in real time — often by resolving issues before they escalate into legal or medical emergencies. In 2024, the program handled 169,000 individual assistance contacts, a 56% increase from the previous year. These are people reaching out with questions, complaints, and concerns — often when they have nowhere else to turn.
Sustaining this level of engagement and responsiveness requires a strong and adaptable workforce. While volunteer engagement remains a core strength of the program, the aging volunteer base and rigorous certification requirements have made it difficult to bring in new participants. Recognizing this, the program wisely has begun transitioning toward a professionally staffed model while still valuing volunteer engagement. Importantly, a new state-level coordinator role has been created to standardize and streamline training statewide, which will improve both onboarding and long-term retention of staff and volunteers.
This kind of responsive, data-driven oversight is an example of what New Yorkers need and deserve, but it doesn’t happen by accident. It requires ongoing funding, professional training and public support. It also demands leadership that values transparency and accountability and backs it up with clear policies and meaningful action.
As someone who works to ensure integrity in government programs, I believe models like LTCOP represent a path forward — not just for long-term care, but for how we build more responsive public services. It is proof that with sustained investment and vigilant oversight, we can meet the complex needs of aging New Yorkers.
For my own family, and for so many others navigating the complex realities of long-term care, programs like LTCOP offer guidance, protection and peace of mind. By building in oversight models to our new and improving programs, New York can continue to lead the way in ensuring dignity, safety and responsive care for every aging resident.
Lucy Lang is New York State Inspector General.