Volunteers watch out for vulnerable New Yorkers. Does the state care?

All around the state, volunteer advocates are keeping an eye on the conditions in state-run facilities serving some of the most vulnerable New Yorkers.

Boards of visitors are composed of a handful of dedicated watchdogs, often with a family member receiving state services, and they’re inspecting facilities for cleanliness, happy residents and other factors that are emblematic of the overall care.

“If there is a problem, what we’re looking to do is to fix it and fix it quickly,” Patricia Wright told The Capitol Pressroom.

For about two decades, Wright has been a representative on the board of visitors in the Capital Region, where she is one of five people responsible for about 70 houses. There are supposed to be at least seven representatives, and no more than 14, on each board of visitors, but publicly available records indicate that some regions aren’t at the minimum local threshold.

“Even with seven (members), that number of houses are still unwieldy at best,” she said.

Part of the problem, according to Wright, is that it can take years for appointees to come before the state senate and get confirmed. She also believes that more vocal potential board of visitors members have taken longer to be seated than appointees deemed less controversial. The slowly moving appointment process in the Hochul administration is not new or unique, as it was also a problem for the Cuomo administration.

Since the creation of The Justice Center more than a decade ago, Wright also worries that the work of the local boards of visitors has become overlooked by state policymakers.

“We have a unique role, “she said. “And truthfully, it was not a calculated action to get rid of Board of Visitors. They just forgot about us.”