Middlesex County Democratic Freeholders

Freeholder Valenti has been on the county Freeholder Board since 2005. She is chairperson for the Department of Human Services and Senior Services.

She started the Housing First program, which will enable permanent housing for homeless families and provides them with social services from counseling to job training. Freeholder Valenti helped those with Alzheimer's and autism through the Project Lifesaver program and established a Hispanic Affairs Commission in the county. She has also provided, through the staff in both departments, translation services in Spanish, Russian, Polish and Gujarati and counseled senior citizens on Medicare changes.

Freeholder Valenti has been a New Brunswick councilwoman since 1990 and has served as council president and vice-president. She is the founder and vice-chair of the Puerto Rican Action Board of New Brunswick, co-chair of the Council of Children's Services of Middlesex County and a Board of Trustees member of the Visiting Nurses Association of Central Jersey. She is also a member of the Board of Directors, representing Middlesex County, for the New Jersey Association of Counties and a member of the National Association of County Organizations.

County Department of Senior Services meal program aids the elderly

Our Department of Senior Services directly served a very high number of senior residents, their caregivers and some younger disabled individuals during the year. Approximately 55,000 people were individually assisted by our department in 2009. That number represents 41 percent of all seniors residing in the county.

As required by the Older Americans Act, the county senior meal program targets services to those of the greatest social and economic need, with particular attention to low income individuals, minority individuals and those at risk of institutional care. Unfortunately, some counties were experiencing a wait list for meals and some have cut back on the number of meals delivered to individuals to be able to serve more of those in dire need. Fortunately, Middlesex County has not experienced those difficulties because of the ongoing support of the Board of Chosen Freeholders.

More than 300,000 hot, nutritious meals were provided by the county meal program to almost 2,400 individuals in 2009. Federal stimulus funds also helped to provide an additional 25,102 meals for 2,591 seniors who were not previously assisted by this office. We coordinated with a lot of our senior centers in the county. The Older Americans Act funding from the department was also provided to several non-profit entities to help address the nutritional needs of the county’s older adults.

I wanted to let the Freeholder Board and the public know that this nutritional service from our Department of Senior Services has done a lot to help out many of our individuals that are elderly and in need.

Middlesex County recognizes 20th anniversary of ADA

Middlesex County officials will mark the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with a proclamation declaring their “recommitment” to the act.
The proclamation, to be presented July 15, is part of the “2010 by 2010” campaign spearheaded by the National ADA Symposium. The drive seeks to generate 2,010 proclamations of recommitment nationwide in 2010 to signify government’s united desire to provide equality.

“In 1990, people with disabilities celebrated the independence and dignity this legislation would provide,” said Middlesex Freeholder Blanquita B. Valenti, who chairs the county’s Human Services and Senior Services Committee. “Twenty years later, Middlesex County is proud of the physical and programmatic changes made, particularly by the municipalities, to include people with disabilities in facilities, programs, services and all aspects of life.”

Since 1990, Middlesex County has built a new administration building that features wheelchair-accessible, automatic doors, an infrared listening system, and accessible bathrooms on each floor, according to a press release from the county. The Board of Elections has worked to ensure polling sites are accessible, and the County Commission for Persons with Disabilities presents an annual forum on a disability-related topic.

The county, officials noted, also instituted Project Lifesaver, a collaborative effort between the departments on Human Services and Senior Services and the sheriff’s department to help locate persons who are prone to wander due to disability. The transportation department increased ridership and incorporates mainstreamed transportation for persons with disabilities on its shuttle service. The Cultural & Heritage Commission educates and advocates for access to the arts.

Officials said one of the crown jewels of the county parks system is the level playing fields complex, which is believed to be the first 100 percent accessible sports facility in the nation. The Plays-in-the-Park series includes wheelchair seating, sign language interpreted performances, audio description, open captioning and sensory seminars.

“We have a wide array of programs and services to reach all our disabled residents, many of whom are very young,” Valenti said.To mark the 20th anniversary of ADA, county officials are calling on all 25 municipalities to observe the anniversary.

“Middlesex County is committed to serve all its residents, and by recommitting ourselves to the ADA, we are ensuring that we do just that,” said Freeholder Director Christopher D. Rafano.

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