NORWICH – Chenango County officials are exploring a contract with an outside agency which they say would bolster a mix of services to local veterans and their families.

If approved by county board members, a deal with Clear Path for Veterans – a Madison County based organization whose mission is to support the wellbeing of veterans and their families – would be headed by the county’s department of behavioral health services and supported by the Chenango County Veterans Services Agency.

According to Chenango Community Services Director Elizabeth Warneck, the agreement would make use of $200,000 Chenango County gets through the NYS Office of Mental Health – money that had previously gone directly to the county’s veterans services agency. But with stringent state guidelines on how the money’s spent, a contract with Clear Path is simply a better option, said Warneck.

“The implementation guidelines are extensive,” she said. “My concern is that with the (Veterans Services Agency) department of one, it’s a really heavy lift for someone to implement.”

Clear Path would extend a number of assistance programs to veterans, including programs that help with isolation and trauma, caregiving for veterans and their families, careers and volunteer opportunities, and services centered on education and social connections.

Clear Path has existing contracts with neighboring Broome, Otsego, and Madison counties.

Warneck said that because it’s unsure if state funding will be available from year to year, a Clear Path representative would be shared with surrounding counties and work closely with the Chenango County Veterans Services director so that local officials can see how programs are being channeled.

State funding that’s proposed to fuel a partnership with Clear Path would be lost if not spent by the end of the year.

“We will send it back to the state, and that’s funding that should have gone to the community to support veterans,” said Warneck.

A resolution authorizing a contract with Clear Path for Veterans will go before the Chenango County Board of Supervisors for a final vote at its regular meeting next week.