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NYSOFA's Animatronic Pet Initiative

Generated from the gc-benefits catalog. It lists what the owner record states. It is not an eligibility decision; confirm current rules with the program.

These plush, "lifelike" robotic pets are designed to make realistic sounds and motions, providing comfort and companionship to individuals.

  • Owner record: ny/animatronic-pets-for-companionship
  • Jurisdiction code: NY
  • Frame: care_recipient
  • Review by: 2026-11-13
  • Authority: New York State Office for the Aging (NYSOFA)
  • Also called: Animatronic Pets for Companionship

Offering 1: animatronic pet

NYSOFA works with Area Agencies on Aging and community partners to identify and screen individuals who are interested to receive pets.

  • Availability (owner codes): {"intake": "unknown", "type": "unknown"}

Conditions:

  • All of these:
  • Stated condition, not checked automatically: "older adults who experience social isolation"
  • Stated condition, not checked automatically: "older adults who are assessed as being socially isolated"
  • Stated condition, not checked automatically: "older adults who would most benefit from the technology"

Access route 1.1

  • Where: Contact the local office for the aging to be screened for eligibility.
  • Url: https://aging.ny.gov/local-offices

Owner confirmations

  • /authority: sha256:84d0022b850f681723f593675eae6da2d03b31e4ab708bc298faeabe2a855b24

Evidence

  • /name: "# NYSOFA's Animatronic Pet Initiative" (source, capture abbddb2937af06be365b4b28624502e2e908c5cf7aa8b48c06df554d71900602)
  • /authority: "NYSOFA works with Area Agencies on Aging and community partners to identify and screen individuals who are interested to receive pets. The initiative has been supported in the New York State budget as part of a package of programs through NYSOFA to address social isolation and provide support for caregivers." (source, capture abbddb2937af06be365b4b28624502e2e908c5cf7aa8b48c06df554d71900602)
  • /caregiving_effect: "Since 2018, NYSOFA has been providing animatronic pets to older adults who experience social isolation. These plush, \"lifelike\" robotic pets are designed to make realistic sounds and motions, providing comfort and companionship to individuals. The animatronic pet initiative started as a pilot in 2018 with 60 participants in 12 counties receiving the pets. Since that time,NYSOFA has worked to distribute over 35,000 animatronic pets to older adults who are assessed as being socially isolated (2018-2025)." (source, capture abbddb2937af06be365b4b28624502e2e908c5cf7aa8b48c06df554d71900602)
  • /offerings/0/summary: "NYSOFA works with Area Agencies on Aging and community partners to identify and screen individuals who are interested to receive pets. The initiative has been supported in the New York State budget as part of a package of programs through NYSOFA to address social isolation and provide support for caregivers." (source, capture abbddb2937af06be365b4b28624502e2e908c5cf7aa8b48c06df554d71900602)
  • /offerings/0/rules: "Since 2018, NYSOFA has been providing animatronic pets to older adults who experience social isolation. These plush, \"lifelike\" robotic pets are designed to make realistic sounds and motions, providing comfort and companionship to individuals. The animatronic pet initiative started as a pilot in 2018 with 60 participants in 12 counties receiving the pets. Since that time,NYSOFA has worked to distribute over 35,000 animatronic pets to older adults who are assessed as being socially isolated (2018-2025)." (source, capture abbddb2937af06be365b4b28624502e2e908c5cf7aa8b48c06df554d71900602)
  • /offerings/0/rules: "NYSOFA works with Area Agencies on Aging and community partners to identify older adults who would most benefit from the technology. Individuals who are interested cancontact their local office for the aging to be screened for eligibility." (source, capture abbddb2937af06be365b4b28624502e2e908c5cf7aa8b48c06df554d71900602)
  • /offerings/0/access/0: "NYSOFA works with Area Agencies on Aging and community partners to identify older adults who would most benefit from the technology. Individuals who are interested cancontact their local office for the aging to be screened for eligibility." (source, capture abbddb2937af06be365b4b28624502e2e908c5cf7aa8b48c06df554d71900602)