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Email Benefit Update July 2007
- Public Assistance (PA) Earned Income Disregard (EID)
- Language Access
- Food Stamps News
- Access to Education and Training bill A.3366/S.3201
- IBO Report Announces New Federal Rules for Welfare Programs may be Costly for NYC
- Increases in Stabilized Rent
- Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE)
- Good News! Part D Update
- District Court Approves Settlement in Lawsuit Over Immigrant Benefits in New York City
- Community Resources
Public Assistance (PA) Earned Income Disregard (EID)
The PA earned income disregard (EID) for families with dependent children has increased from 47% to 48 % effective June 1, 2007. The Office of Temporary Disability Assistance adjusts the EID annually on June 1st of each year to reflect the most recently released federal poverty guidelines.
The EID is not available to PA applicants unless they received PA in any of the four months preceding the date of the current application. If an applicant is eligible without the EID, meaning the household’s income must pass three tests: the 185% Standard of Need (SON), the 100% Federal Poverty Level (FPL) and the net income test or Standard of Need, the household can then use the EID to determine the grant amount.
If you would like more information about PA Budgeting; subscribers to the PBRC Manual online or print version may go to: Income: Needs Based, Public Assistance, Public Assistance Budgeting.
For those who are non subscribers a FREE TRIAL of the PBRC Manual Online is available at: http://pbrcmanual.cssny.org/
Language Access
Does your client have a language barrier that prevents her/him from accessing services? Do you spend time translating documents and interpreting conversations for your clients? Are your clients told to bring an interpreter with them when they arrive at a public agency? Are your limited-English proficient (LEP) clients treated differently than English speaking clients? The Language Access Project at Legal Services for New York City (LSNY) is collecting information about language barriers faced by LEP clients at city and state agencies.
LSNY has created a complaint form to track language barriers which are currently available in:
The form can be filled out by the client or by the advocate. All forms should be returned to Amy Taylor, 350 Broadway, 6th Floor, NY, NY 10013.
Please contact Amy at ataylor@lsny.org or (646) 442.3664 for more information on the project or to request complaint forms.
Amy Taylor
Legal Services for New York (LSNY)
Food Stamp News
For the third year in a row, New York State was awarded $8.8 million in federal bonus funding for “significantly improving the administration of the state’s Food Stamp Program.” The award follows recent steps taken by Governor Spitzer and the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) to increase access to Food Stamps for poor working families in New York State.
In June, the Governor announced a proposal to waive several requirements of the Food Stamps program to make filing an application for Food Stamps easier and less burdening on working families. The Working Families Food Stamp Initiative, portions of which must be approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), would allow, those eligible, to waive the face-to-face interview at social services offices, to waive the finger imaging requirements, and to face less demanding reporting requirements. In addition, resource limits will be waived for all food stamp recipients in New York State, allowing them to save for important family needs without jeopardizing their food stamp benefits. Eligible families under the proposed program include families with an adult working thirty hours per week, or households with two adults who each work at least twenty hours per week.
In May 2007, Governor Spitzer also established the New York State Council on Food Policy. The Council is set up to coordinate state agriculture policy and will make recommendations on developing food policies ensuring the availability of safe, fresh, nutritious and affordable food for all New Yorkers, especially low income residents, senior citizens and children. The Council will make recommendations to the Governor on state regulations, legislations and budget proposals in the area of food policy to ensure a coordinated and comprehensive inter-agency approach to state food policy issues.
Access to Education and Training bill A.3366/S.3201
The purpose of the bill is to require social services districts to give considerations to education and training for “sustainable wage” jobs (a wage that is at least 185% above the poverty line and takes into account costs related to employment) and “nontraditional employment opportunities” (jobs in the skilled trades, computer science, technology and other emerging high skill occupations) in their public assistance employment programs. The bill has met resistance with Mayor Bloomberg and the New York Public Welfare Association, Inc., which represents NY local social service districts. Mayor Bloomberg stated, “Delaying entry into the job market until a ‘sustainable
wage’ job is available could delay employment and is contrary to our philosophy of valuing all employment.” The bill is currently in the senate.
The Welfare Reform Network will host a rally, along with Senator Velmanette Montgomery, Assembly Member Joan Millman, Senator Liz Krueger, and City Council Woman Letitia James, outside the steps of City Hall on July 19, 2007 at 10:00 a.m. in support of the bill.
IBO Report Announces New Federal Rules for Welfare Programs may be Costly for NYC
With the reauthorization of TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) back in 2005 states face many obstacles in complying with federal regulations through TANF. The price tag of these obstacles may be costly to NYC according to a review by the New York City Independent Budget Office (IBO) “it may be difficult for the city to meet the more stringent work quotas and avoid penalties that could cost the city more than $200 million this year.”
States face fiscal penalties if they do not meet the required participation rate; 50% percent of all adults in a state that are receiving TANF assistance — and 90% of two-parent households receiving assistance — must participate in a set of work activities defined in the law. The reauthorization of TANF brought a new penalty for states who fail to satisfy the federal work quota; denial of up to 5 percent of their annual TANF block grant for the first year of failure.
To read the 6-page report visit: http://www.ibo.nyc.ny.us/
Increases in Stabilized Rent
On June 26, the city’s Rent Guidelines Board increased rents for rent-stabilized apartments in New York City by up to 5.75% on two-year leases and 3% on one-year leases. The increases are for renewal of leases that fall between Oct. 1, 2007, and Sept. 30, 2008. The rent board did not make a separate adjustment for tenants who pay their own heating bills, as they had the previous four years.
Last year the board approved rent increase of up to 7.25% on two-year leases and 4.25 % on one-year leases.
Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE)
The annual income limit for SCRIE eligibility is now $27,000. SCRIE “freezes” rent allowing older adults with limited means to remain in affordable housing. To obtain the exemption, individuals must be 62 and older, living in rent regulated or Mitchell-Lama housing and the monthly rent must be 1/3 or more of the household’s disposable monthly income. For more information, go to the NYC Department for the Aging website at http://www.nyc.gov/html/dfta.
Good News! Part D Update
Effective immediately, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced on July 5, 2007, they will be implementing a continuous Special Enrollment Period for those Part D beneficiaries eligible for the Low Income Subsidy (LIS). This means that LIS Part D beneficiaries can switch Part D plans anytime with the start date effective the first of the next month.
District Court Approves Settlement in Lawsuit Over Immigrant Benefits in New York City
In December of 2003, a class action lawsuit was filed in the federal district court that charged the Human Resources Administration (HRA) with the gross mishandling of applications for benefits by lawfully residing immigrants. (MKB, et al. v. Eggleston, 05 Civ. 10446 (JSR) [U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York].) The New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) and the Department of Health (DOH) were also named as defendants, primarily on the basis of their failure to adequately train and supervise the employees of HRA.
The lawsuit has now been settled, although many of the provisions of the settlement designed to improve the handling of immigrant applications for public assistance, Medicaid and food stamps were put in place over the during the pendency of the lawsuit. These improvements included the updating of HRA’s computer system to allow correct immigrant eligibility determinations to be made and additional policy guidance from OTDA and DOH.
The MKB case was brought on behalf of a class consisting of battered immigrants with lawful qualified status and immigrants who are considered to be “permanently residing under color of law” (PRUCOL). The benefit eligibility rules for these two groups are particularly complicated and the experience of advocates over the years before the lawsuit was brought confirmed that the workers in local job centers had little idea of how these applications should be evaluated.
Battered immigrants who have petitions pending with the United States Immigration Service (USCIS) based on their relationships to US citizens or lawful permanent residents are eligible for certain benefits even before they obtain lawful permanent resident status. To guide local districts in making eligibility determinations for this group, OTDA issued 06-INF-14, Revised, in May of 2006. HRA issued Policy Directive #06-24-ELI. This issuances also address PRUCOL eligibility.
To ensure the improvement in the handling of immigrant applications by HRA workers, the settlement requires that trained Immigrant Liaisons be stationed in job centers to provide guidance to eligibility workers. Training of all eligibility workers in the immigrant eligibility rules is also required. The settlement calls for retroactive relief for those battered and PRUCOL immigrants whose cases were wrongly denied in the past and for monitoring and quality assurance over the next four years.
The attorneys representing the class include the Legal Aid Society, the New York Legal Assistance Group, Hughes Hubbard and Reed, and the Empire Justice Center.
Barbara Weiner
Empire Justice Center
Community Resources
Supports and Services for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities in NYS.
The New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD) contract with local agencies around NYS to provide an array of services and supports for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. A few of OMRDD services include: Camp, Crisis Intervention, Employment Services, Financial Assistance, Health Care, Parent Advocacy and Training, Respite Services, Service Coordination, Transportation, Waiver Services and more.
OMRDD operate an Information Line, Monday through Friday (except holidays) from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. to give information and/or to link callers to the appropriate personnel for assistance. The number is:
- Voice: 1-866-94NYSDD (1-866-946-9733)
- TTY: 1-86 NYDD4TTY (1-866-933-4889).
In addition, the OMRDD user friendly website provides links to many of their services targeted to individuals and service providers.
- Information for Individuals and Families www.omr.state.ny.us/hp_individuals.jsp
- Information for Providers www.omr.state.ny.us/hp_provider.jsp