§ 132 — Investigation of applications

§ 132. Investigation of applications. 1. When an application for\nassistance or care is received, or a social services official is\ninformed that a person is in need of public assistance and care, an\ninvestigation and record shall be made of the circumstances of such\nperson. The object of such investigations shall be to secure the facts\nnecessary to determine whether such person is in need of public\nassistance or care and what form thereof and service he or she should\nreceive. Information shall be sought as to the residence of such person,\nthe name, age, religious faith, physical condition, earnings or other\nincome, and ability to work of all members of the family, the cause of\nthe person's condition, the ability and willingness of the family,\nrelatives, friends and church to assist, and such other facts as may be\nuseful in determining the treatment which will be helpful to such\nperson. However, nothing in this subdivision or elsewhere in this\nchapter contained shall be construed to require a social services\nofficial to communicate with or require assistance from any person or\npersons liable by law to contribute to the support of a woman pregnant\nwith, or the mother of, an out of wedlock child, in need of care away\nfrom home during pregnancy and during and after delivery, in the case\nwhere the surrender of the child to the social services official is\nunder consideration, for such period as may be necessary for such mother\nand official to decide whether the child will be surrendered for\nadoption to such official, which period shall not extend beyond ninety\ndays after birth of the child. Except where the welfare official is in\npossession of positive proof that the applicant is receiving or is\neligible to receive unemployment insurance benefits and the amount\nthereof such investigations shall include written request to the\ncommissioner of labor or his or her duly authorized officer charged with\nadministration of the unemployment insurance law for information as to\nthe status of such person in respect to unemployment insurance benefits.\n 2. (a) All applications received by a town social services officer\nshall be forwarded to the county commissioner immediately and all such\napplications shall be investigated by the staff of the county\ncommissioner. After investigation the county commissioner shall return\nto the town social services officer every application for safety net\nassistance made by a person residing or found in such town, together\nwith his or her recommendation as to the eligibility of the applicant\nand the amount of assistance to be granted, if any. In addition thereto,\nthe county commissioner shall keep the town social services officer\ncurrently informed of persons residing in his or her town who are\nreceiving any form of public assistance and care other than safety net\nassistance.\n (b) In a city social services district, investigation of applications\nshall be made by the city commissioner of social services and his staff.\n (c) In a city which is functioning under section seventy-four-a of\nthis chapter, investigation shall be made by the county commissioner of\nsocial services and his staff.\n 3. The commissioner of the department of family assistance shall\nprovide by regulation for methods of determining eligibility for public\nassistance and care, other than medical assistance, to be utilized by\nall social services officials. Such regulations shall provide for\nmethods of verifying information supplied by or about recipients with\ninformation contained in the wage reporting system established pursuant\nto section one hundred seventy-one-a of the tax law and similar systems\nin other geographically contiguous states, and, to the degree mandated\nby federal law with the non-wage income file maintained by the United\nStates internal revenue service, with the benefits and earnings data\nexchange maintained by the United States department of health and human\nservices, and with the unemployment insurance benefit file.\n 4. (a) Investigation into the cause of the condition of a head of\nhousehold or of any adult applicant or recipient and the treatment which\nwill be helpful to such person shall include a screening for alcohol\nand/or substance abuse using a standardized screening instrument to be\ndeveloped by the office of addiction services and supports in\nconsultation with the department. Such screening shall be performed by a\nsocial services district at the time of application and periodically\nthereafter but not more frequently than every six months, unless the\ndistrict has reason to believe that an applicant or recipient is abusing\nor dependent on alcohol or drugs, in accordance with regulations\npromulgated by the department. Such screening may be conducted by\ntelephone or other digital means at the request of the applicant or\nrecipient.\n (b) When the screening process indicates that there is reason to\nbelieve that an applicant or recipient is abusing or dependent on\nalcohol or drugs, the social services district shall require a formal\nalcohol or substance abuse assessment, which may include drug testing,\nto be performed by an alcohol and/or substance abuse professional\ncredentialed by the office of addiction services and supports. Provided\nhowever, if the applicant or recipient tests positive for the presence\nof cannabis, the positive result alone shall not be sufficient to\nestablish a dependence for purposes of requiring an individual to\nparticipate in a treatment program pursuant to paragraph (c) of this\nsubdivision. The assessment may be performed directly by the district or\npursuant to contract with the district. Such assessment may be conducted\nby telephone or other digital means at the request of the applicant or\nrecipient.\n (c) The social services official shall refer applicants and recipients\nwhom it determines are presently unable to work by reason of their need\nfor treatment for alcohol or substance abuse based on the formal\nassessment to a treatment program licensed or certified by the office of\nalcoholism and substance abuse services or operated by the United States\noffice of veterans affairs and determined by the social services\nofficial to meet the rehabilitation needs of the individual. When\nresidential treatment is appropriate for a single custodial parent, the\nsocial services official shall make diligent efforts to refer the parent\nto a program that would allow the family to remain intact for the\nduration of the treatment.\n (d) A person who fails to participate in the screening or in the\nassessment shall be ineligible for public assistance. Other members of a\nhousehold which includes a person who has failed to participate in the\nscreening or assessment shall, if otherwise eligible, receive public\nassistance only through safety net assistance if they are otherwise\neligible for public assistance.\n (e) A person referred to a treatment program pursuant to paragraph (c)\nof this subdivision, and the household with which he or she resides\nshall receive safety net assistance while the person is participating in\nsuch treatment, if the household is otherwise eligible for public\nassistance. If a person referred to treatment cannot participate in that\ntreatment because treatment is not presently available, that person and\nthe household with which he or she resides shall receive safety net\nassistance if the household is otherwise eligible for public assistance.\n (f) If an applicant or recipient is required, pursuant to paragraph\n(c) of this subdivision, to participate in an appropriate rehabilitation\nprogram and refuses to participate in such program without good cause or\nleaves such program prior to completion of the program without good\ncause, provided that program completion shall be solely determined by\nthe guidelines and rules of such rehabilitation program, or if an\napplicant or recipient has been suspended from the receipt of social\nsecurity disability benefits or supplemental security income benefits by\nreason of noncompliance with requirements of the federal social security\nadministration for treatment for substance abuse or alcohol abuse, the\nperson will be disqualified from receiving public assistance as follows:\n (i) for the first failure to participate in or complete the program,\nuntil the failure ceases or for forty-five days, whichever period of\ntime is longer;\n (ii) for the second such failure, until the failure ceases or for one\nhundred twenty days, whichever period of time is longer; and\n (iii) for the third and subsequent failures, until the failure ceases\nor for one hundred eighty days, whichever period is longer.\n Good cause shall be defined in regulations by the commissioner.\n The household with which the person resides shall continue to receive\nsafety net assistance if otherwise eligible.\n (g) Persons disqualified from receiving public assistance pursuant to\nparagraph (f) of this subdivision who would otherwise be eligible for\npublic assistance and who return to required treatment prior to the end\nof the disqualification period and are receiving residential care as\ndefined in paragraph (d) of subdivision three of section two hundred\nnine of this chapter shall be eligible for safety net assistance.\n (h) Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of section one hundred\nthirty-one-o of this article, if a recipient required to participate in\nan appropriate treatment program pursuant to paragraph (c) of this\nsubdivision receives a personal needs allowance, such allowance shall be\nmade as a restricted payment to the treatment program and shall be a\nconditional payment. If such recipient leaves the treatment program\nprior to the completion of such program, any accumulated personal needs\nallowance will be considered an overpayment and returned to the social\nservices district which provided the personal needs allowance.\n (i) Compliance with the provisions of this subdivision shall not be\nrequired as a condition of applying for or receiving medical assistance.\n