§ 159 — Safety net assistance

§ 159. Safety net assistance. 1. Safety net assistance shall be\nprovided in amounts determined in accordance with article five and,\nwhere applicable, section one hundred seventeen of this chapter in the\nfollowing manner.\n (a) Cash assistance. Safety net assistance shall be granted in cash\nprovided, however, that where the granting of cash may be deemed\ninappropriate by the social services district because of an inability to\nmanage funds, or because less expensive or more easily controlled\nalternative methods of payment are available, or in the case of vendor\npayments to landlords made for individuals residing in public housing or\nfor similar other reasons as established by department regulations, or\nwhere an individual has so requested, safety net assistance may be\ngranted in whole or in part by restricted payment.\n (b) Non-cash assistance. Safety net assistance paid as non-cash\nassistance shall be paid in the following manner and in the following\norder:\n (i) Shelter assistance. A district shall make a payment for shelter by\ndirect payment, two-party check or other form of restricted payment up\nto the maximum amount established by the department in regulation,\nprovided that a district may make a payment for a recipient's assistance\nin excess of such maximum at the request of the recipient. Payments for\nshelter pursuant to this subparagraph shall be subject to the provisions\nof section one hundred forty-three-b of this chapter. A district shall\nmake payment for shelter by two-party check upon request of the\nrecipient; provided, however, that the district may make a direct\npayment whenever it finds that the recipient has persistently failed to\nmake payment for rent without good cause as defined by regulations of\nthe department. A district shall provide a recipient with proof of\npayment promptly upon request by the recipient.\n (ii) Utility assistance. A social services district shall make a\ndirect payment, a payment by two party check or other form of restricted\npayment on behalf of recipients of safety net assistance who pay\nseparately for utilities. Payment for utilities shall include payment\nfor fuel for heating on behalf of recipients who are eligible for a fuel\nfor heating allowance pursuant to section one hundred thirty-one-a of\nthis article and the department's regulations. Payments for fuel for\nheating shall not exceed the fuel for heating allowance except that a\ndistrict may make a payment in excess of such amount at the request of\nthe recipient. A district shall provide a recipient with proof of\npayment promptly upon request by the recipient.\n (iii) Personal needs allowance. To the extent available within payment\namounts authorized by sections one hundred seventeen, where applicable,\nand one hundred thirty-one-a of this chapter, a social services district\nshall provide each household with a personal needs allowance equal to\ntwenty percent of the sum of the monthly standard of payment determined\nin accordance with the schedule contained in paragraph (a) of\nsubdivision three of section one hundred thirty-one-a of this article\nand the appropriate amount of home energy grant and supplemental home\nenergy grant as determined by the schedules in subdivisions three-c and\nthree-d of section one hundred thirty-one-a of this article, for the\nappropriate household size.\n (iv) Other assistance. The remainder of the safety net assistance\nshall be provided on a non-cash basis, provided that an appropriate\nelectronic benefit transfer system is operating in accordance with\nsection twenty-one-a of this chapter in the social services district in\nwhich the recipient resides.\n 2. Persons eligible for safety net assistance because they are persons\ndescribed in paragraph (b) or (d) of subdivision one of section one\nhundred fifty-eight of this title shall receive cash assistance, as\ndefined in subdivision one of this section, for two years in a lifetime,\nwhether or not consecutive, after the fourth day of August, nineteen\nhundred ninety-seven. On or after the first day of December, nineteen\nhundred ninety-nine, persons who are eligible for safety net assistance\nbut who have received cash assistance for two years or more shall\nreceive assistance only in the form of non-cash assistance. A person may\nreceive cash assistance in excess of two years if the person is\notherwise eligible for safety net assistance but the social services\ndistrict in which the person resides has not yet implemented a non-cash\nassistance program. Persons who would otherwise be eligible for cash\nassistance pursuant to this subdivision who are referred to treatment\npursuant to section one hundred thirty-two of this article or reside in\na family where an adult or head of household has been referred to\ntreatment shall receive assistance in the form of non-cash assistance.\n 3. Persons eligible for safety net assistance because they are persons\ndescribed in paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section one hundred\nfifty-eight of this title shall receive assistance in the form of\nnon-cash assistance.\n 4. Persons eligible for safety net assistance because they are persons\ndescribed in paragraphs (c), (e) and (f) of subdivision one of section\none hundred fifty-eight of this title shall receive assistance in the\nform of non-cash assistance.\n 5. Persons eligible for safety net assistance because they are persons\ndescribed in paragraph (g) of subdivision one of section one hundred\nfifty-eight of this title shall receive cash assistance in the safety\nnet program for two years in a lifetime, whether or not consecutive,\nafter the fourth day of August, nineteen hundred ninety-seven. On or\nafter the first day of December, nineteen hundred ninety-nine, persons\nwho are eligible for safety net assistance but have received cash\nassistance for two years or more in the safety net program shall receive\nassistance only in the form of non-cash assistance. A person may receive\ncash assistance in excess of two years if the person is otherwise\neligible for safety net assistance but the social services district in\nwhich the person resides has not implemented a non-cash program.\n 6. In calculating the period of cash assistance for new residents of\nthe state, periods in which they received reduced safety net assistance\nbenefits pursuant to section one hundred seventeen of this chapter shall\nbe included. In calculating the period of cash assistance, periods in\nwhich a recipient received federally funded refugee assistance shall be\nincluded.\n 7. (a) Notwithstanding subdivisions two and three of this section,\nadults eligible for safety net assistance who are exempt from the\nemployment requirements contained in title nine-B of this article\npursuant to section three hundred thirty-two of such article shall\nreceive cash assistance, unless the adult has been determined to be\nabusing illegal substances or engaged in habitual consumption of\nalcohol.\n (b) Notwithstanding subdivisions two and three of this section, adults\neligible for safety net assistance who are also eligible to receive\ncomprehensive health care services through a special needs plan defined\nin paragraph (n) of subdivision one of section three hundred\nsixty-four-j of this chapter shall receive cash assistance, regardless\nof whether such a plan is operating in the district in which they\nreside. An adult who would be eligible to receive such services through\nsuch a special needs plan but for the application of paragraph (d) of\nsubdivision three of section three hundred sixty-four-j of this chapter\nshall also receive cash assistance.\n 8. Social services districts shall provide non-cash assistance to\npersons eligible for safety net assistance because they are persons\ndescribed in paragraphs (b) and (d) of subdivision one of section one\nhundred fifty-eight of this title, who have received cash assistance for\ntwo years or more, on or after the first day of December, nineteen\nhundred ninety-nine. Social services districts shall provide non-cash\nassistance for persons described in paragraph (a) of subdivision one of\nsection one hundred fifty-eight of this title on or after the first day\nof December, two thousand. However, social services districts shall not\nimplement subparagraph (iv) of paragraph (b) of subdivision one of this\nsection until an appropriate electronic benefit transfer system is\noperating in the district.\n 9. Notwithstanding subdivision eight of this section or any other\ninconsistent provision of this section, the department may approve up to\nfive social services districts to provide non-cash assistance to persons\ndescribed in paragraphs (b), (d) and (g) of subdivision one of section\none hundred fifty-eight of this title who have received cash assistance\nfor two years, beginning the first day of December, nineteen hundred\nninety-eight, provided that an appropriate electronic benefit transfer\nsystem is operating in the district.\n 10. Social services district providing safety net assistance to\npersons receiving care as defined in paragraphs (c), (d) and (e) of\nsubdivision three of section two hundred nine of the social services law\nshall pay such facility at the rate provided for care and maintenance\nunder the supplemental security income program for beneficiaries of that\nprogram in the same facility, less the amount of any personal needs\nallowance included in the supplemental security program. In addition,\nsocial services districts shall provide such persons receiving safety\nnet assistance with a personal needs allowance in the amount included in\nthe supplemental security payment level as a personal needs allowance\nfor recipients of that program residing in the particular facility.\n 11. The provisions of section three hundred forty-nine-a of this\narticle, with respect to victims of domestic violence, shall apply to\napplicants for and recipients of safety net assistance to the same\nextent as it applies to applicants for and recipients of family\nassistance.\n 12. To the extent allowable under federal law and to the extent that\nthe state has spending sufficient to exceed the federally required\nmaintenance of effort for the temporary assistance for needy families\nblock grant, the office of temporary and disability assistance may\nmaximize the state's work participation rate by targeting safety net\nassistance payments utilized to meet the federally required maintenance\nof effort for the temporary assistance for needy families block grant to\nsafety net assistance cases that are not exempt from work activities,\nthat have not been in sanction status for over three months, and that do\nnot include two parents who are eligible for assistance who live in the\nsame dwelling unit, or to other categories of cases, as defined by the\noffice of temporary and disability assistance, that have no other\npotential impediments to participating in countable federal work\nactivities.\n