§ 332 — Participation and exemptions

§ 332. Participation and exemptions. 1. In accordance with federal\nrequirements and this title an applicant for or a recipient of public\nassistance shall not be required to participate in work activities if\nsuch individual is determined by the social services district to be\nexempt because he or she is:\n (a) a person who is ill, incapacitated or sixty years of age or older\nor deemed to be disabled pursuant to section three hundred thirty-two-b\nof this title;\n (b) a child who is under sixteen years of age or under the age of\nnineteen and attending fulltime a secondary, vocational or technical\nschool;\n (c) a person whose full-time presence in the home is required because\nof the illness or incapacity of another member of the household;\n (d) a parent or other relative of a child who is personally providing\ncare for such child under one year of age for a maximum period of twelve\nmonths, only three months of which shall be attributable to any one\nchild, except as otherwise extended up to the twelve month period by the\nsocial services official;\n (e) a woman who is pregnant, beginning thirty days prior to the\nmedically verified date of delivery of her child.\n 1-a. Applicants for, or recipients of, public assistance who are\nexempt from work activities pursuant to paragraph (d) or (e) of\nsubdivision one of this section shall be eligible to receive home\nvisiting services that meet the criteria established pursuant to 42\nU.S.C. 711, so long as such individual meets all other eligibility\ncriteria established pursuant to the particular home visiting model. The\nlocal social services district shall provide information to any\napplicant or recipient that is interested in receiving such services and\nprovide assistance in determining the most appropriate model to meet the\nparticular needs of the individual.\n 2. A local social services official shall:\n (a) make diligent efforts to assist a person who needs transportation\nto get to and from a work activity site in obtaining such\ntransportation. Where lack of transportation is a direct barrier to\nparticipation in a work activity, the local district shall make a\nreasonable effort to assign the individual to an appropriate work\nactivity at a site in closest possible proximity to such individual's\nresidence;\n (b) allow and give first consideration to volunteers who have not\npreviously terminated participation in such program without good cause\nto participate in the program; provided, however, such consideration\nshall not preclude a district from requiring applicants or recipients to\nparticipate prior to consideration for or participation by such\nvolunteers if such recipients or applicants are determined to be in\ngreater need of the services provided pursuant to this title in\naccordance with criteria established by the district and submitted and\napproved as part of its local plan which may include, but not be limited\nto, length of time for which a recipient has been in receipt of public\nassistance benefits, education, age, health and skills.\n (c) in accordance with regulations of the department, inform\napplicants and recipients of the opportunity to participate voluntarily\nin work activities at time of application, recertification and\ncontemporaneously with receipt of public assistance benefits on a\nperiodic basis.\n 3. A social services official may require a participant in work\nactivities to accept a job only if such official ensures that the\nparticipant and the family of such participant will experience no net\nloss of cash income resulting from acceptance of the job as determined\nunder regulations of the department consistent with federal law and\nregulations. Pursuant to regulations of the department consistent with\nfederal law and regulations, a social services district shall pay a\nsupplement to a participant in the amount of such net loss of cash\nincome that would otherwise occur. Such supplement shall constitute\npublic assistance only for purposes of payment and reimbursement, and\npersons in receipt of such supplement shall not for any other purpose be\nconsidered to be recipients of public assistance.\n