370.2 Determination of initial eligibility.
Safety net assistance includes assistance granted to
veterans under existing laws, and assistance to persons not residing in their own homes
when such persons reside in other living situations for which a safety net assistance
grant may be provided as specified in Part 352 of this Subchapter. Safety net assistance
does not include medical assistance, foster care of children, or care classifiable under
the law as public institutional care.
(a) Investigation. When practicable, responsibility must be placed upon
the applicant for safety net assistance to provide verified information concerning his or
her previous maintenance, loss of income and the extent and duration of current need. Both
the method and content of investigation must be aimed at assisting the applicant to return
to self-supporL and fully utilize resources related thereto.
(b) Financial requirements. The initial determination must include
consideration of each of the following eligibility factors:
(1) Previous maintenance and reason for
application. For each member of the household applying for assistance, the following must
be determined: the source and amount of previous income or maintenance; the reason and
date of its discontinuance; presumptive eligibility for benefits relating to loss of
income; and employability and availability for employment.
(2) Presumptive duration of need. On the basis
of all available facts, an evaluation must be made of the following: the probable duration
of need based upon consideration of the applicant's employability and the availability of
employment in the current labor market; his or her presumptive eligibility for
work-related benefits; and the availability of vocational training, rehabilitation
services, and the availability or potential availability of other resources that will make
his or her need for financial assistance short-term.
(3) Ability of relatives to support.
(i) For both short-term
and long-term cases, the social services official must determine the existence and
whereabouts of the legally responsible relatives of persons for whom application is made
and of the ability of such relatives to support. When legally responsible relatives are
able to provide support to the applicant and are not doing so, the social services
official must implement procedures to enforce support.
(ii) In considering the
ability of a legally responsible relative to support, the offer of a home must be
carefully explored and evaluated. The evaluation must include a deterniination of the
reason for the separation which had occurred, and if children, minors or other persons are
members of the applicant's family unit, the advisability of a change in their living
arrangements.
(iii) Such an offer of
a home does not preclude consideration of eligibility for safety net assistance. If the
social services official determines that the legally responsible relative is otherwise
able but unwilling to contribute to the support of the applicant, the social services
official must initiate appropriate action to enforce support.
(iv) Social services
officials may evaluate the willingness of socially responsible persons to assist in whole
or in part in the support of applicants. Where socially responsible persons assisted in
the past, the situation must be reviewed to determine current availability of such
support.
(v) In considering the
ability of socially responsible persons to support, the offer of a home by a person must
be included in the exploration and evaluation of resources. In considering the offer of a
home, there must be a careful evaluation of the suitability of such resource in the
individual situation, including the physical and mental health of the applicant, his or
her current living arrangements, and his or her personal wishes and those of his family.
(4) Not eligible for or receiving assistance as
family assistance (FA). For each member of the household included in the safety net
assistance application it must be determined that he or she is not eligible to receive FA.
(5) Potential eligibility for SSI.
(i) Each applicant for
safety net assistance or his or her authorized representative must sign a repayment of
interim assistance authorization.
(ii) Subject to the
conditions set forth in the interim assistance sections of this Part, each applicant for
safety net assistance who, based on a medical statement documenting or indicating
existence of a physical or mental impairment, reasonably appears to qualify for SSI
benefits, or who during the safety net assistance application process demonstrates
behavior or symptoms suggesting potential SSI eligibility, or who has reached or will
before the end of the following calendar month reach his or her 65th birthday or who
otherwise appears to be eligible for SSI benefits must also be required to apply for SSI
benefits, cooperate with the SSI eligibility determination process, and appeal any denial
of his or her initial SSI application and exhaust the available administrative remedies.
(iii) Any medical
statement used in establishing potential SSI eligibility along with any other medical
documentation available must be attached by the social services district to the SSI
Referral and Certification of Contact form when the applicant is referTed to the Social
Security Administration (SSA) to file for SSI benefits.
(iv) Each social
services district must establish procedures for:
(a)
promptly identifying and assessing those safety net assistance and FA applicants
-and recipients who are potentially eligible for SSI;
(b)
providing medical and related information to persons referred to the SSA and assisting the
client in obtaining such information if there has been no prior diagnosis or treatment;
(c)
establishing an SSI tracking system to determine whether safety net assistance and FA
applicants or recipients who are potentially eligible for SSI have completed the Federal
disability benefit application and appeals processes;
(d)
providing assistance to safety net assistance and FA applicants and recipients in pursuing
SSI benefits and, when necessary, assisting such applicants and recipients in appealing
the denial of such benefits; and
(e)
referring safety net assistance and FA applicants and recipients to not-for-profit
agencies and not-for-profit legal services corporations receiving grants under section 35
of the Social Services Law, if any.
(6) Transfer of property.
(i) A person is not
eligible for safety net assistance who has made a voluntary assignment or transfer of real
or personal property for the purpose of qualifying for such aid. A transfer of such
property made within one year prior to the date of application is presumed to have been
made for the purpose of qualifying for such assistance.
(ii) If the agency
determines that the transfer was not made to qualify for safety net assistance, then such
transfer or assignment will not constitute a basis for denial.
(7) No person receiving public institutional
care may receive safety net assistance.
(c) Nonfinancial requirements. The following requirements must be
evaluated to establish initial eligibility:
(1) Age.
(i) The applicant must
furnish the date of birth for each person applying for assistance. Documentation of age is
required only where such verification is necessary to classify a person as eligible or
presumptively eligible for a Federal category, to determine employability, or to establish
the right of a minor between the ages 16 and 18 years to receive safety net assistance in
his or her own name as an emancipated minor.
(ii) An emancipated
minor, as defined in Part 349 of this Subchapter, may be considered eligible for safety
net assistance in his or her own right, provided he or she is not living with a guardian
or relative qualified to receive a grant of FA.
(2) Relationship of applicant to claimed
dependents. The applicant must furnish information regarding the relationship of all
members of the household to each other, including those who are applying for assistance
and those who are not. Documentation of relationship is required whenever the claimed
validity of a relationship is in doubt in order to explore the possibility of securing
necessary services and care, and to establish the responsibility of legally responsible
relatives for the support of the safety net assistance applicants.
(3) Social security number.
(i) Any applicant for
or recipient of safety net assistance or any other individual whose needs are considered
in determining the amount of assistance regardless of age must furnish or apply for a
social security number as a condition of eligibility.
(ii) The social
services official must assist the applicant or recipient in verifying or obtaining a
social security number.
(iii) Failure to
cooperate will result in denial of assistance to the noncooperating individual or
individuals and the needs of that individual or individuals will not be considered in
determining eligibility or degree of need for the remaining eligible family members.
(4) Residence within the State. Safety net
assistance must be granted to eligible persons in accordance with sections 3 11.1 and
352.29 of this Title.
(5) Living arrangement. Safety net assistance
must be granted to an eligible needy person in his or her abode or habitation whenever
possible. Safety net assistance may a] so be provided to an eligible individual in the
home of a relative or friend. 1n addition, safety net assistance allowances may be granted
to persons not living in their own homes when the living arrangement is one specified in
Part 352 of this Subchapter.
(6) The following persons, who are not eligible
for FA, if not in sanction status for a program authorized by this Title, are eligible for
safety net assistance if all other eligibility requirements are met:
(i) Family who have
received FA and other assistance funded under Public Law 104-193 (the Personal
Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996) for periods of time equal
to the maximum durational limits in section 369.4(d) of this Title.
(ii) Adult(s) without a
dependent child living with them.
(iii) Families in which
the head of household or an adult household member is determined to be unable to work by
reason of his or her need for treatment for alcohol or substance abuse in accordance with
section 351.2(i) of this Title.
(iv) Individuals under
the age of 18 who are childless and have no adult relative with whom to live.
(v) Members of a
household in which the head of household or an adult household member refuses to comply
with screening or formal assessment for alcohol or substance abuse in accordance with
section 351.2(i) of this Title.
(vi) Members of a
household in which the head of household or an adult household member fails to comply with
an alcohol or substance abuse rehabilitation program in accordance with section 351.2(i) of
this Title.
(vii) Qualified aliens
legally residing in the United States who are not eligible for FA solely based on the
Federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (section
404[i] of Public Law 104-193) or aliens permanently residing under color of law, but not
qualified.
(viii) Aliens paroled
into the United States pursuant to section 212(d)(5) of the Immigration and Naturalization
Act for a period of less than one year.
(7) Welfare of child or minor. Where children
or minors are included in the application, the home situation must be considered to
determine whether the welfare of the child or minor will be safeguarded.
(8) Alcoholism and drug abuse rehabilitative
services.
(i) As a condition of
eligibility, applicants for and recipients of safety net assistance must comply with
appropriate drug and/ or substance abuse screening and assessment procedures in accordance
with section 351.2(i) of this Title.
(ii) As a condition of
eligibility, applicants for and recipients of safety net assistance must participate in
and comply with appropriate drug and/or substance abuse rehabilitation programs in
accordance with section 351.2(i) of this Title.
(9) Compliance with child support enforcement
program (IV-D) eligibility requirements. Each person who is applying for or receiving
safety net assistance and each person on whose behalf an application is made therefor
must, as a condition of both initial and continuing eligibility for assistance, comply
with requirements contained in section 369.2(b) of this Title.
(10) A person who is eligible for benefits
under the refugee cash assistance program as defined in Part 373 of this Tide is not
eligible for safety net assistance.
(11) Repayment of overpayments. As a condition
of eligibility for safety net assistance, each applicant for safety net assistance must:
(i) sign an agreement,
on a form prescribed by the office, which provides that, if it is determined that money is
owed to the social services district because of overpayments of safety net assistance to
the applicant while a recipient of safety net assistance, the applicant agrees to repay
any such money that remains due after the applicant ceases to receive safety net
assistance; and
(ii) sign an assignment
of the individual's future earnings, on a form prescribed by the office, to secure the
repayment of any money that is determined, after providing the opportunity for a fair
hearing, to be owed to the social services district because of overpayments of safety net
assistance to the applicant while a recipient of safety net assistance. The prescribed
form must include the following notice: 'THIS AGREEMENT AUTHORIZES THE SOCIAL SERVICES
DISTRICT TO RECOVER ANY OVERPAYMENT OF YOUR PUBLIC ASSISTANCE BENEFITS BY COLLECTING THE
AMOUNT OF THE OVERPAYMENT DIRECTLY FROM YOUR FUTURE WAGES. IF YOU FAIL TO MAKE THE
PAYMENTS REQUIRED BY A REPAYMENT AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU AND THE SOCIAL SERVICES DISTRICT,
THE SOCIAL SERVICES DISTRICT WILL FILE TIIIS AGREEMENT WITH YOUR EMPLOYER AND RECOVER THE
OVERPAYMENT DIRECTLY FROM YOUR WAGES." In addition, the assignment of future earnings
and the enforcement thereof must comply with all requirements of article three-A of the
Personal Property Law. The social services district may file the assignment of future
earnings with the employer of the assignor only if the assignor fails to make payments of
money owed to the social services district in accordance with the repayment agreement.