§ 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 consecut
‹ Prev All New York sections Next ›
Lexace provides legal information, not legal advice, and no attorney–client relationship is created. Statute text is provided for general information and may not reflect the most recent amendments; verify against the official state code.