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Access to Public Benefits & Programs

This section contains articles, charts, manuals and other resources addressing the eligibility of immigrants for a variety of public benefit programs and other public services. Empire Justice’s Albany Office deals primarily with these issues though the Rochester and Long Island offices handle individual cases of immigrants seeking to access public benefits, primarily Medicaid. The various public benefits and services highlighted in this section include Supplemental Security Income, Food Stamps, welfare assistance, and Medicaid.

ARTICLES

Access to Disaster Benefits for Immigrants without Status
Updated: There is an exception to the general rule that immigrants must be in a legal status to be eligible for federal public benefits and that is in the case of “short term, non-cash, in kind emergency disaster relief.” Thus emergency shelters for victims displaced by Hurricane Sandy, warming centers, and of course food pantries and soup kitchens are open to all. Read More

Public Benefit Eligibility of Deferred Action "Dreamers"
Residents of New York State who have been granted deferred action under the Obama Administration’s newly established “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals” (DACA) program will be eligible for all New York State public benefits, provided they meet the benefit program’s non-immigrant related eligibility requirements. Read More

Medicaid Alerts --published by the Medical Insurance and Community Services Administration (MICSA) of New York City's Department of Human Resources (HRA)
HRA MICSA Alerts are periodic announcements of policy, staff and office changes published by the Medical Insurance and Community Services Administration (MICSA). MICSA is the part of New York City’s Human Resource Administration (HRA) that administers HRA’s medically- related programs such as the Medical Assistance Program (MAP). MAP determines which New Yorkers are eligible for Medicaid and Family Health Plus. MICSA also administers the Home Care Services Program (HCSP). Read More



IN THE NEWS

Report Presents “Immigrant Eligibility Crosswalk” and Urges Continued Advances in Immigrant Access to Health Care as NY Implements Insurance Exchange
Today, Empire Justice Center released a report that chronicles immigrant access to health care in New York and zeros in on significant advancements to come with the new State Health Insurance Exchange. Read More

A Matter of Life & Death: Advocates in New York Respond to Medical Repatriation
This article is about the response of one group of advocates to the practice of medical repatriation, also referred to as medical deportation, in which hospitals choose to send non-citizen patients, usually those in need of long-term care, back to their home countries for treatment without engaging the federal immigration process. Read More



POLICY ADVOCACY

Empire Justice Testimony Regarding New York’s State’s Draft Child Care Development Fund Plan for FFY 2014-2015
Our testimony on New York's draft CCDF PLan for 2014 - 2015, including comments on access to quality child care, the effects of lead poisoning on minority communities, immigrant access to quality child care and access to language services at local district offices. Read More

Empire Justice Testimony on New York State’s Draft Child Care Development Fund Plan for FFY 2012-2013
Access to subsidies gives children in low income families the opportunity to engage in an early learning experience that their families could not ordinarily afford. Much of this testimony focuses on areas where we believe OCFS can expand access to child care subsidies to two underserved populations: children in immigrant families and children with special needs. Read More



PUBLICATIONS

New York’s Exchange Portal: A Gateway to Coverage for Immigrants
Health Insurance Exchanges have the potential to eliminate many existing barriers to health insurance coverage for low-income workers facing reductions in salaries and benefits. Immigrant families, whose incomes tend to be lower to begin with, have been particularly hard hit by escalating health care costs. National figures from 2010 indicate that 75% of workers in noncitizen families were in traditional blue collar jobs, as compared to 60% of workers from citizen families. The average median annual income for noncitizens was $25,000, roughly half the amount for citizen households. In New York, home to 4.3 million immigrants, noncitizens are over three times as likely as citizens to lack health insurance. Read More

 

Immigrant Eligibility Chart
The Immigrant Benefit Eligibility chart now includes the provisions of the SSI Extension for Elderly and Disabled Refugees Act of 2008. Read More

 


NEWSLETTERS

Legal Services Journal - Summer 2011
The Summer 2011 Legal Services Journal reports on a wide range of poverty law topics with an emphasis on areas impacted by New York State budget cuts and other legislative activities. The issue reviews Empire Justice Center's 2011-2012 legislative priorities and includes an in-depth look at legislative activities in the domestic violence area. The Journal also reports on several key public benefits and health areas affected by the recent State budget cuts including child care, 24-hour home care and the EPIC program for seniors. Other articles address kinship guardianship, immigrant eligibility for food stamps, Medicaid Managed Care, standing to sue in foreclosure cases, upcoming changes in fair hearings, and the challenges faced by pro se litigants with disabilities when navigating the family court system. Thanks to all of our authors for their contributions to this issue of the Legal Services Journal. Read More

Legal Services Journal - Spring 2010 Issue
This issue of the Legal Services Journal contains articles on Consumer and Community Development, Immigration, Public Benefits and Disability Benefits. Read More



TRAINING AND EVENTS

Food Stamps 101
This course will cover the rights of individuals to apply for food stamp benefits; the financial and non-financial eligibility requirements of the program, including a brief summary of immigrant rules; a basic look at the food stamp budgeting methodology, including how to read a food stamp budget, and the food stamp recertification process. Read More

Immigration Status & Public Benefits Eligibility
This is a training on immigration status as an eligibility requirement in various federal and state public benefits programs. The main focus of the session will be on the immigrant eligibility rules in means tested benefit programs, specifically the Family and Safety Net Assistance Programs, the Supplemental Security Income program (SSI), Food Stamps and Medicaid. In addition to the program rules, we will cover the immigrant documentation requirements of the benefits agencies and some special issues that arise in the context of immigrant use of benefits programs, including public charge, sponsor liability and reporting. Read More