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Other Benefits

Here you will find information about HEAP (Home Energy Assistance Program) and other benefit programs serving low-income households.

ARTICLES

Empire Justice Center and the National Center for Law and Economic Justice file Motion for Enforcement and Contempt to enforce an Order compelling Nassau County to process benefits applications timely.
The Empire Justice Center and the National Center for Law and Economic Justice, attorneys for the plaintiff class, filed a Motion for Enforcement and Contempt on their behalf in federal court on February 15, 2013, seeking to enforce an Order compelling Nassau County to process benefits applications timely. Read More

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

Fair Hearing Update
The last year has seen a number of technological changes in the world of fair hearing advocacy. This article discusses the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) Fair Hearing Archive with particular attention to its benefits and challenges; the Fair Hearing Evidence Management System (FHEMS) and the Electronic Evidence Packet System (EEPS) which are currently being piloted in New York City; and the likely use of videoconferencing of fair hearings in the future. Read More


Other Benefits: Articles


IN THE NEWS

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

Lawsuit: Oneida County ‘delaying access to public assistance’
Legal Services of Central New York and Empire Justice Center have filed a lawsuit in federal court claiming the county is not processing residents’ applications for benefits in a timely manner. Read More


Other Benefits: In the News


POLICY ADVOCACY

Empire Justice Memo of Support: Ensure that Welfare Recipients are Not Punished for Being Disabled
Far too often, public assistance clients are sanctioned for non-compliance with work-related activities, yet the non-compliance is due to a unknown disability, child care problem or transportation difficulties. Empire Justice Center supports A.2669/S.4830, which will protect against unwarranted sanctions due to a disability. Read More

A Call for Transparency and Accountability When Liens are Placed on the Homes of Welfare Recipients
Currently, local social services districts do not provide the homeowner with an accounting of the amount of public assistance paid nor the amount of the accrued debt or credits made against the home. Read More


Other Benefits: Policy Advocacy


PUBLICATIONS

An Advocates Guide to Welfare Work Rules
As a condition of receiving public assistance in New York, applicants and recipients must comply with work requirements. The system tends to be rigidly administered, and people who are found to have in any way failed to comply are subject to sanctions, in which their benefits are reduced or terminated. But the law does provide an array of rights for those subject to these mandates. It is therefore our hope that the Guide will assist advocates in protecting clients against sanctions and in enforcing those rights. Read More

 

Other Benefits: Publications


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



TRAINING AND EVENTS

Emergency Assistance 101
This course provides an overview of the emergency assistance programs in New York State: Emergency Assistance to Families, Emergency Safety Net Assistance, and Emergency Assistance to Adults. The training reviews the situations that constitute an emergency, and the financial and categorical eligibility requirements for receipt of emergency assistance, and pays special attention to shelter and utility emergencies. Read More

Effect of Holocaust Reparations on Medicaid, SSI and Other Benefits
The Victims of Nazi Persecution Act of 1994 creates a special right for survivors of the Holocaust. When they apply for federally funded benefits or services that are based on financial need, the payments they have received based on their status as a victim of Nazi persecution are not counted in determining their financial eligibility for these federally funded benefits. Read More