Skip to Main Content

Printer Friendly

Other Benefits

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

ARTICLES

Fair Hearing of the Month
Fair Hearing # 5897555L (October 17, 2011)
Appellant's failure to appear at a PA recertification interview is not a basis for discontinuing Food Stamps without first determining if the household is eligible as a non-PA household. 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

Tips for Searching the OTDA Website When You Do NOT Want To Find a Fair Hearing
Tips For Searching the OTDA Website when you do not want to find a Fair Hearing - (With a tip of the hat to Gene Doyle of POOR, and Adam Shoop of The CUNY Law School Economic Justice Project) 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 Comments on Revised Regulations regarding Fair Hearing Defaults
OTDA Revised Regulations regarding Fair Hearing Defaults: Empire Justice Center comments support expansion of time frames for reopening but urge removal of time limit entirely; and express concern about restrictions imposed on Appellants represented by lay advocates Read More

Empire Justice Testimony at the Roundtable Discussion on the Issues and Concerns of Human Services Administrators, Advocates and Clients
Testimony on the need to invest in child care assistance, the economic impact of foreclosure, improving identification of disability screening for welfare applicants and sanction policies, and the importance of full implementation of the final phase of the welfare grant increase. 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