Court Holds that Doe v. Doar Class Members Entitled to Offset of Debt Owed the Agency
January 16, 2010
The case of Doe v, Doar, 26 AD2d 787 (2006), app dismissed 6 NY 3d 89, successfully challenged the illegal reduction of public assistance grants to individuals living in households with children where a family member was in receipt of Supplemental Security Income (SSI). The final judgment resulted in the restoration of tens of thousands illegally reduced public assistance grants, but the terms of the order limited the restoration of Doe underpayments to class members who were recipients of public assistance. Read More

Ensuring Access to Public Benefits: Litigation Updates
November 2, 2009
Medicaid, Family Assistance, Safety Net Assistance, Home Energy Assistance, Food Stamps: the array of public benefit programs in New York are offered with the dual goals of meeting the critical, basic needs of low and moderate income households and acting in accordance with our state Constitutional mandate to provide care for the needy. Read More

How a (Survey) Monkey is Helping Revitalize the Public Benefits Task Force
November 2, 2009
In the past the Welfare Task Force, coordinated and led by Empire Justice staff, was a major force in developing advocacy approaches, providing training, support and networking opportunities for welfare advocates located throughout New York. Read More

Alleged Probation Violations Lead to Automatic Termination of Benefits
November 2, 2009
In 1996, Congress added a provision in its sweeping welfare reform legislation to prevent fleeing felons and parole violators from accessing most federally funded assistance programs. Read More

Doe v. Doar Settled
November 1, 2007
In previous editions of the Disability Law News, we have reported the progress of Doe v. Doar, the class action lawsuit challenging the New York State regulation that did away with SSI invisibility in public assistance households. Read More

Judge Rules SSI Must be Invisible in Public Assistance Cases with Children
July 15, 2005
Judge David Eagan rules that SSI must be invisible on public assistance casses with children. Read More

ADC/TANF Income Treated as Loan for SSI
January 1, 2005
Elizabeth White, a welfare advocate at Neighborhood Legal Services in Buffalo, recently managed to convince an ALJ - and possibly the Appeals Council - that income received under the AFDC program (“Aid to Families with Dependent Children”- now TANF - or Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) should not be counted as “income” for purposes of computing a claimant’s retroactive Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Read More

Governor's Budget Cuts Family Assistance Grants to Households Containing SSI Recipients
February 1, 2004
In an effort to close New York State’s $5.1 billion dollar budget gap by $9 million dollars, Governor Pataki has proposed to take money from poor families containing disabled household members. To implement this change, the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance has issued proposed regulations amending 18 NYCRR 352.2 , 352.3, 352.30 and 352.31 which would gut the long standing rule that recipients of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) are “invisible” when determining the eligibility of other household members for public assistance benefits. Read More