Can families get the same amount of benefits?
        Yes, families can get the same amount of benefits, the benefits will just take a different form. SNA recipients will now get their benefits vouchered (payments will be made directly to the landlord and utility company) and if there is any money left in the grant, families will get the remainder of the grant in cash.

Will the change in benefits occur automatically?
        NO! All “able-bodied” families (families that are not considered exempt) that have been getting cash benefits for the last 60 months will have to reapply for benefits before December 2001 if they want to keep their benefits without interruption.

        Families that do not have to reapply (or exempt families) are those where family members are either disabled, pending SSI, or are required to be in the home to take care of a family member due to a medical condition. For those that are not exempt, a face-to-face interview will be scheduled and all Family Assistance cases will have to file an application for Safety Net Assistance.

        At the SNA application interview, the worker will first determine if the SNA family would fit into one of the exempt categories. If they do not, they will be required to comply with certain work requirements like job search and assessment. If any adult does not appear for the interview or does not comply with the work requirements, the family assistance case will be closed. This will result in a 45-day waiting period for benefits should the family reapply or comply with the work requirements sometime in the future.

What will be on the application?

        The Safety Net application will consist of two questions: “Do you want Safety Net Assistance when your sixty month limit on cash assistance is reached?” and, “Have there been any changes in your household circumstances since your last recertification or contact with this agency (changes could include people moving in or out, moving, getting or losing a job, etc.)?” Most of the interviews will be group interviews. The interview and the application process are not difficult, but are mandatory and necessary to ensure no interruption in benefits.

        In Erie County there are approximately 1093 able-bodied cases that will be affected by this new regulation and will have to be interviewed in order to keep getting their benefits without interruption. ECDSS will first call in those families who are sanctioned, then those families who are not employed, and finally families who are employed.

        It is essential that SNA interviews are scheduled and completed before 11/30/01. If a family applies in December and thereafter, the family will be treated as a regular application and will be subject to the 45 day waiting period. The state will be issuing more specific rules concerning the SNA application process in the near future.

        These rules DO NOT apply to Food Stamps. Temporary assistance limits do not apply to the Food Stamp program. Even if a case is closed because an able-bodied adult fails to appear for the SNA application interview, food stamp eligibility still continues.

        The time limits and work rules DO NOT apply to Medicaid eligibility. Even if a case is closed for failure to apply for SNA or noncompliance with work rules, this should not affect Medicaid eligibility. Medicaid cases can continue for 12 months from the date of the last eligibility determination, or can be referred to the Medicaid Unit for a separate determination, but Medicaid coverage should continue.

Encourage your clients to go to their SNA interview when scheduled, and

If they can’t make it to their scheduled interview, make sure that they reschedule, and

Get to DSS before 12/01/01! Applications taken after that day will be subject to the 45-day wait and your clients will be without public assistance benefits for over a month or more!

 

        If you or your clients have any questions concerning public benefits or the SNA application process, contact Neighborhood Legal Services at 847-0650.

        The Erie County Family Court has moved into it’s brand new courthouse! The courthouse is located at One Niagara Plaza (on Franklin, right next to the Rath Building), Buffalo, NY 14202.

        Here are some tips from Neighborhood Legal Services’ Family Law Unit to make your visit to the new court house smoother!

• All Courthouse Phone Numbers are the same. The main information line is 858-5100.

• There is NO food allowed in the new courthouse, and there is NO snack-bar or newspaper stand inside the building.

• There is extensive SECURITY at the new courthouse. There are metal detectors at all entrances and you are not allowed to bring knives, metal nail files, or even cuticle scissors!

• Get to court as EARLY as possible! If you are not present within a half hour of the time called, your case will be dismissed!

• Come EARLY because a long line forms outside of the courthouse waiting to get through security!

• There is only one pay phone per floor, and lines are often long.

        Notices are being mailed out this fall (some started to arrive in September), notifying people that their tax refunds for the next year could be taken. If you get a notice like this, you must act fast if you do not agree with having your tax refund taken. There are certain reasons why you may be able to stop the offset. These allowed “objections” are:

• The loan is not past due, you are making regular payments;
• The loan is paid in full;
• The debt is not enforceable (for example, you have filed bankruptcy);
• You are owed a refund from the school you attended; or
• You have a discharge defense (for example: your school closed while you were there.)

Look at the section below to find out how to assert these objections. This information is also included in the notice from the government.

        - You have the right to request documents regarding the underlying loan they are trying to collect. You must request these documents within 20 days of the notice that you receive. Follow the directions on the letter that you receive.

        - Once you receive the requested documents, you then have 15 days to make a payment arrangement in order to stop the offset or 15 days to request a review disputing your refund offset.

        - If you do not request the documents, you have 65 days from the date of the loan statement to dispute your tax refund offset.

        - You will receive a decision to any dispute in writing. If you are denied, you have 7 days to work out a payment plan and to make your first payment, or your tax refund could be taken.

        - If you are denied and would like to request a review with the Department of Education, you must request this within 30 days.

My tax refund has already been taken, what can I do? If your tax refund was taken and you did not follow any of the above steps, and still would like to dispute this, you must file an appeal in Federal Court. You should consult an attorney in order to do this.

I file my taxes jointly with my husband, and it’s his debt, can we get any of my refund back? Possibly. You must get IRS FORM 8379 “Injured Spouse Claim and Allocation.” You can get this on the IRS website (www.irs.gov.), or by calling 1-800-829-1040. Filling out this form can allow the spouse who does not owe the debt to get their share of the refund back.

Learn the Law !!

        If you applied for the New York State Child Care Provider Retention Grant and received verification of your approval and you have not yet gotten your grant, the check should be in the mail soon!

        This update is to remind you that for tax purposes, as well as for the Department of Social Services purposes (if you yourself receive benefits of any kind), the grant is considered income.

        For tax purposes, this means that you must claim the grant that you receive as “other income” on your federal and state tax returns. Remember though, you can deduct expenses from your business against this income!

        For DSS purposes, if you or your family receive any benefits (cash, food stamps, Medicaid, child care) you must report the grant to your caseworker.

        It is unclear in the state budget whether the program will be open to new applicants in the next year or not. Once this is announced we will pass the word on!

        If you accept child care subsidies through the Department of Social Services, you should be receiving higher rates, IMMEDIATELY! This is because the new market rates have been released. Remember, the market rates are the amount of money that the Department of Social Services will pay to a child care provider for providing child care services to a family who receives child care benefits. The changes in the market rates DO NOT affect the amount of a parent fee.

        Almost all payment categories for Erie County have been raised. (For example, the rate a Group Family Provider will be paid for caring for an infant under the age of 1 1/2 has gone from $125.00 a week to $140.00 a week!) For a copy of the new market rates for all types of providers, and all age groups, or for questions about this or any other child care related issue, please call Mindy at Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc., at 847-0650.

        In an attempt to cut down on the long lines and long waits, an additional office has been opened for HEAP applications at 291 Pearl Street, in the lower mezzanine of the former Hen’s and Kelly’s building. Any applicants who are NOT receiving public assistance cash benefits or food stamps should go to this site. Those receiving public assistance or food stamps should apply at the Rath Building, as in previous years.

        Both HEAP offices are open from 9:00 a.m to 5:00 a.m., but remember it is always advisable to arrive as early as possible.

        Remember, when applying, bring identification and copies of your heating bills with you!

        For more information about HEAP, call 858-7644.