THE DANDELION CONNECTION
Ellicott Square Building., 295 Main Street Room 495, Buffalo, New York 14203
Volume 6 Issue 4           (716) 847-0655 ext. 226           July/August 1998
   www.nls.org
Copyright 1998, Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc.

in this issue...
Child Assistance Program (CAP)
Free Summer Meals
maggie’s corner
poetry
Hmo requirements
Health watch: canned foods
Housing inspections
Upcoming events
diane’s taco dip

CHILD ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (CAP)

What is the Child Assistance Program (CAP)?

CAP is a cash benefit and supportive services program for certain eligible people who are working and receiving public assistance.

CAP will give you a cash grant in addition to the money you earn at work.

CAP will give you Food Stamp money in cash instead of coupons.

CAP may let you keep more of your money than regular public assistance because of different budgeting rules.

CAP may allow you to keep more in savings.

CAP provides case management services.

You are eligible for CAP if you:

Apply for a transfer to CAP; and

Are working; and

Have a child under 18 (or under 19 and a full-time student in secondary, vocational or technical school) living with you; and

Have a support order for at least one child enrolled in CAP. (There are several exceptions to the rule requiring you to have a support order.

For instance, you do not need a support order if an absent parent is dead, or you have made a "diligent effort" to obtain a child support order, or you have good cause for not cooperating with the support unit, or the child lives with both parents and paternity has been acknowledged or established by court order); and

Are financially eligible for CAP.

Your CAP worker will do a comparison of your public assistance grant and your CAP grant and tell you which one is more advantageous for you.

There is no resource limit for CAP, but there is a $3000.00 resource limit for Medicaid.

CAP participants in a single family household must comply with the following family assistance work requirements:

In 1998, each participant must work 20 hours a week

In 1999, each participant must work 25 hours a week

In 2000 (and after), each participant must work 30 hours a week

For two parent households, at least one parent must work 20 hours per week

This is called a voluntary quit. If a CAP participant is sanctioned for voluntarily reducing his or her wages, the entire CAP case will be terminated.

Yes, but only in limited situations. A CAP participant must comply with work requirements unless they are:

• 60 years of age or older; or
• under 16; or
• under 19 and attending school full-time; or
• needed in the home because of illness of another household member; or
• a pregnant woman beginning 30 days prior to the date of birth; or
• a parent taking care of a child underr one year old (up to three months).

No. CAP participants do not get the child support pass through.

Probably. Most CAP participants will meet the necessary criteria to be eligible for Medicaid. Ask your CAP worker if you have any questions .

    This summer, all children 18 years or younger will be able to receive free lunches through the Summer Food Service Program. Lunches will be served at various sites throughout the city, and most sites will run from June 29^th through August 28^th. Many locations are OPEN sites, meaning that any child, regardless of family income, may attend.

    The Summer Food Service Program continues the nutritional care and education of children during the summer months when the in-school programs, School Breakfast and School Lunch, are not available. This program is very important because participation in school meals has been directly linked to improved test scores, fewer absences due to illness, and decreased instances of poor behavior and lack of attentiveness.

    If you would like to locate a site near you, or if you are interested in volunteering or sponsoring a summer meals site, please call FOOD FOR ALL at 855-0433.

    Maggie O’Malley is a Paralegal for Project Dandelion. She works at the Front Door located on the first floor of the Department of Social Services at the Rath Building in downtown Buffalo. Maggie is at the Front Door from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Maggie helps clients with applications, questions regarding emergency assistance, and various other questions clients may have regarding applications for assistance. You can reach Maggie by asking for her at Window 9 or Window 10.

    Please bring identification. Who should you bring ID for? Bring it for everyone in the family and/or everyone who will be applying for assistance. Also, bring proof of address, such as utility bills, and or rent receipts.

    Nothing
can keep
the dandelions from
growing, and sending their
seeds wherever the wind will
carry them.

    Dandelions
will grow
anywhere, in a
country field or in
the cracks of the city sidewalks.

    Dandelions
have deep roots, they interrupt
gray monotony with yellow.
I have seen homeless people
harvesting dandelions
to eat.

    Our
society favors
delicate orchids, and
roses, and cultivated tulips.

I prefer dandelions.
You can’t keep the dandelions from growing.

Most people who receive public assistance will have to join a Managed Care Plan.

Medicaid will assign you to a Managed Care Plan if you do not enroll in a Plan within 60 days after receiving your enrollment packet. If you are assigned, you will get a notice in the mail telling you which plan you have been assigned to. If you are assigned to a Managed Care Plan because you failed to choose a Managed Care Plan, you will have 60 days from either the date you were assigned or the date you were informed that you were assigned, whichever is later, to change to another Plan. If you do not switch within the 60 day period, you might be stuck with that Plan for a whole year.

If you go to the emergency room for what you reasonably thought was a true medical emergency, your Plan must pay for your emergency room visit even if you are treated by doctors outside of your Plan. Your Plan may not pay your emergency room bill when you go to the emergency room for a medical problem that was clearly not an emergency. For example, if you go the emergency room for a simple cold, your plan may refuse to pay the bill and the hospital may try to bill you directly.

Hospitals are not supposed to bill Medicaid patients directly, but often they do if your Managed Care Plan refuses to pay them. All unpaid hospital bills can hurt your credit rating once you are no longer receiving public assistance. If you need to see a doctor and it is not an emergency, contact your Primary Care Provider. Your Plan must have a telephone number that you can call 24 hours a day to request medical help. Check your Plan’s member handbook for numbers to call and for more details about emergency and urgent care. If you do go to the emergency room, you should contact your Managed Care Plan as soon as you are able. Most Managed Care Plans require you to contact them within 24 hours of using the emergency room. If you are too sick to contact your Plan, you should be excused from this requirement. However, it is best if you can have someone call the Plan for you. This will reduce future hassles with the Plan over your visit. In the end, you have to use your best judgment. If you are not sure where you should go, you should try to call your Plan before going to the emergency room.

In Erie County you can call 858-6105 for general information about managed care, Medicaid eligibility, enrollment and/or disenrollment information.

Call the Statewide Benefits Counselor phone line at 1-888- ENROLLS for more information.

Call the NYS Department of Health Complaint Line. The phone number is 1-800-206-8125.

Call the NYS Attorney General’s Office. The telephone number is 1-888-692-4422.

Credit: Excerpts taken from the Medicaid Managed Care; by Melinda Dutton, Esq. and Elisabeth Ryden Benjamin, Esq.

    How to identify spoiled canned food.

    DO NOT TASTE FOOD FROM A JAR WITH AN UNSEALED LID OR FOOD THAT SHOWS SIGNS OF SPOILAGE. You can more easily detect some types of spoilage in jars stored without screw bands. Growth of spoilage bacteria and yeast produces gas which pressurizes the food, swells lids, and breaks jar seals. As each stored jar is selected for use, examine its lid for tightness and vacuum. Lids with concave centers have good seals.

    Next, while holding the jar upright at eye level rotate the jar and examine its outside surface for streaks of dried food originating at the top of the jar. Look at the contents for rising air bubbles and unnatural color.

    While opening the jar, smell for unnatural odors and look for spurting liquid and cotton-like mold growth (white, blue, black, or green) on the top food surface and underside of lid.

    The purpose of the seal is to keep the food, which has now had all microorganisms and spores destroyed, from becoming contaminated with other microorganisms during storage.

    If a canning lid has black deposit on underside, is it safe?

    Black deposits on the underside of lids of properly processed products do not mean spoilage. Naturally occurring compounds in food react with the metal lid to produce the black deposit. This is especially common in tomato products. The products are safe to eat.

    Is canned food, stored for years, safe to eat?

    If the food was processed according to recommended procedures, it is safe to eat at anytime in the future, if the seal is still intact and there is no evidence of spoilage. It is suggested that no more food be preserved than can be used in one to two years. This is because the quality of the product deteriorates with longer storage. This means there will be undesirable changes in color, texture, and flavor. There will be losses in nutrient content as the food is stored longer.

    If liquid is lost, is the food safe?

    If liquid is lost from jars during processing, the food is still safe to eat if the jar is sealed but, the quality will deteriorate quickly. Food above the liquid line will darken.

    After being FROZEN, is canned food safe?

    If the seal on jars is not broken, the food is safe to use. If cans do not bulge or have any leaks, they are safe to use. The quality of the product will have decreased if the foods have frozen.

    To prevent canned goods from freezing when they must be stored in an unheated area, wrap containers in several layers of newspapers and/or drape a blanket over the containers.

    For more information, contact the Food Safety Helpline at (716) 652-5400 ext. 120.

HOUSING INSPECTIONS:

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO IF THERE ARE PROBLEMS WITH YOUR APARTMENT

    If there are things wrong with your apartment that may be dangerous to your health and safety, you may wish to have your apartment inspected. The Erie County Health Department or your local department of building inspections inspect apartments. Because the Health Department and the building inspectors look at different kinds of problems, call them both. The health department looks for problems like rodents, lead paint, not enough heat or hot water or unsanitary conditions. The Erie County Health Department's general information number is 858-7690.

    The building inspector looks at structural problems such as holes in the walls, exposed wires, improper insulation, broken sinks or toilets, etc. In Buffalo, the building inspector's number is 851-4949. If you live in a building with three or more apartments and there are problems throughout the building, you may want to call the multiple dwelling inspector at 851-4933. If you have serious problems with the electrical or plumbing systems in your home, you may want to call the electrical inspector at 851-5902 or the plumbing inspector at 851-5067. If you live outside of Buffalo look in the blue pages of your telephone book under the city, town or village that you live in. If there is not a listing for a building inspector, call the town clerk for a phone number.

    Yes. Ask the inspector what you need to do to get a copy of the report. Be sure to get the inspector's name, in case there are any problems, or any questions. If you have any other questions contact 847-0650 and ask for the Housing Unit.

CLIP-OUT RECIPE

SUPER SUMMER TACO DIP FROM DIANE

Hugging is healthy
It helps the body’s
immunity system
it keeps you healthier,
it cures depression, it reduces stress,
it induces sleep, it’s invigorating,
it’s rejuvenating,
it has no unpleasant side effects,
and hugging is nothing less than
a miracle drug.

Hugging is all natural: It is organic,
naturally sweet, no pesticides,
no preservatives, no artificial ingredients
and 100 percent wholesome

Hugging is practically perfect
There are no movable parts,
no batteries to wear out,
checkups, low energy consumption,
high energy yield, inflation-proof,
non-fattening, no monthly payments,
no insurance requirements,
theft-proof, non-taxable,
non-polluting and, of course,
fully returnable.

HOUSING: What you should know about your Housing Rights! Landlord-Tenant issues, including security deposits, evictions, lockouts, withholding rent, etc.
Viola Palmer

CHILD SUPPORT: Endorsements, Mediation of Support Orders, Benefits/Disadvantages of using Office of Child Support Enforcement Unit
Cindy Chandler, Esq.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: Starting Over - A Step by Step process in making the transition work for you.
Ruth Christie

FAIR HEARINGS: How to Represent Yourself, Advocacy Skills, Case Preparation.
Lorne Marshall

CHILD CARE: Learn about the different types of child care assistance , including Low Income Child Care, Transitional Child Care and Public Assistance Child Care. Also learn about the different types of Child Care Providers including Day Care Centers, Family Day Care Homes, and Informal Child Care.
Public Benefits Unit

HANDICAPPED CHILDREN’S RIGHTS: Special Education- Children’s and parent’s rights in our school system.
Ron Hager, Esq.

SEPTEMBER 22, 1998 AT 1:00 P.M. POTLUCK LUNCHEON

PUBLIC ASSISTANCE BUDGETING: Including Benefits Counseling, Transitional Benefits, Wage Reporting and Recoupments.
Public Benefits Unit

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