WELFARE
REGULATIONS
For over three years
Kathy has been street homeless. She is now 20 years old and living in a
temporary shelter for youth. Kathy has struggled on the streets doing
what she could to survive. In and out of temporary youth shelters were
she stays for up to 90 days she tries to get on her feet by working in
part time minimum wage positions in various businesses. However, her
employers often became aware of her homelessness and treated her
differently. As an adolescent, during this time, this environment felt
uncomfortable and made it difficult for Kathy to remain employed. Out
of a job and nearing the end of her 90 days in a temporary youth
shelter Kathy found herself back out on the streets.
Kathy decided to apply
for Public Assistance in January 2003. At the beginning of the 45 day
application process, Kathy was given an emergency check of $18.50 and an
appointment for a WEP (Work Experience Program) assignment. Kathy
immediately spent the $18.50 on food and walked to her WEP assignment.
After the application was processed Kathy was found eligible for Public
Assistance.
In March, Kathy was
still out on the streets, awaiting an open bed at a youth shelter. When
Kathy became very sick with the flu friends let her stay with them in
New Jersey. Kathy stayed there for one week and was able to return to
her WEP assignment. One week later Kathy received a letter that her
Public Assistance case would be closing because of non-compliance with
her work requirement. Kathy brought documentation from a doctor
verifying that she was ill during the time that she did not attend the
WEP assignment. The HRA worker did not accept the letter. Kathy’s
public assistance case was closed in April, three months after she had
initially applied.
STATEMENT OF
THE ISSUE
Under the Welfare Reform
Act Of 1996, SNA (safety net assistance) is available for single adults
with no children or childless couples. SNA with cash is available for
only 24 months in a lifetime. TANF (temporary assistance to needy
families) recipients can receive benefits for a maximum limit of 60
months in a lifetime. In addition to time limitations a work
requirement was implemented as well. This means if a participant does
not comply with work requirements they will not receive public
assistance.
Unfortunately,
some applicants for public assistance experience what some believe is an
unwritten policy of “diversion”. Many applicants have felt that they
have been illegally discouraged from applying for public assistance by
telling the applicant to seek help from other people or organizations.
Some applicants claim to have experienced, “misinformation”; workers not
accepting applications and telling the applicants that they do not
qualify for assistance. In the case of Reynolds v. Giuliani, the
Reynolds plaintiffs claimed that Public
Assistance Job Centers were preventing people from applying for
Medicaid, food stamps, cash assistance and emergency assistance in
violation of federal and state statutory and constitutional law. On
January 25, 1999 a District Court judge agreed.
Unfortunately, these tactics are still being used.
Homeless youth
experience many obstacles when applying for public assistance. They
need to provide a birth certificate, social security card, proof of
residence, immigration status, and proof of how they have been
supporting themselves. It is especially difficult for a homeless young
person to obtain these documents. When a homeless youth applies for
their birth certificate, not only do they have to pay fifteen dollars,
(hopefully, they know of an organization to help pay for the document),
but it takes at least six weeks to receive it. Public assistance
centers have an obligation to the adolescent applicant to assist them in
getting the required documentation; however this mandate is often
ignored by the public assistance workers. Other barriers faced by
homeless youth are discrimination based on their status as a homeless
person. Many homeless youth are told that they cannot apply for
assistance because they are too young, and must bring in their parent,
that they need to have an address in order to get public assistance, or
that they should apply at a different center. It is common for workers
to misinform applicants about their rights to assistance and their right
to a fair hearing procedure. Some youth have reported unpleasant
experiences with workers at public assistance centers who will not
identify themselves when asked what their name is, not answer their
phone, or who will hang up the phone during conversation. Because of
the size and nature of the public assistance bureaucracy, important
appointment notification letters often arrive after the appointment
date. Some homeless youth have reported that they do not feel they can
advocate for themselves because of the workers often intimidating
approach.
The application process for public assistance generally takes 45 days
during which it is determined whether an applicant has been found
eligible. Before the applicant leaves the center they are given
appointments for both EVR (Eligibility Verification Review) and WEP
(Work Experience Program). Applicants must have made less than $150 in
a thirty day period to receive additional emergency monies. The
emergency cash allotment for a single person is $18.50. The next time
an applicant will receive any cash is if she/he is found eligible
forty-five days from the date of application.
The applicant must attend both of these appointments or their
application will be denied. At the EVR appointment applicants answer an
array of questions about their financial matters, and complete a finger
imaging process. At the WEP appointment applicants are asked about
their work abilities and are given a work assignment. The applicant
must engage in the WEP assignment for thirty-five hours a
week or be denied for
public assistance due to non-compliance. The applicant begins their
welfare to work assignment even before they have been found eligible for
public assistance.
After processing, the applicant is informed by mail whether they have
been found eligible for public assistance. If eligible, the recipient
receives a Public Assistance Needs Grant. The budget is broken up into
four categories: Cash, Food Stamps, Medicaid, and Shelter Allowance.
The following example is based on a single person with no income:
Cash $137.10 a month; Food Stamps $139 a month; Medicaid; and Shelter
allowance $215 a month. (It should be noted that the shelter allowance
has not been changed since 1987 and that there is no place in NYC can be
rented for $215 a month. Even SRO’s (single room occupancy’s) are at
least $400 a month with hardly any vacancies.)
A
homeless youth receiving public assistance is required to work for
thirty-five hours every week or their case will be closed, despite the
fact that they may not have a safe place to live.
For homeless youth, applying for and receiving welfare can be an endless
cycle of improper case closing, sanctions, and discrimination. Despite
the difficulties associated with public assistance, it is usually the
first step to getting a young person off the streets. In order for an
individual to become eligible for subsidized housing they must have a
verifiable income and public assistance provides this verifiable income.
SERVICE GAPS
In addition to the lack of adequate public assistance for homeless
youth, there is also a need for increased advocacy around these issues.
Though there are organizations that provide welfare advocacy, most of
these programs service residents in their target/immediate areas, and
some will only assist TANF cases (Temporary Assistance to Needy
Families). Many of temporary shelters do not have the resources to have
public assistance advocates on site.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR WELFARE SERVICES
·
Hire and sensitize
more workers at the centers to the needs and conditions of adolescents.
·
WEP assignments
should support education and training for adolescents and young adults.
·
All applicants should
receive a pamphlet and/or an explanation for those who cannot read, on
their rights and public assistance procedures, phone numbers of their
case workers.
·
All workers should
wear a name tag.
·
Immediate access to
translators is needed in all centers.
·
Increased public
education of the benefits of public assistance and food stamps.
REFERENCES
1“The
Wages of Welfare Reform: A Report on New York City’s Job Centers.”
The Committee on Social Welfare Law, The record of the Association of
the Bar of the City of New York (July/August1999)
2
“Welfare Reform in New York City: The Measure of Success.”
The Committee on Social Welfare Law, The Association
of the Bar of the City of New York.
