Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 39, September 25, 2024
(a) Resources must be so used as to eliminate
or reduce the need for public assistance, rehabilitate the client and conserve
public funds through assignment and recovery. Applicants and recipients must
generally be required to use available resources and to apply for and otherwise
pursue potentially available resources. The use of resources and the
application of income therefrom must be in accordance with the requirements
specified in subdivision (b) of this section. In establishing local policies
and procedures for the use of resources, distinction should be made between
temporary and long-term cases.
(b)
The amount of real and personal property, including liquid assets, that can be
reserved for each public assistance household must not be in excess of $2,500
for applicants, except that for applicant households in which any member is age
60 or over or is disabled, such resources must not exceed $3,750, or $10,000
for recipient households, excluding only:
(1)
the home which is the usual residence of the assistance unit;
(2) one automobile, up to $12,000 fair market
value, or such other higher dollar value as the local social services district
may elect to adopt. If the fair market value of the vehicle exceeds $12,000, or
a higher dollar value as adopted by the local social services district, the
amount of equity in the vehicle must be determined. The vehicle's equity value
must be applied against the applicable resource limits outlined in this
subdivision. However, if the automobile is especially equipped with apparatus
for individuals with a disability, the apparatus must not increase the value of
the vehicle;
(3) an amount up to
$4,650 in a separate bank account established by an individual while currently
in receipt of public assistance for the sole purpose of enabling the individual
to purchase a first or replacement vehicle for the recipient to seek, obtain or
maintain employment, so long as the funds are not used for any other purpose.
Funds withdrawn for reasons other than for the purchase of a first or
replacement vehicle will result in the full amount of funds in the account
prior to the withdrawal being countable toward the public assistance
household's resource limit beginning on the first day of the month of the
withdrawal;
(4) an amount up to
$1,400 in a separate bank account established by an individual while currently
in receipt of public assistance for the sole purpose of paying tuition at a
two-year or four-year accredited post-secondary educational institution, so
long as the funds are not used for any other purpose. Funds withdrawn for
reasons other than paying tuition at a two-year or four-year accredited
post-secondary educational institution will result in the full amount of funds
in the account prior to the withdrawal being countable toward the public
assistance household's resource limit beginning on the first day of the month
of the withdrawal;
(5) basic
maintenance items essential to day-to-day living, such as clothes, furniture
and household appliances, and other similarly essential items of limited
value;
(6) one burial plot per
household member;
(7) one bona fide
funeral agreement per household member up to an equity value of $1,500 per
household member;
(8) for a period
of six months, real property which the assistance unit is making a good faith
effort to sell, but only if the assistance unit agrees in writing to use the
proceeds from the sale to repay public assistance received which would not have
been granted if the property had been sold immediately. If the property has not
been sold within six months or if eligibility stops for any other reason, any
payment of aid for that period must, at the time of the disposal, be considered
an overpayment;
(9) tangible
personal property necessary for business or for employment purposes, including,
but not limited to, the following type of income-producing property when
currently in use or reasonably expected to be used in the near future for their
livelihood;
(i) business and farm
equipment;
(ii) tools used for
employment;
(iii) livestock and
produce;
(10) funds in an
individual development account;
(11) earned income tax credits; and
(12) funds in a New York achieving a better
life experience (ABLE) savings account established in accordance with article
eighty-four of the mental hygiene law.
(c) Ownership of all other personal property
not exempt in subdivision (b) of this section, including but not limited to
non-essential household furnishings, jewelry, savings and checking accounts,
individual retirement or Keogh accounts, credit union accounts, annuities,
stocks, bonds, mortgages, mortgage certificates and other securities, must be
explored and analyzed to determine their equity value.
(d) In establishing local policies and
procedures for the use of resources in cases of temporary need, social services
districts do not have to require the assignment or adjustment of life
insurance. However, social services districts may establish local policies and
procedures which require the assignment or adjustment of life insurance as a
condition of receiving public assistance. Temporary need means need which, at
the time of application, is expected to terminate within three
months.
(e) When a resource, either
exempt or nonexempt, is sold, the payment received is treated as a resource,
unless the proceeds are paid in installments, in which case the payments are
counted as income in the month received.
