Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 39, September 25, 2024
(a)
Income maintenance status.
(1)
For purposes of financial eligibility for services, the following persons have
income maintenance status:
(i) Recipients of
ADC-an ADC recipient is any individual who is certified eligible for cash
assistance under the ADC program and receives such payments during the period
upon which eligibility for social services is based.
(ii) Individuals whose needs are taken into
account in computing the grant for eligible persons under the ADC program-these
include children and other relatives in the home not eligible for ADC in their
own right but whose presence is significant to ADC recipients as "essential
persons."
(iii) Recipients of SSI
benefits including recipients of State supplementary payments-an SSI recipient
is any individual who is certified eligible for cash assistance under the SSI
program and receives such payments including State supplementary payments
during the period upon which eligibility for social services is
based.
(iv) Recipients of foster
care or adoption assistance (FCAA)-an FCAA recipient is any child or minor
certified eligible for foster care maintenance or adoption assistance who
received such benefits during the period upon which eligibility for social
services was based.
(v) Recipients
of HR-an HR recipient is any individual who is certified eligible for cash
assistance under the HR program and who received such payments during the
period upon which eligibility for services is based.
(vi) Recipients of MA-an MA recipient is any
individual who is certified eligible to receive a medical payment during the
period upon which eligibility for services is based.
(2) Persons with income maintenance status
shall be financially eligible for services in accordance with the provisions of
the then effective comprehensive annual social services program plan.
(3) When financial eligibility for services
is based on the income maintenance status of the applicant, such status shall
be verified as of the date of application.
(b)
Income eligible status.
(1) Individuals, other than those described
in subdivision (a) of this section, must be financially eligible for services
on the basis of income eligibility status if the monthly gross income of the
family is equal to or less than:
(i) the
appropriate income eligibility level contained in the then effective
consolidated services plan or integrated county plan;
(ii) for New York State Child Care Block
Grant child care services, the financial eligibility requirements for such
services established by the Office of Children and Family Services in
accordance with section
415.2(a)
of this Title.
(2) The
determination of family monthly gross income shall be based on the average
monthly income for a period of not less than one month nor in excess of three
months prior to application, adjusted for any changes in income known or
expected to occur during the period of authorization.
(3) If income fluctuates significantly, the
average monthly amount shall be computed based on income received during a
period of not less than three nor more than six months.
(4) Computation of monthly gross income shall
be based on a factor of 4&" of the weekly income.
(5)
Monthly gross income
means the monthly sum of income received from the following sources:
(i) Monthly wages or salary,
i.e., total money earnings received for work performed as an
employee, including wages, salary, Armed Forces pay, commissions, tips,
piece-rate payments, and cash bonuses earned before deductions are made for
taxes, bonds, pensions, union dues and similar purposes.
(ii) Net income for non-farm self-employment,
i.e., gross receipts minus expenses from one's own business,
professional enterprise, or partnership. Gross receipts include the value of
all goods sold and services rendered. Expenses include costs of goods
purchased, rent, heat, light, power, wages and salaries paid, business taxes
(not personal income taxes) and similar costs. Depreciation, personal business
and entertainment expenses, personal transportation, purchase of capital
equipment, and payments on the principal of loans for capital assets or durable
goods are not counted as expenses for the purpose of determining net income for
self-employment for child care assistance. The value of salable merchandise
consumed by the proprietors of retail stores is not included as part of net
income.
(iii) Net income for farm
self-employment, i.e., gross receipts minus operating expenses
from the operation of a farm by a person on his own account, as owner, renter
or sharecropper. Gross receipts include the value of all products sold,
government crop loans, money received from the rental of farm equipment to
others, the incidental receipts from the sale of wood, sand, gravel, and
similar items. Operating expenses include cost of feed, fertilizer, seed and
other farming supplies, cash wages paid to farm hands, cash rent, interest on
farm building repairs, farm taxes (not State and Federal income taxes) and
similar expenses. Depreciation, personal business and entertainment expenses,
personal transportation, purchase of capital equipment, and payments on the
principal of loans for capital assets or durable goods are not counted as
operating expenses for the purpose of determining net income for
self-employment for child care assistance. The value of fuel, food or other
farm products used for family living is not included as part of net
income.
(iv) Social security
benefits include social security pensions and survivor benefits, and permanent
disability insurance payments made by the Social Security Administration prior
to deductions for medical insurance and railroad retirement checks from the
U.S. government.
(v) Dividends,
interest (on savings or bonds) income from estates or trusts, net rental income
or royalties, including dividends from stockholding or membership in
associations, interest on savings or bonds, periodic receipts from estates or
trust funds, net income from rental of a house, store or other property to
others, receipts from boarders or lodgers and net royalties.
(vi) Public assistance or welfare payments
include public assistance payments such as ADC, SSI (including State
supplemental payments), and home relief.
(vii) Pensions and annuities include pensions
or retirement benefits paid to a retired person or his survivors by a former
employer or by a union, either directly or through an insurance company, and
periodic receipts from annuities or insurance.
(viii)
Unemployment
compensation means compensation received from government unemployment
insurance agencies or private companies during periods of unemployment and any
strike benefits received from union funds.
(ix)
Workers' compensation
means compensation received periodically from private or public insurance
companies for injuries incurred at work. The cost of this insurance must have
been paid by the employer and not by the individual.
(x) Alimony.
(xi) Child support.
(xii)
Veterans' pensions
means money paid periodically by the Veterans' Administration to disabled
members of the Armed Forces or to survivors of deceased veterans, subsistence
allowances paid to veterans for education and on-the-job training, as well as
so- called "refunds" paid to ex-servicemen as GI insurance premiums.
(6) Exclusions from monthly gross
income. Excluded from computation of monthly gross income are the following:
(i) per capita payments to or funds held in
trust for any individual in satisfaction of a judgment of the Indian Claims
Commission or the Court of Claims;
(ii) money received from sale of property,
such as stocks, bonds, a house, or a car (unless the person was engaged in the
business of selling such property in which case the net proceeds would be
counted as income from self-employment);
(iii) withdrawals of bank deposits;
(iv) money borrowed;
(v) tax refunds;
(vi) gifts;
(vii) lump sum inheritances or insurance
payments;
(viii) capital
gains;
(ix) the value of coupon
allotments under the Food Stamp Act of 1964, as amended, in excess of the
amount paid for the coupons;
(x)
the value of USDA donated foods;
(xi) the value of supplemental food
assistance under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 and the special food service
program for children under the National School Lunch Act;
(xii) any payment received under the Uniform
Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of
1970;
(xiii) earnings of a
dependent child under 18 years of age who is not legally responsible for the
child or children for which child care assistance is sought (no inquiry shall
be made);
(xiv) loans and grants
such as scholarships obtained and used under conditions that preclude their use
for current living costs;
(xv) any
grant or loan to any undergraduate student for educational purposes made or
insured under the Higher Education Act;
(xvi) home produce utilized for household
consumption;
(xvii) payments made
for child care services, or the value of child care services provided to a
recipient of child care services provided under the New York State Child Care
Block Grant Program and under title XX of the Social Security Act who is
applying for or receiving any other services funded under any Federal or
federally assisted program that bases eligibility for such services upon need
or the amount of benefits upon need;
(xviii) veterans' assistance payments made to
or on behalf of certain Vietnam veterans' natural adult or minor children for
any disability resulting from spina bifida suffered by such children;
(xix) veterans' assistance payments made for
covered birth defects to or on behalf of the adult or minor children of women
Vietnam veterans in service in the Republic of Vietnam during the period
beginning on February 28, 1961 and ending on May 7, 1975. Covered birth defects
means any birth defect identified by the Veterans' Administration as a birth
defect that is associated with the service of women Vietnam veterans in the
Republic of Vietnam during the period on February 28, 1961 and ending on May 7,
1975, and that has resulted or may result in permanent physical or mental
disability; and
(xx) disaster
relief payments other than unemployment compensation.
(c)
Eligibility without
regard to financial circumstances.
Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b) of this section,
individuals and families who are programmatically eligible for the following
services will be determined to be eligible for such services without regard to
financial eligibility criteria:
(1)
information and referral services;
(2) protective services for adults;
(3) protective services for
children;
(4) preventive services
for children; and
(5) residential
services for victims of domestic violence.
(d)
Resources.
Financial eligibility for services contained in the
district component of the Child and Family Services Plan shall be based only on
the monthly gross income of the family as defined in this section.
(1) No exploration of resources shall be made
in the determination of eligibility for services, except for child care
assistance funded under the New York State Child Care Block Grant Program for
which resources are considered in accordance with Part 415 of this
Title.
(2) No lien or incumbrance
of any kind shall be required from or be imposed against the property of any
individual in connection with services rendered or to be rendered.
(3) No adjustment or recovery of the cost of
services rendered shall be made, except for child care assistance in accordance
with section
415.4
of this Title.