Lawyers Manual - Unified Court System

258 Amy E. Schwartz and Sharon Stapel
violence survivors who don’t have access to these types of papers because they
fled their homes or had these documents destroyed by their abuser may have
difficulty providing this information. In this event, advocates may be able to
assist the client obtain this information safely. Although caseworkers are
required to help a client secure this documentation, many are unwilling to
provide this assistance.
The decision on a FA (TA for households with children) Application must be
made within 30 days of the application. Determinations of eligibility for SNA (TA
for households not eligible for FA) applications must be made within 45 days.
Applicants facing an emergency (such as having little cash or food, a utility
cut-off notice or an eviction) may be eligible for emergency assistance. 17
Applicants with emergencies must be given an immediate, same-day interview
and can receive a same-day emergency cash grant for non-food emergencies.
The applicant should explicitly advise the caseworker of her emergency needs
and be prepared to provide documentation of the emergency (e.g., the notice of
petition and petition if she is facing an eviction). Applicants are eligible for
“expedited” food stamps (issued within five days of application) if they have
less than $100 in cash savings and less than $150 in income during the month of
application. Applicants can also qualify for emergency food stamps if their rent
and utility costs are greater than the household’s gross income and available
resources. If an application for emergency assistance is denied, the applicant can
request a fair hearing. 18
In non-emergency cases, eligibility for assistance will be investigated by a
caseworker or, in NYC, by an Eligibility and Verification Review (EVR)
worker. Caseworkers should not contact an applicant’s abuser or his family if
such contact would result in potential danger to the applicant’s safety and the
safety of her children. The applicant must tell her caseworker at application or
investigation that she is abused to invoke this protection from contacting her
abuser. If an applicant no longer lives with her abuser but she and the abuser
have joint assets (such as joint bank accounts), these resources should not be
considered “available” for the purpose of determining eligibility, unless the
survivor has safe access to them. 19
Following the issuance of an assistance grant, recipients must “re-certify”
their eligibility every six months. While in receipt of benefits, recipients must
also satisfy various program requirements, most of which are onerous and
intrusive. For example, most TA recipients will be required to participate in
“work activities,” such as menial office work, cleaning streets or parks, for up to
35 hours per week. FA recipients will be required to cooperate with child