The shelter cap value will increase to $712 from $672. The asset limit for those subject to a resource test will increase to $3,000 from $2,750 and to $4,500 from $4,250 for households where at least one person is age 60 or older or is disabled.
For more information, please review this memorandum which provides the fiscal year (FY) 2025 Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLA) to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) maximum allotments, income eligibility standards, and deductions.
Earned Income Disregard (EID) Flyers
The Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) has introduced two new flyers designed to increase awareness of income disregards available to Public Assistance (PA) recipients.
As a reminder, the State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2023-24 New York State Budget established a new disregard on all earned income that a CA participant gets from participation in a qualified work activity or training program, provided the individual's overall income does not exceed 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) for their household size. This disregard does not apply to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
The SFY 2023-24 State Budget will also disregard all earned income of a CA participant following a new job for a maximum of six consecutive months, once per lifetime, provided that the individual's overall income does not exceed 200% of the FPL for their household size. Following the six-month period, regular budgeting of income for purposes of CA eligibility would apply. This disregard does not apply to SNAP benefits.
Click the links below to access the flyers.
For clients:
For Workforce Development & Community Partners:
Reminders
Resumption of Cash Assistance Conciliation/Reengagement and Sanctions Process
Following a pause during the pandemic, the Conciliation/ Reengagement and Sanction processes for Cash Assistance (CA) recipients resumed as of August 19, 2024.
CA sanctions (reduction or termination of benefits) for failing to meet work requirements mandated by Federal and State law were in effect in New York from 1997 through 2015. These sanctions were suspended pending a change in State law, and were resumed following that change in January 2019, but under a framework that is more supportive, less punitive and seeks immediate resolution.
To protect clients and staff during the height of the COVID-19 Pandemic, DSS/HRA instituted COVID safety measures and some benefits eligibility requirements, such as the Conciliation/Reengagement and Sanction processes, were suspended. With approval from DSS/HRA’s State oversight, the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA), these remained suspended while DSS/HRA developed a new system to better facilitate the employability assessment and engagement processes required by both Federal and State laws and regulations.
DSS/HRA is required to re-institute CA sanctions for non-compliance with work-related appointments and assignments. Please note, CA recipients may resolve a sanction at any point in time by demonstrating compliance with work requirements, or by informing DSS/HRA of a reason why they are not subject to work requirements. Also, safeguards are in place to prevent a sanction, if prior to imposition, HRA’s case review finds that supportive services like childcare, transportation and reasonable accommodations were not in place and available at the time of non-compliance.
At a Conciliation/Reengagement appointment, a CA recipient will have an opportunity to:
- Appeal and demonstrate that they complied with the appointment/assignment;
- Explain reason(s) for non-compliance with work requirements, for example, by providing proof of current employment, or a health-related limitation, if that is the cause;
- Request a new work assignment; and/or
- Comply with the work requirements; or
- Request a work-requirement exemption due to health limitations.
Clients are urged to communicate timely with HRA to prevent the potential decrease or termination of their CA and SNAP benefits. If the client does not appear for a Conciliation/Reengagement appointment, they will be sanctioned. Examples of sanctions required under Federal and State law are reductions or discontinuances in CA, including certain housing subsidies, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Note that while CA sanctions are not durational, Federal regulations do require a minimum sanction period be enforced for SNAP. This means that the sanctioned individual will remain ineligible for SNAP until the end of the sanction period and only become eligible again if they are complying with the work requirements, or if the individual becomes exempt from SNAP work requirements.
Clients will be notified about the importance of complying with work-related appointments and assignments, their upcoming appointments and activities. Before they are sanctioned, they will also receive a notice informing them of their right to request a conference with DSS/HRA and/or a Fair Hearing with NYS OTDA to prevent or remove a CA and SNAP sanction. The notice will inform them that they have 10 days before the sanction goes into effect.
Clients who have questions or concerns about their Cash Assistance or SNAP benefits and/or work requirements, can call DSS OneNumber, at 718-557-1399
Extension of the Cash Assistance (CA) Interview Waiver on Single Issuance (SI) Cases for Shelter and Community Moves with Certain Rental Subsidy Programs
The Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) has approved a two-year extension of the waiver of the Cash Assistance (CA) interview requirement for certain applying households to support moveouts from shelter, as well as community moves to prevent eviction, with any of the following housing programs:
- City Fighting Homelessness and Eviction Prevention Supplement (CityFHEPS);
- DHS Supportive Housing placements;
- Pathway Home; and
- Section 8
- Shelter Moves
- Emergency Housing Voucher (EHV)
The waiver is now authorized from May 1, 2024, through April 30, 2026. OTDA initially approved the waiver for the period of May 19, 2023, through April 30, 2024.
Individuals moving either out of shelter or with a rental subsidy who are not in receipt of CA must apply for an emergency assistance grant (One-Shot Deal) to get help with moving-related costs (e.g., first month’s rent, broker fee, security voucher, etc.) and to get their rental subsidy processed so payments may be issued. As part of the application process, an eligibility interview is usually required before a determination can be made. As a result of the waiver discussed above, these households can now be approved for rental assistance, if eligible, without an interview.
This waiver is only applicable to the CA interview requirement. All other aspects of the eligibility review and determination requirements remain in effect.
Community partners assisting clients with rental subsidy packages should be aware that although these applicants will receive a message on ACCESS HRA (AHRA) to call for their CA interview after they submit their application, they are not required to do so.
Note: This waiver does not apply to households that qualify for and/or are applying for ongoing CA or who apply for SNAP at the same time as they apply for a One-Shot Deal. These households must continue to complete all the required steps of the CA and SNAP eligibility process, including an interview, prior to being approved for rental assistance.
Restaurant Meals Program Pilot (RMP)
Following legislation signed by Governor Hochul, the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance has established a Restaurant Meals Program (RMP). The RMP allows certain households, who may not have access to what they need to properly store and prepare food or who may not be able to prepare meals themselves, to use their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to purchase prepared meals at participating restaurants at a discounted rate. When using SNAP benefits, these households will receive a 10% discount on the cost of their meal. Participating household will be responsible for covering the entire, discounted cost of their meals, when purchasing prepared meals participating restaurants.
The pilot, which began in Monroe County in December 2023, is now expanding to New York City. Currently, there are three participating restaurants in NYC. Additional restaurants are expected to be added. Those eligible for RMP can use their SNAP benefit at any participating restaurant.
Restaurant Participation
Through targeted outreach, a selection of restaurants expressed interest and applied for approval to become an authorized SNAP retailer and participate in the RMP. Not all NYC boroughs have participating restaurants at this time, but more will continue to be onboarded as the program grows.
An updated list of participating restaurants can be found here. As new restaurants are onboarded, they will be added to the website.
Eligibility
To be eligible to purchase prepared meals at restaurants participating in the RMP, all members of the SNAP household must be either:
- elderly (age 60 or older);
- have a disability as defined for SNAP (receives disability benefits from a government agency because of a disability considered permanent);
- experiencing homelessness (including those residing in shelter);
- a spouse of a SNAP recipient who is eligible for the RMP.
There is no separate application process for SNAP households to participate in the RMP. RMP eligibility is established systemically by HRA/DSS by the presence of certain attributes on the household’s SNAP case, such as age of all household members, the Aged/Disabled indicator, the Shelter Type code, and the Relationship indicator.
SNAP household that are eligible to participate in the RMP, have their benefit case automatically updated with an RMP indicator. This means that eligible households may purchase food/meals at participating restaurants without having to make any changes or updates to their cards.
Households identified as RMP eligible will receive notices from HRA, letting them know that their household may participate in the RMP. Conversely, when a household who previously participated in the RMP no longer meets the criteria to participate due to a change in circumstances, a notice will be issued to explain that the household is no longer eligible for the RMP.
All SNAP households can confirm their own RMP eligibility status by visiting ebtEDGE and creating or logging into their account. If the household is creating a new ebtEDGE account, they will need their CBIC/EBT card number, PIN, and an email address.
Once logged into the home page, in the “Account Information” section, the cardholder will see a thumbs up icon with “Account is Restaurant Meal Program Eligible” if the household is eligible for the RMP. If the household is not eligible for the RMP, the “Account is Restaurant Meal Program Eligible” message will not be present in the “Account Information” section.
Note: Applicants/Participants can also see the eligibility message for RMP on the ebtEDGE Mobile App.
Since clients will be using their SNAP benefits, they should check their SNAP benefit balance by calling 1-888-328-6399 or visiting ebtEDGE to ensure that they have sufficient funds in their SNAP EBT account prior to purchasing a meal at a participating restaurant.
If a household meets the criteria to participate in the RMP and attempts to purchase a prepared meal but does not have sufficient funds to cover the entire, discounted cost of their meal, the household will be responsible for covering any remaining balance with funds other than SNAP benefits.
If a household does not meet the criteria to participate in the RMP and attempts to use their SNAP benefits to purchase a prepared meal at a participating restaurant, the transaction will be declined, the household will not be eligible for the RMP discounted rate and will be responsible for covering the full cost of their meal with funds other than SNAP benefits.
For more information on the Restaurant Meal Program, click here.
Public Benefits Survey – Childhood Poverty Reduction Advisory Council (CPRAC)
The Public Benefits Survey has been reopened and extended until December 31, 2024. This survey is intended to give New Yorkers who’ve applied for/received SNAP, PA, and/or SSI an opportunity to provide feedback on their experiences. The survey is brief and should only take a few minutes.
To access the survey, please click here.
The results of this survey will help guide the Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council (CPRAC) on creating and prioritizing five policy proposal packages that could achieve a 50% reduction in child poverty, as well as address housing costs in New York. The Childhood Poverty Reduction Advisory Council (CPRAC) is tasked with reducing childhood poverty by 50% by 2032.
All the proposed packages include child tax credit increases, as well as public benefits reforms such as the establishment of a State funded food benefit targeted to New Yorkers unable to receive SNAP. Four of the five packages include more inclusive housing vouchers, which is identified by the Housing Committee as their top priority. The fifth package also includes the inclusive housing vouchers, and a renter’s credit proposal.
To learn more, visit the Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council website.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) PO Box Consolidation for Mailed Submissions
We are streamlining our operations by consolidating all SNAP mailed submissions into a single PO Box. This change is designed to enhance efficiency. Please send all future mailed SNAP submissions to the following address:
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
PO BOX 29008
Brooklyn, NY 11202
Thank you for your cooperation and understanding as we work to improve our services.
