N.Y. Social Services Law § 370-aa: State heating fuel crisis assistance

* § 370-aa. State heating fuel crisis assistance. 1. The commissioner

shall establish a state program to provide heating fuel related crisis

assistance to households whose total income from all sources is between

one hundred twenty-five percent and two hundred percent of the federal

community services administration poverty guidelines and who have not

received a grant for heating fuel assistance during the nineteen hundred

seventy-nine--nineteen hundred eighty winter from any other emergency or

energy assistance program. To the extent funds are available, such

household may apply and be eligible for assistance if the household is

threatened with shut-off or nondelivery of heating fuel due to

nonpayment and in the case of a one person household, the household's

liquid resources do not exceed one thousand five hundred dollars or in

the case of households of more than one person liquid resources do not

exceed two thousand two hundred fifty dollars. Liquid resources shall

mean those resources which are in cash or are financial instruments

which are convertible to cash.

2. Eligible households with incomes between one hundred twenty-five

percent and one hundred fifty percent of the federal community services

administration poverty guidelines may receive a total benefit not to

exceed two hundred dollars; eligible households with incomes between one

hundred fifty per cent and one hundred seventy-five percent of the

federal community services administration poverty guidelines may receive

a total benefit not to exceed one hundred fifty dollars; and eligible

households with incomes between one hundred seventy-five percent and two

hundred percent of the federal community services administration poverty

guidelines may receive a total benefit not to exceed one hundred

dollars. Eligible households which pay for heat directly may receive

benefits in the form of direct payment to suppliers of home heating

fuels. All households may receive assistance in the form of cash up to

fifty dollars for warm clothing, blankets, replacement of broken window

panes, firewood, temporary shelter, emergency repairs to heating

equipment, nutrition, health and other supportive services. In no event

shall the sum of assistance under this program made to or on behalf of

any household exceed the actual amount needed to ameliorate the heating

fuel crisis.

3. a. Assistance may also be provided to households whose rent

includes heat. Such assistance may be provided only in the event that

the owner of the rented dwelling has abandoned responsibility for paying

heating costs. Such assistance may be in the form of emergency heating

fuel deliveries.

b. Such assistance shall be provided for a period not to exceed

fifteen days, in order to allow time for appropriate action to be taken

by city or county officials.

c. In such cases where the landlord or owner has abandoned his

responsibility for paying heating costs, and where tenants or landlords

can verify that at least sixty percent of the building's households are

at or below two hundred percent of the federal community services

administration poverty guidelines, the buildings may qualify.

d. The department shall make all reasonable efforts to recover from

the landlord, emergency expenditures for heating fuel.

4. This program shall be administered at the county level and in the

city of New York by the local departments of social services. Local

departments shall distribute funds allocated for heating fuel crisis

assistance to eligible households for the payment of heating fuel costs

as described in subdivisions two and three of this section. The

department shall prepare application forms for use by the local

departments and instructions to be used in completing applications.

Certification of eligibility and authorization of payment shall be the

responsibility of the local departments. The local departments shall

provide for preliminary screening and assistance to applicants by

community action agencies, area offices on aging and other community

agencies.

5. The department and local departments shall contract for the

provision of an outreach program to inform potentially eligible

households of the availability of heating fuel crisis assistance. The

department shall enter into an agreement with the state office for the

aging which will provide outreach to the elderly and with community

action agencies and other community based agencies for outreach to other

potentially eligible households. The department shall develop program

materials which will be made available to utilities, fuel oil dealers

and community agencies for the purpose of informing the public about the

availability of crisis assistance.

6. Elderly persons over the age of sixty shall be a priority class to

be served by this program. To insure the priority becomes operational,

local departments shall provide directly or when appropriate through

contract the following special services to the elderly: priority in

scheduling appointments; arrangements for transportation when no other

transportation is available; intake and certification at home or through

a representative for those elderly who are homebound.

7. Payments made under this program shall not be considered as income

or resource for the purpose of determining eligibility for benefits

under any income maintenance or medical assistance program.

8. The department shall be responsible for monitoring the local

implementation of this program. All cases including a declaration of

income shall be subject to a redetermination and verification of income

eligibility. To insure that the elderly receive priority, the department

shall periodically review the population certified to receive benefits

and in districts where the elderly are not being served shall, with the

state office for aging, take appropriate actions to ensure that the

elderly are served. The department and local districts shall maintain a

system of records for this program which is separate from any other

emergency or energy related assistance program.

No later than July thirty-first, nineteen hundred eighty, the

department shall provide the governor and legislature with a report on

the state heating fuel crisis assistance program's implementation and

use in each district. Such report shall include the total number of

households and the number of elderly households served in each income

category, the amount and type of assistance provided to each household

and the activities and expenditures for all administering and outreach

agencies in each district.

9. The department shall promulgate all regulations necessary for

operation of the state heating fuel crisis assistance program which are

consistent with the state plan for the nineteen hundred eighty community

services administration energy crisis assistance program.

10. Within the amounts appropriated therefor funds will be made

available to each social services district for heating fuel crisis

assistance. If a county or city social services district incurs

expenditures in excess of its allocated amount, the county or city as

the case may be shall be liable for such expenditures. Funds will be

allocated by the department according to the following formula: Five

percent of the funds shall be set aside by the department to be used in

meeting any unanticipated heating fuel related crisis caused by

especially severe weather. All remaining funds and set aside funds which

are unexpended by April first, nineteen hundred eighty shall be

allocated according to the following formula: Twenty percent of the

funds shall be allocated equally to every county and the remaining

eighty percent shall be allocated to the fifty-seven counties outside

the city of New York and the city of New York based on the corrected

product of the percentage of state's poverty population residing in each

county, the average heating degree days for the county divided by the

state average and the percentage of county population which is aged

divided by the percentage of state population which is aged.

When thirty percent of the funds are obligated the department will

review the expenditures of program funds for the elderly with a view

toward increasing outreach and support services if this priority

population is not being reached.

When fifty percent of the funds are obligated, the department will

review the initial allocation to determine variances in utilization and

make appropriate adjustments or transfers.

11. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the commissioner determines that

a federally funded program of energy crisis assistance is in effect and

is duplicative in whole or part to the program provided for in this

section the commissioner shall notify the local social services district

in writing of such determination of duplication and the date after which

state reimbursement for all or part of the expenditures made pursuant to

this section shall not be authorized.

12. For purposes of this section, the term "home heating fuel" shall

mean fuel oil, coal, wood, propane, natural gas, electricity, steam,

kerosene and any other fuel when used for residential heating purposes.

* NB Expired October 1, 1980