New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 18 - DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES › Chapter II - Regulations of the Department of Social Services › Subchapter B - Public Assistance › Article 1 - Determination of Eligibility-General › Part 351 - Investigation and Eligibility › Continuing Eligibility › Section 351.28 - Home visits

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
(a) A visit to
			   the home of an applicant for or recipient of Aid to Dependent Children (ADC) or
			   Home Relief (HR) may be conducted by an official of the social services
			   district as part of an investigation into eligibility or continuing eligibility
			   for such assistance. The visit may be conducted with advance notice that a
			   visit may take place, or without advance notice in the circumstance described
			   in subdivision (b) of this section. A home visit must ordinarily be conducted
			   only during the normal business hours of the social services district or during
			   daylight hours, unless the circumstances of the applicant or recipient make
			   such time impractical. The social services official conducting such visit must
			   properly identify himself or herself.
(b) A visit to the home of an applicant for
			   or a recipient of ADC or HR by an official of the social services district may
			   be conducted without advance notice to the applicant or recipient when the
			   district has information that is inconsistent with or fails to support
			   pertinent information reported by the applicant or recipient during the
			   eligibility or redetermination of eligibility process, when the applicant or
			   recipient fails to provide information pertinent to the eligibility or
			   redetermination of eligibility process that he or she would reasonably be
			   expected to provide or when it appears that information provided by the
			   applicant or recipient during the eligibility or redetermination of eligibility
			   process is false. Examples of such circumstances include, but are not limited
			   to: where the landlord does not verify the household composition or provides
			   information which is inconsistent with the information in the application;
			   where the household's stated expenses exceed the stated income or the current
			   grant without a reasonable explanation; where there is no information
			   concerning a parent who is alleged to be absent from the home or the
			   information is inconsistent with the information in the application; where the
			   application is inconsistent with prior case information in the district's
			   possession; or where the application contains inconsistent information that
			   would affect eligibility for ADC or HR.
(c) Consent by the applicant or recipient to
			   a visit must not be considered to be permission to search the premises. The
			   official may question the applicant or recipient about people or objects in
			   plain view on the premises.
(d)
			   Failure by the applicant to cooperate during an unscheduled visit or to permit
			   such visit is not a basis for a discontinuance or denial of assistance. An
			   official conducting an unscheduled visit must not indicate or lead the
			   applicant or recipient to believe that failure to cooperate or to permit the
			   visit will be a basis for denying or discontinuing benefits.