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 352 - Standards of Assistance › Section 352.23 - Use of resources-general policy

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
(a) Resources must be so used as to eliminate
			 or reduce the need for public assistance, rehabilitate the client and conserve
			 public funds through assignment and recovery. Applicants and recipients must
			 generally be required to use available resources and to apply for and otherwise
			 pursue potentially available resources. The use of resources and the
			 application of income therefrom must be in accordance with the requirements
			 specified in subdivision (b) of this section. In establishing local policies
			 and procedures for the use of resources, distinction should be made between
			 temporary and long-term cases.
(b)
			 The amount of real and personal property, including liquid assets, that can be
			 reserved for each public assistance household must not be in excess of $2,500
			 for applicants, except that for applicant households in which any member is age
			 60 or over or is disabled, such resources must not exceed $3,750, or $10,000
			 for recipient households, excluding only:
(1)
			 the home which is the usual residence of the assistance unit;
(2) one automobile, up to $12,000 fair market
			 value, or such other higher dollar value as the local social services district
			 may elect to adopt. If the fair market value of the vehicle exceeds $12,000, or
			 a higher dollar value as adopted by the local social services district, the
			 amount of equity in the vehicle must be determined. The vehicle's equity value
			 must be applied against the applicable resource limits outlined in this
			 subdivision. However, if the automobile is especially equipped with apparatus
			 for individuals with a disability, the apparatus must not increase the value of
			 the vehicle;
(3) an amount up to
			 $4,650 in a separate bank account established by an individual while currently
			 in receipt of public assistance for the sole purpose of enabling the individual
			 to purchase a first or replacement vehicle for the recipient to seek, obtain or
			 maintain employment, so long as the funds are not used for any other purpose.
			 Funds withdrawn for reasons other than for the purchase of a first or
			 replacement vehicle will result in the full amount of funds in the account
			 prior to the withdrawal being countable toward the public assistance
			 household's resource limit beginning on the first day of the month of the
			 withdrawal;
(4) an amount up to
			 $1,400 in a separate bank account established by an individual while currently
			 in receipt of public assistance for the sole purpose of paying tuition at a
			 two-year or four-year accredited post-secondary educational institution, so
			 long as the funds are not used for any other purpose. Funds withdrawn for
			 reasons other than paying tuition at a two-year or four-year accredited
			 post-secondary educational institution will result in the full amount of funds
			 in the account prior to the withdrawal being countable toward the public
			 assistance household's resource limit beginning on the first day of the month
			 of the withdrawal;
(5) basic
			 maintenance items essential to day-to-day living, such as clothes, furniture
			 and household appliances, and other similarly essential items of limited
			 value;
(6) one burial plot per
			 household member;
(7) one bona fide
			 funeral agreement per household member up to an equity value of $1,500 per
			 household member;
(8) for a period
			 of six months, real property which the assistance unit is making a good faith
			 effort to sell, but only if the assistance unit agrees in writing to use the
			 proceeds from the sale to repay public assistance received which would not have
			 been granted if the property had been sold immediately. If the property has not
			 been sold within six months or if eligibility stops for any other reason, any
			 payment of aid for that period must, at the time of the disposal, be considered
			 an overpayment;
(9) tangible
			 personal property necessary for business or for employment purposes, including,
			 but not limited to, the following type of income-producing property when
			 currently in use or reasonably expected to be used in the near future for their
			 livelihood;
(i) business and farm
			 equipment;
(ii) tools used for
			 employment;
(iii) livestock and
			 produce;
(10) funds in an
			 individual development account;
(11) earned income tax credits; and
(12) funds in a New York achieving a better
			 life experience (ABLE) savings account established in accordance with article
			 eighty-four of the mental hygiene law.