Work requirements reinstituted for NYC’s extra cash benefit for poor residents
The Adams administration this month will again begin requiring low-income residents to show they are trying to get work if they want to receive an extra cash supplement, ending a COVID-era pause in the taxpayer-funded multibillion-dollar program.
More than 552,000 New Yorkers who receive the cash benefit will be subject to the mandatory work requirements again starting July 28.
The reinstatement comes as the city deals with an unprecedented number of applications for the assistance, which aims to help the Big Apple’s poorest residents. In February, the Department of Social Services reported a more than 25% increase in applications for cash assistance since Adams took office in 2022.
The Adams administration budgeted a staggering $2.46 billion in federal, state and city funds to cover the ballooning program, according to an examination of city records by The Post. The city previously budgeted $1.99 billion during the fiscal year that ended June 30 and $1.57 billion in fiscal 2022.
The money — given out biweekly to low-income New Yorkers in varying amounts based on household size — is intended to be used for necessities such as clothing, utilities and food.
An adult who is single can receive $183 a month under the program, while for example a family of three, can receive $389 monthly, Gothamist said.
State and federal laws typically have required recipients to show they are trying to get work or job training in order to receive the benefit, but that rule was paused during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2021, the city received approval from the state’s Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance services to keep the work requirements paused after the pandemic while the city worked to improve the system that manages the benefit.
According to a rep for the city’s Department of Social Services, the Big Apple avoided reinstating the work requirements right after the pandemic also because “low-income New Yorkers were still reeling from its devastating economic impact.”
But Monday, in an email to community partners, DSS said the work requirements will be reinstated, although under a new framework that is “more supportive, less punitive and seeks immediate resolution.”
Beneficiaries can apply for exemptions to the work requirements for issues such as illness, childcare or transportation, according to the email from DSS.
But once a person is sanctioned for failing to meet the work requirements for the cash assistance program, they could also lose other social services benefits, such as food stamps or housing subsidies, according to the notice from DSS.