Directs the social services district to take no action to establish paternity or a child support order when the applicant or recipient for aid to dependent children has established good cause to refuse to cooperate.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A743
SPONSOR: Hevesi TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the social services law, in relation to waiving the
requirement of establishing paternity or a child support order for
certain applicants or recipients of aid to dependent children
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
Prohibit child support collection enforcement when good cause exemptions
are claimed and proven by kinship caregivers who are seeking TANF Non-
Parent child only grants.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends 349-b of the social services law, in relation to waiv-
ing the requirement of establishing paternity or a child support order
for certain applicants or recipients of aid to dependent children.
Section 2 Subdivision 6 of section 158 of the social services law, as
amended by section 4 of part z of chapter 57 of the laws of 2008 is
amended.
Section 3 sets forth the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
In New York State, approximately 195,000 children live with kin (grand-
parents, relatives, and family friends). Less than 5,000 are in kinship
foster care. For kinship families who are not foster families, New York
offers a special Temporary Assistance to Needy Families public financial
assistance benefit. This benefit is officially termed a "NonPar-
ent"'grant, but more commonly referred to as 'a "child only" grant. The
phrases aptly describe the eligibility rules. It is available to chil-
dren who are living with non-parents, i.e kinship caregivers, and "only"
when the child's income and resources do not exceed the budgeting rules.
Since most kinship children do not have income and resources, most are
eligible. See OTDA-oS-INF-24 "Temporary Assistance Policy: Non-parent
Caregiver Cases and Temporary Assistance (TA)."
As of August 2018, according to Office of Temporary and Disability
Assistance statistics, 23,519 children were receiving the grant. While
the number is a fraction of the total kinship children, it is consistent
with the national average of 12%. of eligible children receiving the
grant.
The low percentage points out the need for outreach and facilitated
access so that more eligible children can receive the grant. One barrier
to access is that kinship caregivers who apply for the grant must agree
to cooperate with the local district in seeking support from absent
parents. Given the fact that most kinship care occurs when parents are
unable to parent because of drug/alcohol abuse, mental illness, incar-
ceration, or neglect and that kinship families outside of foster care
are "on their own" in managing relationships with absent parents, the
Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance developed special guidance
for counties as to when kin could claim an exemption from cooperation
with support. o8-INF-16 offers typical situations when kin are exempt,
including "special considerations related to•emotional harm.":
"Mrs. Green's 6-year-old nephew, James, lives with her and her family.
The Greens do not have custody or guardianship of James, but took him in
when his mother, an alcoholic, dropped him off at their house 10 months
ago. When his mother dropped James off he had lice infestation, was
malnourished and had only the clothes he was wearing. Since that time
his mother has not seen James, has been in and out of inpatient facili-
ties and although she is now employed, continues to abuse alcohol. Mrs.
Green has applied for TA for James and has asked to claim good cause due
to emotional harm. The good cause claim is being requested because Mrs.
Green fears that because she does not have custody that James' mother
will remove him from her home and he would be put in an unstable envi-
ronment."
Caregivers often cite fear that parents will upset the stability and
well-being of children when the parents become the subject of support
collection or they may remove children from kinship homes. Successfully
claiming the exemption, however, does not ensure that the local district
does not seek support. Collection efforts may continue.
An Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance regulation states: "A
district can proceed to enforce a child support order without the
caregiver's cooperation even when good cause is established if the
district can do so without risk to the child or the caregiver. If the
district decides to do this, it must notify the caregiver and give her
the opportunity to close her case. 18 NYCRR 369.2(b)(1o)." According to
reports by the Kinship Navigator and the kinship service providers
across the state, upon learning that the count can seek support despite
a successful claim of exemption, caregivers frequently withdraw their
applications for Non-Parent grants. The result is that qualifying
kinship families are unable to access an essential public benefit.
Given the low utilization and the disproportional number of impoverished
kinship caregivers, the Legislature deems it important to ensure that
kinship families with legitimate claims of good cause receive the
grants. There is simply no reason for counties to independently pursue
support Collection when there is a harm or potential harm to caregivers
and children in their care.
For these reasons, local districts should be prohibited from seeking to
collect child support from parents when an applicant for public assist-
ance can show good cause for exempting their cooperation with support
collection. Good causes include domestic violence and emotional harm to
children and caregivers that would occur if support is pursued. Social
Services Law 349-h should be amended so that proof of good cause should
prohibit collection efforts.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2021-2022:A. 6266-A - Vetoed
S. 2586-A (Sen Brisport) - Vetoed
2023-2024:A. 2443 - Referred to Social Services
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
743
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. HEVESI -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Social Services
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to waiving the
requirement of establishing paternity or a child support order for
certain applicants or recipients of aid to dependent children
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 349-b of the social services law is amended by
2 adding a new subdivision 3 to read as follows:
3 3. When the applicant or recipient has established good cause to
4 refuse to cooperate, the social services district shall take no action
5 to establish paternity or a child support order.
6 § 2. Subdivision 6 of section 158 of the social services law, as
7 amended by section 4 of part Z of chapter 57 of the laws of 2008, is
8 amended to read as follows:
9 6. In addition to other eligibility requirements, each person who is
10 applying for or receiving assistance under this title, and who is other-
11 wise eligible for assistance under this title, shall be required, as a
12 further condition of eligibility for such assistance:
13 (i) to assign to the state and the social services district any rights
14 to support that accrue during the period that a family receives safety
15 net assistance from any other person as such applicant or recipient may
16 have either on their own behalf or on behalf of any other family member
17 for whom the applicant or recipient is applying for or receiving assist-
18 ance; [and]
19 (ii) to cooperate with the state and the social services official, in
20 accordance with standards established by regulations of the office of
21 temporary and disability assistance consistent with federal law and
22 regulations, in establishing the paternity of a child born out-of-wed-
23 lock for whom assistance under this title is being applied for or
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01351-01-5
A. 743 2
1 received, in their efforts to locate any absent parent and in obtaining
2 support payments or any other payments or property due such person and
3 due each child for whom assistance under this title is being applied for
4 or received, except that an applicant or recipient shall not be required
5 to cooperate in such efforts in cases in which the social services offi-
6 cial has determined, in accordance with criteria, including the best
7 interests of the child, as established by regulations of the office of
8 temporary and disability assistance consistent with federal law and
9 regulations, that such applicant or recipient has good cause to refuse
10 to cooperate. Each social services district shall inform applicants for
11 and recipients of safety net assistance required to cooperate with the
12 state and local social services officials pursuant to the provisions of
13 this paragraph, that where a proceeding to establish paternity has been
14 filed, and the allegation of paternity has been denied by the respond-
15 ent, there shall be a stay of all paternity proceedings and related
16 social services district proceedings until sixty days after the birth of
17 the child. Such applicants and recipients shall also be informed that
18 public assistance and care shall not be denied during a stay on the
19 basis of refusal to cooperate pursuant to the provisions of this para-
20 graph[.]; and
21 (iii) when the applicant or recipient has established good cause to
22 refuse to cooperate, the social services district shall take no action
23 to establish paternity or a child support order.
24 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
