Temporary and Disability Assistance, Office of

Agency Web Site: https://otda.ny.gov/

Mission

The Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA), working in close collaboration with the Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) and other agencies, helps low-income households achieve economic self-sufficiency through work, job training and the provision of supportive services that help avert dependency on public assistance. OTDA also provides economic assistance to aged and disabled persons who are unable to work.

Organization and Staffing

OTDA’s central office is in Albany and has several field offices statewide. These offices provide direct operational support, supervision, and guidance to the State’s 58 local social services districts, which include each county and New York City. Social services districts are responsible for directly administering most public assistance programs, including those that serve the homeless and refugees. Agency staff also provide legal and audit support.

Budget Highlights

The FY 2024 Executive Budget recommends nearly $8.6 billion for the agency. This is an increase of approximately $1.2 billion from the FY 2023 budget. The increase reflects a $1 billion investment due to the State providing time-limited support to New York City for the projected costs of providing services and assistance to the eligible migrant population that has grown in the last year. The total also reflects increases in Federal support for human services programs, partially offset.by the one-time nature of State funding for various COVID-19 related rental assistance programs.

The FY 2024 Executive Budget recommends a workforce of 1,922 FTEs, unchanged from FY 2023 workforce levels.

Major budget actions include:

• Provide Support for Migrant Services and Assistance. The Budget includes a new $1 billion extraordinary appropriation to provide reimbursement to New York City for migrant support services and assistance.

• Increase Public Assistance Recipients’ Access to Education and Training Opportunities. The Executive Budget proposes changes to Public Assistance (PA) to increase the economic stability and outlook of recipients by providing increased access to education and training opportunities by eliminating the requirement for education to be combined with other activities after 12 months of post-secondary education. Additionally, the Budget authorizes the disregard of all earned income of a PA recipient from participating in a qualified work activity or training program when calculating their PA benefit.

• Provide Assistance to Victims of Public Assistance Fraud. The Budget provides assistance to PA recipients who have had benefits stolen as a result of card skimming, cloning, third-party misrepresentation or other similar fraudulent activities.

• Increase Support for Code Blue. The Executive Budget increases State funding for the Code Blue program by $7 million to support local districts in their protection of homeless individuals from exposure-related conditions during inclement winter weather.

• Continue the Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative (ESSHI). As part of the Governor’s five-year, $25 billion comprehensive Housing Plan to create and preserve 100,000 affordable homes, including 10,000 homes with support services for vulnerable populations, the Executive Budget provides an additional $100 million for a total of $210 million within OTDA for ESSHI to provide ongoing service and operating support for the program. ESSHI is a multi-agency initiative for supportive housing service and operating funding to support units that house individuals or families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness and also suffer from one or more disabling conditions including serious mental illness, substance use disorder, HIV/AIDS, and domestic violence, among other factors.

• Create More Homeless Housing. The Budget continues funding at $128 million for HHAP. This investment will create more housing for individuals and families who are homeless and unable to secure adequate housing without special assistance. HHAP is a critical resource in achieving the State’s supportive housing development goals, as it funds the capital construction of housing solely targeted to homeless individuals and families that require wrap-around services to remain stably housed.

• Provide Year-Round Employment Opportunities for Youth. The Budget builds upon the success of the existing Summer Youth Employment Program by creating a new Youth Opportunities Program to provide these employment opportunities during the remaining months of the year. The Budget includes $18 million in new State funding in FY 2024 to provide for year-round part-time employment opportunities for an estimated 2,500 youth in regions around New York. The Budget also increases funding for the Summer Youth Employment Program by $1 million, to $47.1 million.

For more information on this agency's budget recommendations located in the Executive Budget Briefing Book, click on the following link:

Briefing Book – Human Services (PDF)

Program Highlights

Public Assistance

New York provides cash assistance to income-eligible individuals and families through the Family Assistance (FA) and Safety Net Assistance (SNA) programs. For income-eligible families with a minor child, ongoing cash assistance provided through the FA program is financed largely with Federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds for up to 60 months, pursuant to federal statute. Families who have exhausted their 60-month time limit on FA, as well as income-eligible single adults and childless couples, can receive such assistance through the SNA program which is financed with State and local dollars. The FY 2024 caseload is estimated at approximately 558,000 recipients.

SSI State Supplement Program

New York's Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program supplements Federal SSI benefits to low-income elderly, blind, and disabled persons. The FY 2024 caseload is estimated at 650,000 recipients.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

SNAP is a federally mandated program that seeks to improve the nutritional level of low-income families and individuals by providing supplemental assistance to purchase food items. In New York, SNAP is directly administered by local social services districts, which are also responsible for administering programs to assist SNAP recipients in gaining the skills necessary to obtain and retain employment through training, education, and supportive services.

Homeless Housing and Assistance Program (HHAP)

HHAP provides grants to not-for-profit corporations and municipalities to expand and improve the supply of permanent, transitional, and emergency housing for homeless persons. HHAP also links its projects to other State and Federal funding sources to deliver appropriate support services to help tenants move towards greater self-sufficiency and economic stability.

Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP)

HEAP helps low-income households pay the cost of heating their homes. Eligibility is based on a number of factors, and eligible households may receive one regular benefit per year and emergency benefits, as available. The HEAP program also operates a heating equipment repair and replacement program, a heating equipment clean and tune program, and a cooling program during the summer months. OTDA has received supplemental Federal funding for HEAP to help more households pay heating costs and utility arrears incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic and is expected to receive a larger Federal grant award from the recent Omnibus Appropriations Act.

Child Support Services

The Child Support Services Program provides assistance with paternity and child support establishment, as well as the collection of child support. In addition, the Center operates an Access and Visitation program, which aids parents in development of successful parenting plans and visitation supervision and enforcement.

Note: Most recent estimates as of 02/01/2023