Q&A
Concerns over increased cash assistance rejection rates and work requirements
0:52:58
·
154 sec
Council Member Restler expresses concern about the significant increase in cash assistance application rejection rates, from 5% pre-pandemic to nearly 45% in summer 2023. He also raises questions about the reinstitution of work requirements and their potential impact on applicants.
- Restler highlights the nearly tenfold increase in cash assistance application denials
- Concerns about additional bureaucratic hurdles due to reinstated work requirements
- Questions posed about the timing and discretion of work requirement reinstatement
- Inquiry about any noted increases in rejections since the implementation of work requirements
Lincoln Restler
0:52:58
So very happy to hear that you've been able to, with some increased staffing and other approaches and effective management, maintain the cleared backlog.
0:53:10
You know, What I have found really troubling is that, you know, pre pandemic, January 2020, it was about a 5% rejection rate on cache assistance applications based on the data that I was reviewing, And as of this past summer or at least summer of 23, excuse me, we were upwards of close to 45% denial rate on cash assistance applications.
0:53:34
So that is almost a tenfold increase in denials.
0:53:40
And with the reinstitution of work requirements as of this summer, I'm very concerned about the combination of increased bureaucratic hurdles and complications that are leading to almost half of cache assistance applicants getting denied with the additional responsibilities now of the work requirements potentially having the impact of increasing those denials to even higher rates.
0:54:09
And these are the folks in New York City who need our help the most.
0:54:12
And I have long admired HRA and their operational skills as an agency.
0:54:19
And I'm happy that you're at the helm, but I'm very, very concerned about these trends.
0:54:26
And seeing nearly half of cash assistance applications get rejected, and now we're adding additional hoops that people need to jump through with work requirements, I'm concerned that this is gonna lead to an even higher rate of denials and potentially people then losing their food stamps, losing housing subsidies and other things that they desperately desperately need.
0:54:44
And so I just a few questions there.
0:54:47
1, Were you required by the feds to reinstitute these work requirements as of July of this year, or was that a choice that HRA decided to make or the state of the feds, or was that at your discretion?
0:55:01
Secondly, since this was implemented, 6 weeks ago, have you noted any increase in rejections of cash assistance applications?
0:55:12
Has there been any fluctuation in the denial rate?
0:55:15
And thirdly, are you concerned as a thoughtful and compassionate government leader that this is going to lead to further denials of cache assistance applications and further kind of erode people's access to the benefit that they depend on.