§ 131-z. Child assistance program. 1. Notwithstanding any other
provision of law to the contrary, any district may operate a child
assistance program as part of the family assistance program with the
approval of the department. Approved expenditures for such child
assistance program shall be subject to federal and state reimbursement
as expenditures under the family assistance program in accordance with
section one hundred fifty-three of this chapter. Provided, however, on
or after January first, nineteen hundred ninety-eight the department
shall reimburse social services districts for the administrative costs
of this program in accordance with the provisions of subdivision sixteen
of section one hundred fifty-three of this chapter. All custodial parent
families receiving family assistance benefits shall be eligible for this
program, provided they satisfy the requirements of this section, if they
reside in a district which operates such a program.

2. Where a program has been authorized, child assistance payments
pursuant to the provisions of this section may be made to custodial
parents on behalf of minor children in accordance with the criteria
specified in subdivisions three, four, five and six of this section in
lieu of allowances determined in accordance with section one hundred
thirty-one-a of this article. The amount of such child assistance
payments shall be at least the sum of three thousand three hundred sixty
dollars per annum for the first minor child and one thousand one hundred
sixteen dollars per annum for each additional minor child, provided that
such payments shall be reduced by the amounts specified in paragraph (a)
of subdivision six of this section. The commissioner may develop a
methodology which will provide for the periodic adjustment of the
benefit level to reflect changes in maximum monthly grants and
allowances authorized pursuant to section one hundred thirty-one-a of
this article for the family assistance program. In addition, the child
assistance payments shall be established so that the payments combined
with earnings from full-time employment shall result in a family of
three having income at or above the poverty level for nineteen hundred
eighty-seven as reported by the federal department of health and human
services.

3. No custodial parent who resides in a social services district or
portion of such district in which a child assistance program is operated
shall be eligible under this program for receipt of child assistance
payments for a child, unless:

(a) An order of child support for such child has been made by a court
of competent jurisdiction;

(b) The order of child support is payable through a support collection
unit as created by section one hundred eleven-h of this chapter or such
other administrative mechanism as may be designated by the commissioner;
or the custodial parent has cooperated in taking the necessary steps to
ensure that the child support order is payable through a support
collection unit or other administrative mechanism;

(c) The parent subject to a support order described in paragraphs (a)
and (b) of this subdivision is absent from the home;

(d) The custodial parent and the child for whom, or on whose behalf an
application for child assistance program payments is made is at such
time, a recipient of family assistance benefits; and

(e) The custodial parent has not withdrawn from the program within the
three months prior to the date of reapplication for benefits under this
program.

4. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision three of this
section, a custodial parent may be eligible under this program even
though the custodial parent has failed to obtain an order of child
support because:

(a) The other parent is deceased;

(b) The custodial parent has demonstrated to the satisfaction of the
commissioner, a diligent effort to obtain a child support order,
including providing the local social services district with the
information necessary to file a petition for child support, but due to
reasons outside of the control of the custodial parent, a child support
order is not obtainable in a reasonable period of time;

(c) The custodial parent has good cause as defined in regulations, not
to cooperate in obtaining a child support order; or

(d) The child resides with both parents and paternity has either been
acknowledged or established.

5. A participant is no longer to be considered a participant in this
program when such individual is not eligible for payments as a result of
the operation of paragraph (a) of subdivision six of this section for
four consecutive months.

6. (a) So long as funds are available therefor, the amount received by
each custodial parent eligible to receive child assistance payments
pursuant to this section shall be reduced by an amount equal to:

(i) An amount which reflects a portion of the actual income of the
custodial parent pursuant to a methodology to be established by the
commissioner; and

(ii) An additional amount which reflects that portion of the custodial
parent's spouse's income which is deemed to be available to other
household members pursuant to a methodology to be established by the
commissioner.

(b) Persons in receipt of both child assistance under this section and
medical assistance pursuant to title eleven of article five of this
chapter who, prior to April first, two thousand five, become ineligible
for medical assistance solely due to increased earnings from employment
or loss of earned income disregards shall, if otherwise eligible, remain
eligible for medical assistance until March thirty-first, two thousand
five or until such later time as may be required by the provisions of
such title or of this subdivision. Such medical assistance shall be
provided initially pursuant to paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision
four of section three hundred sixty-six of this article.

(c) With respect to persons described in paragraph (b) of this
subdivision, including those no longer in receipt of child assistance
due to increased earnings from employment, when the medical assistance
provided pursuant to paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision four of
section three hundred sixty-six of this chapter ends, such persons, if
ineligible for medical assistance solely due to earnings from employment
or loss of earned income disregards shall, if otherwise eligible, remain
eligible for medical assistance for an additional twelve months.
However, in no event shall medical assistance be provided pursuant to
this paragraph for any period that is more than twelve months after such
persons cease to participate in the child assistance program.

(d) Social services districts shall take all necessary actions to
provide medical assistance pursuant to paragraphs (a) and (b) of
subdivision four of section three hundred sixty-six of this chapter to
individuals described in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this subdivision who
are eligible for such assistance. Social services districts shall
provide to individuals described in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this
subdivision information as to the availability of the child health
insurance plan described in title one-A of article twenty-five of the
public health law.

7. Each participating social services district shall provide to all
recipients eligible for participation in this program in accordance with
the approved program a comparison of the benefits that would be
available to the household under family assistance and the child
assistance payments as provided in this section. Each participating
district shall inform all eligible recipients that participation in this
program is voluntary.

8. Participation in this program shall be voluntary. Should a
participant elect to terminate his or her participation in this program,
then, upon reapplication for family assistance benefits and a subsequent
determination of eligibility, such participant shall be restored to
benefits effective from the date of reapplication.

9. The department shall promulgate regulations for the operation of
the child assistance program. Such regulations shall include but not be
limited to:

(a) Resources. At program entry, program participants may not have
resources which exceed the level permitted for eligibility for the
family assistance program. Once eligible for the program, no further
resource tests shall be imposed;

(b) Eligibility determinations. Program participants shall not be
required to report changes in income more frequently than quarterly;

(c) Lump sums. If a child or relative participating in the program
receives, in any month or months in a quarter, a non-recurring amount of
earned or unearned income, the quarterly total of which exceeds one
quarter of the annual poverty level for nineteen hundred eighty-seven
for a family of the same size as the program household which received
the lump sum, the case shall be ineligible for assistance for the whole
number of quarters that equals the amount of the non-recurring income
received, adjusted for any applicable disregards of income, divided by
the quarterly poverty level applicable to the case;

(d) One hundred eighty-five percent of gross income test. Program
participants shall be allowed to have income in excess of one hundred
eighty-five percent of the state standard of need;

(e) Loss of eligibility. Non-compliance with a condition of
eligibility shall result in the ineligibility of the whole family for
the child assistance program;

(f) Determination of available income. Notwithstanding section one
hundred thirty-one-a or any other provision of this chapter,
determination of available income and the determination of income to be
disregarded shall be in accordance with these regulations provided
however that the methodology shall not be adjusted in a manner such that
a household would receive a lower benefit than a similarly situated
household would have received in January, nineteen hundred ninety-seven
for the same amount of earned income; and

(g) Cash out of food stamps. To the extent permitted by federal law,
program participants shall receive the value of their food stamps in
cash.

(h) Child support pass through. The requirement that certain child
support collected be passed through to the custodial parent pursuant to
section one hundred eleven-c of this chapter shall not apply to persons
participating in the child assistance program.