What's happening
This bill allows parents or non-parent caregivers to exclude certain children and their unearned income from public assistance household calculations.
Why it matters
Expands flexibility for families. By allowing parents or non-parent caregivers to exclude certain children (and those children’s unearned income) from the household for public assistance eligibility, families can potentially optimize benefits based on their unique circumstances, which may especially help in complex or blended family situations.
May increase access to aid for vulnerable children. Excluding unearned income (such as child support, Social Security survivor benefits, or trust fund payments) from some children can prevent this income from reducing or eliminating a family’s eligibility for vital public assistance, ensuring that more children in need are supported.
Administrative impact and implementation. The law’s effectiveness depends on the state’s ability to update information technology systems to handle these new exclusions, potentially requiring significant administrative adjustments and staff training to ensure accurate benefit calculations.
Aligns with federal and state policy flexibility. The bill clarifies that only parents (not siblings or other relatives) must be included in the assistance household, and it explicitly lets caregivers opt out certain children, bringing state law more in line with federal guidance and offering a clearer, more customizable framework for eligibility determination.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Let Parents Exclude Child's Income
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Vetoed memo.164
- Delivered to governor
- Returned to senate
- Passed assembly
- Ordered to third reading rules cal.121
- Substituted for A4256A
- Referred to ways and means
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 48–14
- Advanced to third reading
- 2nd report cal.
- Amended 4809a
Show 3 earlier actions
- 1st report cal.734
- Reported and committed to finance
- Referred to social services
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Let Parents Exclude Kids' Income
Assembly Floor Calendar · Sponsor Andrew Hevesi
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
4809--A Cal. No. 734
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
March 26, 2019
Introduced by Sens. PERSAUD, KRUEGER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Social Services -- reported favorably from said committee and committed to the Committee on Finance -- reported favorably from said committee, ordered to first report, amended on first report, ordered to a second report and ordered reprinted, retaining its place in the order of second report
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to any unearned income of a child in certain circumstances
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 8 of section 131-a of the social services law is amended by adding a new subparagraph (ix) to read as follows:
(ix) any unearned income of a child when the parent or non-parent caregiver chooses to exclude such child from the public assistance household pursuant to subdivision one of section one hundred thirty-one-c of this article.
§ 2. The section heading of section 131-c of the social services law, as added by chapter 42 of the laws of 1985, is amended to read as follows:
Inclusion of parents [and siblings] of a minor in the public assistance household.
§ 3. Subdivision 1 of section 131-c of the social services law, as added by chapter 42 of the laws of 1985, is amended to read as follows:
1. For the purposes of determining eligibility for and the amount of assistance payable, the social services district shall, when a minor is named as an applicant for public assistance, require that his or her parents [and minor brothers and sisters] also apply for assistance and be included in the household for purposes of determining eligibility and grant amounts, if such individuals reside in the same dwelling unit as the minor applying for assistance. Any income of or available for such
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01071-03-9
S. 4809--A 2
parents, [brothers and sisters] which is not disregarded under subdivision eight of section one hundred thirty-one-a of this article, shall be considered available to such household. [The provisions of] A parent or non-parent caregiver may choose to exclude any other child or children residing in the same dwelling unit from the public assistance household. Nothing in this [subdivision] chapter shall [not apply to] require individuals who are recipients of federal supplemental security income benefits, or who receive additional state payments pursuant to this chapter, or [to individuals] whose relationship to the minor is that of a brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, stepbrother [or], stepsister, or cousin, or [to] any other individuals whose needs are excluded pursuant to department regulations consistent with federal law and regulations, to be included as part of the public assistance household.
§ 4. This act shall take effect either on the one hundred eightieth day after it shall have become a law or after the commissioner of the office of temporary and disability assistance certifies that the office has an information technology system capable of accommodating the provisions in this act, whichever shall have taken place sooner; provided that the commissioner of the office of temporary and disability assistance shall notify the legislative bill drafting commission of the date of such certification in order that the commission may maintain an accurate and timely effective database of the official text of the laws of the state of New York in furtherance of effectuating the provisions of section 44 of the legislative law and section 70-b of the public officers law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the social services law, in relation to any unearned income of a child in certain circumstances
Purpose of the bill
This bill amends the Social Services Law (SSL) to permit caregivers to exclude children with unearned income from the public assistance household.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 of this bill amends subdivision 8 of section 131a of the social services law by adding a new paragraph, to allow a caregiver to exclude any unearned income of a child from the public assistance house- hold.
Section 2 of this bill would amend the heading of section 131-c of the social services law.
Section 3 of this bill would amend subdivision 1 of section 131-c of the social services law to prohibit the local social services district from requiring any unearned income of a child from being considered as part of the public assistance household when a caregiver was applying for assistance for another child in the same dwelling unit.
Justification
The primary financial assistance available to kinship families is the public assistance nonparent grant, commonly called a "child-only" grant. Eligibility for this grant is based solely on a child's income when parents are not present in the home. The unique trait of the grant is that only the child's income and financial resources are supposed to be counted in determining the eligibility for the grant. Which means, unless the child has their own source of income, and most do not, almost all kin-care families should be receiving the grant. Unfortunately, that is not the case. In fact, most kin-care families are not getting the grant. In New York State, according to public assistance data, only 8 percent of potentially eligible children are receiving the non-parent grant. Out of nearly 410,000 children in the state who live with grand- parents or other relatives, only around 32,000 are receiving the grant. That is only one in twelve of eligible children. Barriers exist that are preventing eligible children from receiving their fair share of assist- ance from this grant.
This bill addresses disparities that exist when a minor is named as an applicant for public assistance. Current law requires parents and any other minor siblings living in the home to also apply for assistance and be included in the household for purposes of determining both eligibil- ity and grant amount. This means that the income of any child, such as child support or social security survivor's benefits, is considered available to the entire household, and reduces the entire grant of the household, making far fewer resources available for the care of the child applying for assistance, as well as any other children in the household.
This bill amends the Social Services Law (SSL) to permit caregivers to exclude children with unearned income from the public assistance house- hold.
Prior legislative history
2017-2018: S6017-a/A8172
Fiscal implications
Undetermined.
Effective date
180 days after becoming law or upon certification of information tech- nology system capability from Commissioner of Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.