EDUCATION and PUBLIC ASSISTANCE are NOT MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE

(Article published in HWW Nov 2007)

by Jennifer Magida, Staff Attorney, Urban Justice Center

Public assistance recipients who are eligible to work and are single parents and/or caretaker relatives of dependent children have the opportunity to meet their work requirements through a wide range of activities including training and education programs. Public assistance recipients are generally expected to work 35 hours per week in New York City; however, "work hours" may include many different activities including subsidized work, unsubsidized work, education, training, internships, federal work study, job search, on-the-job training, and Work Experience Program ("WEP").

Guidelines must be followed to qualify for these education and training activities. Public assistance recipients can take advantage of opportunities as long as the requested training and education program is: 1) on HRA’s Master List* of approved programs and 2) meets a "concrete employment goal."

If a public assistance recipient desires to be enrolled in an education or training program to fulfill a work requirement, he or she should be sure to tell a HRA worker. Enrollment in an approved education or training program may count as a primary, full-time work activity (more than 15 hours per week) for up to 12 months. After the 12 month time period has been exhausted, a participant may continue with training and education in lieu of a WEP for a maximum of 15 hours per week, as long as the participant is also engaged in 20 hours per week of a work activity.

In August of 2004, New York State enacted a law that changed the work rules for households without children, permitting New York City to allow adults without children to also participate in training and education programs in lieu of work assignments.

New York is currently awaiting Federal Regulations which could potentially modify the current rights of public assistance recipients to be enrolled in certain kinds of training and education programs in lieu of WEP assignments. This is something to be wary of, but should not prevent current public assistance recipients from requesting enrollment in education and training programs.

If you have questions about education and training programs for public assistance recipients, feel free to contact Jennifer Magida or Ami Sanghvi at the Urban Justice Center (646) 602-5600; Lynn Lu at the National Center for Law and Economic Justice (212) 633-6967 or Cheryl Williams at the Legal Aid Society (212) 422-2778.

* This list is available at http://a069-webapps1.nyc.gov/atp/search.cfm. Please note that if a requested program is not on the Master List, it can be added to the list.