Information on TANF New York Program

TANF New York is a support service for New York families.  The purpose of TANF (Temporarily Assistance to Needy Families) New York is to provide financial and medical assistance to needy dependent children and the parents or relatives with whom they are living.  Eligible TANF households receive monthly cash and Medicaid benefits. TANF uses state funds to provide cash assistance to families.

Under TANF, eligible adults are limited to receiving benefits for a total of 60 months in their lifetime, including months of TANF-funded assistance granted in other states. Once this limit is reached, that adult and all members of his or her FA household are ineligible to receive any more TANF benefits. The 60 months need not be consecutive, but rather each individual month in which TANF-funded benefits are received is included in the lifetime count

Do You Qualify for TANF New York?

To qualify for New York TANF:

• you must be a resident of New York,
• either pregnant OR responsible for a child under 19 years of age,
• a US national, citizen, legal alien, or permanent resident,
• have low or very low income,
• and be either under-employed (working for very low wages), unemployed or about to become unemployed.

TANF New York Application Process:

To find out if you are eligible to receive Temporary Assistance, including help with an emergency, you need to file an application with your county Department of Social Services or, if you live in one of the five boroughs of New York City, with your local Job Center.

You can find the location of your local Department of Social Services online here:
http://otda.ny.gov/workingfamilies/dss.asp

Or you may call the toll-free New York state Temporary Assistance hotline at 1-800-342-3009.

You must fill out the application form http://otda.ny.gov/programs/applications/2921.pdf and file it at your local department of Social Services.

For more information on New York TANF, please visit:

http://otda.ny.gov/programs/temporary-assistance/