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Releases
& Statements
**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**
February 24, 2008
Contact: Sarah Krauss
(212) 669-4193; (917) 541-0936
Release #: 006-2008
Public Advocate Gotbaum, Advocates, Councilmembers: New Yorkers Wrongfully Denied Public Benefits Need Immediate
On-Site Access to Help
Public Advocate Gotbaum, Brennan Center Strategic Fund Release Report Supporting Bill to Help New Yorkers Access Public Benefits
MANHATTAN -- Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum and the Brennan Center Strategic Fund today released a report, Improving New York City’s Public Benefit System: A Key Role for Help Desks, that argues for allowing advocates into public benefit offices to ensure more New Yorkers get the benefits they deserve. The report, prepared by the Brennan Center Strategic Fund, supports a bill introduced by the Public Advocate, which would provide New Yorkers on-site assistance from knowledgeable advocates at public benefits offices.
Read the Brennan Center Report HERE.
Under the Ready Access to Assistance Act (REAACT), introduced by Public Advocate Gotbaum and co-sponsored by Councilmembers Bill de Blasio and Eric Gioia, advocates would have access to New York City public benefits offices, making it easier to represent clients in their meetings with agency caseworkers and provide them with information, as well as translation assistance.
The new Brennan Center Strategic Fund report supports Gotbaum’s bill by arguing that New York City should remove its ban on allowing non-profit advocates to run help desks inside government public benefits offices and provide important information to benefits applicants and recipients. Advocates would be able to reduce confusion about procedures and policies, ensure the accuracy of government agency records, support populations with special needs, and improve communication between clients and caseworkers – all at no cost to taxpayers.
Advocates were allowed into public benefits offices in the past until the Giuliani administration cut off the practice. Advocates are still allowed into the public areas of Housing Court where they routinely help New Yorkers faced with eviction and other housing problems.
Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum said, “Our REAACT bill is plain common sense. Advocates should be allowed into public areas of city offices, where people often wait for hours, unable to navigate the process, so they can provide crucial information, help with application forms, and provide translation services. The bill will allow for easier access to federal benefits that are good for New York families and children, and bring money into the city’s economy. It’s a win-win.”
Councilman Eric Gioia said "The goal of advocates and government alike should be helping people help themselves. Allowing New Yorkers to get assistance immediately, when they need it most, is a common sense way to cut red tape and break through the bureaucracy."
Councilman Bill de Blasio said, “For years, the General Welfare Committee has heard from applicants who don't receive benefits because they got wrong information from staff in benefits offices, they mistakenly brought the wrong documentation to apply, or they don't understand eligibility requirements. And when trips to benefits offices don't go right the first time, people have to go back again, which means missing work, missing school, or needing to make child care arrangements. It doesn't have to be this way - we can help get it right the first time around by allowing advocates to assist applicants in public areas of benefits offices.”
David Pedulla, Brennan Center Strategic Fund, said, “Our Improving New York City's Public Benefits System report clearly states why the city should allow, or should change its policy to allow, non-profit organizations to provide on-site assistance to people at public benefits offices. Information tables at these offices will help reduce confusion about agency procedures and policies, ensure the accuracy of agency records, support populations with special needs - such as limited English proficiency, and improve communication between caseworkers and clients. The evidence is clear.”
Andrew Friedman, Co-Director of Make the Road by Walking, said, “It is critically important that New Yorkers have access to the information and support they need to access City services that enable them to feed their families and prevent homelessness. There is simply no good reason for the City to lock trained advocates out of public offices that provide desperately-needed services.”
Diane Wenzler, Director of Publications and Research Services, CSS, said, “The placement of informed, competent advocates at help desks throughout public benefits offices in NYC will be a significant step toward helping our City’s low-income families and individuals secure benefits and ease economic hardship. Such advocates will not only increase eligible families’ and individuals’ access to needed programs, but they will also coordinate efforts with city personnel easing their work load.”
Esperanza Colon, Co-Director of Project FAIR, said, “Everyone wins by supporting the REAACT bill. This bill gets experienced and trained advocates into the places where they are needed most, into sites where those who are most vulnerable tend to find themselves in an intimidating adversarial atmosphere of red tape, confusion and bureaucracy. We help these individuals navigate that bureaucracy in a way that saves the city and the state both time and money while providing a service that is desperately needed.”
The Public Advocate was joined by Councilman Eric Gioia, David Pedulla from the Brennan Center Strategic Fund, Andrew Friedman, Co-Director of Make the Road by Walking, Diane Wenzler from CSS, Esperanza Colon, Co-Director of Project FAIR, the New York City AIDS Housing Network, Laverne Holley, a Brooklyn resident seeking public benefits, as well as other New Yorkers experiencing difficulty obtaining public benefits.
Public Advocate Gotbaum introduced REAACT (Introduction 359) in 2006, and the first hearing was held before the General Welfare Committee at the end of that year. Drafted by the Brennan Center Strategic Fund, the bill, which currently has 33 New York City Council co-sponsors, would allow advocates to help New Yorkers access food stamps, cash assistance, Medicaid, child care benefits, and subsidized housing. The law would take effect 90 days after the bill is passed.
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