ALBANY – Governor Kathy Hochulon Friday announced the distribution of $28 million in federal pandemic funding this month to help struggling New Yorkers with children cover expenses incurred during the COVID-19 public health emergency.
Families on Public Assistance with a child 17 or younger in their household will receive $250 to help pay for housing expenses, bills, and other critical needs.
The Pandemic Emergency Assistance Fund payments are administered through the state Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA).
“The economic toll of the COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately impacted low-income families across our state – especially those with children,” Governor Hochul said. “This one-time payment will provide tens of thousands of families with a critical lifeline to help pay past-due bills or other household expenses that accrued as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Starting May 14, OTDA will issue one-time payments to eligible households receiving Public Assistance. Roughly 112,000 households will receive the payments, which will assist more than 216,000 children. OTDA will issue the payments directly to the household’s Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) account. Eligible households will receive written notification from OTDA.
The Pandemic Emergency Assistance Fund was created as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 with the intention to assist needy families impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Per federal guidelines, the funding must be used for issuing non-recurring benefits to impacted households with children to deal with a specific short-term situation or need.
