Res. No. 908 Title Resolution calling upon the appropriate committee of the Council of the City of New York to conduct an oversight hearing on the administration of the City's Food Stamp Program by the Human Resources Administration (HRA). Body By Council Members Perkins, Barron, Boyland, Comrie, Gerson, Katz, Nelson, Quinn, Vann, Jackson, Brewer, Rivera, DeBlasio, Seabrook, Stewart and The Public Advocate (Ms. Gotbaum); also Council Member Serrano Whereas, Food Stamp benefits, which are funded entirely by federal funds, help low-income New Yorkers feed their families, improve their nutrition, and transition from welfare-to-work; and Whereas, More than 800,000 people in New York City are eligible for food stamps but are not receiving them; and Whereas, This under-participation in the Food Stamp Program is estimated to deprive New York City's economy of over $900 million yearly; and Whereas, While it is helpful that the City's Human Resources Administration (HRA) has pledged to improve its administrative practices on food stamps and pledged to work with nonprofit groups on food stamps outreach, food stamp participation in the city still lags far behind the rest of the state and country; and Whereas, It is encouraging that from January 2002 to January 2003, food stamp participation rose by 4% in New York City; however, this increase must be compared to an %8 increase in the rest of New York State, and a 9% increase nationwide; and Whereas, In at least one quarter of all cases, HRA does not meet the federal requirement to make food stamp eligibility determinations within 30 days of applications; and Whereas, the city's pantries and kitchens cannot adequately replace the food lost to low-income families removed from the Food Stamp Program, given that the average food stamp allotment for a family is hundreds of dollars per month, while the average value of food families get per month from pantries and kitchens is worth only a small fraction of that; and Whereas, HRA should detail a specific plan to increase food stamp participation this year; and Whereas, HRA should guarantee that food stamp benefits be provided within 30 days of each application, and expedited food stamps within 7 days, as defined by federal law; and Whereas, HRA should adopt clear, concise customer service guidelines and should train all employees in these guidelines; and Whereas, HRA should widely use existing federal regulations that allow HRA to conduct interviews instead of office visits for senior citizens, working people, people with disabilities, and other people from whom office visits are unduly difficult; and Whereas, HRA should enable people to apply for food stamps online, as is now the case in a number of states; and Whereas, HRA should ensure that all people leaving TANF are clearly and automatically given the chance to receive transitional food stamps; and Whereas, HRA should widely advertise the change in federal law that will enable more legal immigrants to obtain food stamps; and Whereas, HRA should expedite the process through which HRA is making available more translators of varied languages and more application materials in those languages; now, therefore, be it Resolved that the Council of the City of New York calls on the appropriate Committee of the New York City Council to conduct an oversight hearing on the administration of the City's Food Stamp Program by the Human Resources Administration (HRA). LS#2558