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NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance- TA and SNAP Employment Policy Manual

Section 385.6 – Page 5 Rev. 4/2025 Part B - Department Policy Assessment Overview All recipients who reside in households with dependent children and who are adults 18 years of age or older, and those children who are 16 and 17 years old who are not attending secondary school and have not completed high school or an equivalency program, must be assessed. The assessments for these individuals must be completed no later than 90 days from when the individual is determined eligible for Temporary Assistance (TA) (see Social Services Law [SSL] §335 and 18 NYCRR 385.6). All individuals who are subject to completing an assessment are required to comply with assessment requirements. As outlined in 18 NYCRR 385.10, districts are required to describe local assessment procedures in their biennial Temporary Assistance and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Employment Plan, including when assessments are conducted and what information they collect. While districts are encouraged to provide assessments that are more detailed and comprehensive than what is required, the regulations list the seven required elements of an assessment at 18 NYCRR 385.6 subdivision (a)(2). Assessments must include, at a minimum, a review of an individual’s: • education level, including literacy and English language proficiency; • basic skills proficiency; • child care and other supportive service needs; • skills and prior work experience; • prior participation in education and training; • training and vocational interests; and, • family circumstances, including any special needs of a child. • eligibility for locally-available prenatal, infant and early childhood home visiting services. As described above, districts are required to complete employment assessments within 90 days of the date on which eligibility is determined for households with dependent children. However, districts are encouraged to complete the employment assessment as soon after an individual has applied for TA as is practicable and to thereafter reassess individual circumstances and work activity assignments as relevant changes occur, no less frequently than annually. Districts may choose to use the LDSS-4980, a locally developed assessment tool, the Welfare-to-Work Caseload Management System (WTWCMS) or New York City Work Accountability and You (NYCWAY) assessment functions to record the information gathered during the client assessment. Prior to the completion of the assessment, the district may assign the applicant or recipient to work activities.