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MMR - FY20 - Human Resources Administration

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  • Parent Document:: Mayor's Management Report - Fiscal Year 2020
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      • HUMAN RESOURCES ADMINISTRATION | Page 175
      • HUMAN RESOURCES
      • ADMINISTRATION
      • Steven Banks, Commissioner
      • Grace Bonilla, Administrator
      • WHAT WE DO
      • The Human Resources Administration
      • (HRA) administers major benefit
      • programs that provide economic
      • support to New Yorkers in need
      • and works to prevent homelessness
      • before it occurs by providing rental
      • assistance, rehousing programs,
      • legal services, and other services for
      • those facing housing instability. HRA
      • also promotes opportunity through
      • employment programs and provides
      • essential resources to vulnerable
      • New Yorkers, including persons with
      • disabilities, immigrants, survivors of
      • domestic violence, New Yorkers living
      • with HIV/AIDS, and seniors. In this
      • role connecting millions of families
      • and individuals with vital lifelines,
      • HRA is at the forefront of addressing
      • poverty citywide, statewide, and
      • nationwide.
      • FOCUS ON EQUITY
      • The Human Resources Administration (HRA), integrated with the Department
      • of homeless Services (DHS) in 2017 under the management structure of the
      • Department of Social Services (DSS), serves over three million New Yorkers annually
      • through the administration of programs that address poverty and income inequality,
      • including cash assistance, food assistance, and Medicaid. HRA also prevents
      • homelessness by providing rental assistance, rehousing programs, legal services,
      • and other services to families and individuals in need. In conjunction with the
      • Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA), HRA administers the City’s municipal
      • identification program (IDNYC) and legal services programs for immigrants.
      • In New York City, as in the rest of the United States, persistent racial inequities
      • have manifested themselves in higher poverty rates; greater housing insecurity;
      • and diminished access to health care for Black and Latinx residents. HRA benefits
      • include an array of anti-poverty initiatives that serve low-income New Yorkers
      • and thus a high proportion of Agency clients are people of color. Under this
      • Administration, HRA has implemented client-centered reforms to reduce barriers to
      • benefits and services that address poverty. HRA continues to enhance its programs,
      • using technology to modernize access to benefits; increasing access to anti-eviction
      • legal services; and conducting outreach to underserved groups who may be eligible
      • for programs. HRA expands opportunity for New Yorkers, helping New Yorkers
      • remain in and/or secure stable housing, addressing income inequality through
      • economic empowerment services to achieve financial security, and ensuring that
      • New Yorkers receive the benefits and assistance to which they are entitled.
      • OUR SERVICES AND GOALS
      • SERVICE 1 Improve access to assistance that provides economic stability to support the basic needs of all
      • eligible children and adults.
      • Goal 1a Provide access to cash assistance benefits for all eligible children and adults.
      • Goal 1b Provide access to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for all eligible children and adults.
      • Goal 1c Provide access to Medicaid public health insurance coverage for all eligible children and adults.
      • SERVICE 2 Increase financial independence and upward mobility out of poverty through employment,
      • education, skills enhancement, job search, job placement, wellness services and other supports.
      • Goal 2a Increase the proportion of cash assistance recipients who obtain and retain paid employment.
      • Goal 2b Provide wellness, rehabilitation and employment services to cash assistance recipients with special needs to assist
      • them to become healthy enough to work, or to obtain federal disability benefits if they are unable to work.
      • Goal 2c Provide access to child support services for eligible parents and their children.
      • SERVICE 3 Reduce homelessness among children and adults.
      • Goal 3a Provide homelessness prevention benefits and services to eligible children and adults.
      • Goal 3b Provide safe and appropriate services in shelter and in the community to survivors of domestic violence.
      • SERVICE 4 Provide support services for eligible vulnerable and/or frail children and adults and for children
      • and adults with disabilities.
      • Goal 4a Ensure that all eligible vulnerable and/or frail children and adults, and children and adults with disabilities
      • receive services to resolve immediate risk and provide ongoing assistance to enhance their safety and
      • independence.
      • Page 176 | MAYOR’S MANAGEMENT REPORT
      • HOW WE PERFORMED IN FISCAL 2020
      • SERVICE 1 Improve access to assistance that provides economic stability to support the basic needs of
      • all eligible children and adults.
      • Goal 1a Provide access to cash assistance benefits for all eligible children and adults.
      • The Cash Assistance (CA) 12-month unduplicated number of persons—the true measure of the total number of clients
      • served in a year—increased for the first time in Fiscal 2020 after steady declines since Fiscal 2016. The increase in this period
      • was due to more applications and newly accepted recipients beginning in March 2020 when the pandemic hit the city. The
      • economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in many businesses closing and lost jobs increased demand for CA
      • and other HRA benefits in the last four months of the fiscal year. The unduplicated number of persons receiving recurring
      • assistance has fluctuated between approximately 485,000 and 492,000 since Fiscal 2015 and at 488,500, Fiscal 2020 still
      • remains lower than in years prior to 2015.
      • Of those clients receiving cash assistance in the month of June 2020, the number of individuals receiving recurring assistance
      • increased by 15.5 percent when compared to June 2019. As the crisis took hold, HRA received State approval and, within
      • four days, stood up a system to apply for Cash Assistance online and provide telephone interviews as needed, so that no
      • New Yorker in need had to leave their home to come to an HRA office during the pandemic. During the first eight months
      • of Fiscal 2020, there were an average of 25,240 applications per month, but during the last four months of Fiscal 2020
      • there were 28,670 applications per month on average.
      • The number of persons receiving one-time emergency assistance in June 2020 decreased by 45.9 percent compared to
      • the previous June. This decrease, which includes grants for rent and utility arrears, is due to the March 2020 NYS ordered
      • moratorium on evictions and utility shutoffs. For the last four months of Fiscal 2020, the number of persons receiving
      • emergency assistance averaged 3,900 per month, compared to an average of 8,600 persons per month for the first eight
      • months of the year.
      • The percent of cases in sanction process decreased by 2.0 percentage points during the reporting period. This decrease
      • was driven by the suspension of all employment-related requirements in the last four months of Fiscal 2020 to combat the
      • spread of COVID-19 and protect the health and safety of clients during the pandemic. Sanctions were reinstituted at the
      • end of Fiscal 2019 after a period of suspension due to a change in policy by the State. The percent of cases in sanction
      • status increased by 1.5 percentage points to 2.4 percent on average over the course of Fiscal 2020 due to a steady increase
      • at the start of the year when sanctions were reintroduced pursuant to the State policy directive; however, the suspension
      • of employment-related requirements that could result in sanction caused the rate to decline to one percent by the end of
      • the year.
      • Performance Indicators
      • Actual Target Trend
      • FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY20 FY21 5-Year
      • Desired
      • Direction
      • « Cash assistance unduplicated number of persons (12-month)
      • (000) 601.8 598.6 593.9 578.6 583.3 * * Neutral *
      • Cash assistance unduplicated number of persons receiving recurring assistance (12-month) (000) 492.9 491.9 488.7 467.0 488.5 * * Neutral *
      • Cash assistance unduplicated number of persons receiving emergency assistance (12-month) (000) 108.9 106.7 105.3 111.6 94.8 * * Neutral *
      • « Persons receiving cash assistance (000) 369.5 364.2 356.3 331.7 378.3 * * Neutral *
      • Persons receiving recurring assistance (000) 361.4 356.9 349.8 324.2 374.3 * * Neutral *
      • Persons receiving emergency assistance (000) 8.2 7.4 6.5 7.4 4.0 * * Down *
      • « Cash assistance caseload (point in time)(000) 196.1 194.5 190.5 181.0 208.3 * * Neutral *
      • Cash assistance applications (000) 330.6 333.8 331.3 310.3 316.6 * * Neutral *
      • Cash assistance application acceptance rate (%) 51.2% 52.6% 50.5% 53.6% 54.5% * * Neutral *
      • Cash assistance cases in sanction process (%) 4.0% 4.7% 5.3% 5.0% 3.0% * * Down *
      • Cash assistance cases in sanction status (%) 1.2% 0.3% 0.2% 0.9% 2.4% * * Up *
      • « Cash assistance application timeliness rate (%) 97.5% 97.9% 96.2% 95.3% 91.9% 96.0% 96.0% Neutral Up
      • « Critical Indicator “NA” Not Available ñò Directional Target * None
      • HUMAN RESOURCES ADMINISTRATION | Page 177
      • Goal 1b Provide access to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for all eligible children and adults.
      • As of June 2020, the overall number of individuals and households receiving SNAP benefits increased by 7.8 and 8.4 percent,
      • respectively, compared to June 2019, reversing downward trends seen over the past three years. This shift is due primarily
      • to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to a tripling in weekly applications during March and April.
      • Benefits access reform since 2015 has resulted in steady increases in the submission of online applications and telephone
      • interviews for SNAP benefits. These reforms enabled SNAP clients to conduct business with HRA from the safety of their
      • homes when the pandemic hit, driving a 7.8 percent increase in applications filed electronically compared to Fiscal 2019.
      • SNAP applications averaged 29,180 per month for the first eight months of Fiscal 2020, but they increased to an average
      • of 57,148 per month during the concluding four months of the fiscal year. During Fiscal 2020, SNAP application timeliness
      • decreased by 18.2 percentage points, from 92.7 percent to 74.5 percent. A factor in this decrease was the need to meet
      • the pandemic-driven demand in applications, which HRA did by redeploying and retraining staff from across the agency to
      • process cases and address timeliness, and by building new remote access platforms to enable staff to process applications
      • and interview clients from their homes.
      • The SNAP payment error rate decreased from 8.4 percent in Federal Fiscal 2018 to 6.5 percent in Federal Fiscal 2019.
      • While Federal Fiscal 2020 official rates as calculated by the US Department of Agriculture are not yet available, the initial
      • rates for the first three-quarters of the year show the City’s SNAP error rate has remained level with Federal Fiscal 2019.
      • HRA continues to implement system improvements designed to prevent errors, including targeted training and increased
      • management oversight.
      • Performance Indicators
      • Actual Target Trend
      • FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY20 FY21 5-Year
      • Desired
      • Direction
      • « Persons receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
      • (SNAP) benefits (000) 1,693.2 1,676.3 1,607.5 1,523.5 1,642.3 * * Neutral *
      • – Cash assistance persons receiving SNAP benefits (000) 409.3 401.2 383.1 364.4 405.1 * * Neutral *
      • – Non-cash assistance persons receiving SNAP benefits (000) 1,020.7 1,012.3 964.8 908.2 987.2 * * Neutral *
      • – SSI persons receiving SNAP benefits (000) 263.1 262.8 259.6 250.9 250.0 * * Neutral *
      • Total SNAP households (000) 951.4 948.6 923.2 887.1 961.9 * * Neutral *
      • – Cash assistance households receiving SNAP benefits (000) 198.9 196.3 190.0 182.6 207.2 * * Neutral *
      • – Non-cash assistance households receiving SNAP benefits (000) 510.4 510.1 493.4 472.5 523.2 * * Neutral *
      • – SSI households receiving SNAP benefits (000) 242.1 242.2 239.8 232.1 231.6 * * Neutral *
      • Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) Payment
      • Error Rate (federal fiscal year) (%) 3.63% 6.98% 8.39% 6.52% NA 6.00% 6.00% NA Down
      • « SNAP application timeliness rate (%) 93.9% 89.1% 89.4% 92.7% 74.5% 90.6% 90.6% Down Up
      • SNAP applications filed electronically (%) 73.4% 75.6% 78.0% 86.1% 93.9% * * Up *
      • « Critical Indicator “NA” Not Available ñò Directional Target * None
      • Goal 1c Provide access to Medicaid public health insurance coverage for all eligible children and adults.
      • In May 2020, the most recent State data available, 3.5 million New York City residents were enrolled in Medicaid, which
      • includes 1.5 million enrolled in Medicaid administered by HRA pursuant to State rules and another 2.0 million enrolled
      • in Medicaid through the New York State Health Care Exchange (the Exchange). Because of the on-going transition to
      • complete State direct administration of Medicaid, which began with New York’s implementation of the Affordable Care
      • Act (ACA), the number of Medicaid-only enrollees administered by HRA was 10.8 percent lower than in the previous year.
      • Overall enrollment in the portion of the Medicaid program administered HRA, which includes persons enrolled through
      • Cash Assistance and SSI, decreased by 3.3 percent. Application timeliness decreased by 13 percentage points due largely
      • to the transitioning of staff to working remotely from home to process cases during the COVID-19 pandemic; the new
      • remote systems helped address timeliness.
      • Page 178 | MAYOR’S MANAGEMENT REPORT
      • Performance Indicators
      • Actual Target Trend
      • FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY20 FY21 5-Year
      • Desired
      • Direction
      • « Medicaid enrollees administered by HRA (000) 2,085.7 1,869.5 1,725.5 1,593.5 1,541.2 * * Down *
      • – Medicaid-only enrollees administered by HRA (000) 1,321.2 1,109.9 979.5 874.9 780.6 * * Down *
      • « Application timeliness rate for Medicaid administered by HRA
      • (%) 92.1% 95.6% 95.8% 93.5% 80.5% 99.4% 99.4% Down Up
      • « Critical Indicator “NA” Not Available ñò Directional Target * None
      • SERVICE 2 Increase financial independence and upward mobility out of poverty through employment,
      • education, skills enhancement, job search, job placement, wellness services and other
      • supports.
      • Goal 2a Increase the proportion of cash assistance recipients who obtain and retain paid employment.
      • HRA Employment Services helps CA applicants, recipients and non-custodial parent child support clients obtain and retain
      • employment. HRA provides services through contracts, training and education referrals and placement in transitional
      • subsidized jobs in the public and private sectors. HRA programs focus on the individual needs of clients, providing
      • assessments and specialized services, including programs for youth and sector-specific training. In Fiscal 2020, HRA helped
      • 32,100 clients obtain jobs, 19.6 percent fewer than during Fiscal 2019. In the first three quarters of the fiscal year, HRA
      • placed approximately the same number of clients into jobs compared to the prior fiscal year. In April 2020, HRA suspended
      • in-person employment programs in compliance with New York State’s stay-at-home order which, coupled with reduced
      • job opportunities, significantly impacted the Agency’s ability to connect clients with employment.
      • During the last three months of Fiscal 2020, as businesses closed due to COVID-19, more clients who had previously
      • obtained employment returned to HRA for assistance. In Fiscal 2020, 70.7 percent of clients who obtained a job either
      • retained it or did not return to CA after 180 days, 3.4 percentage points lower than in Fiscal 2019, and 61.6 percent of
      • employed clients either retained their jobs or did not return to CA after 12 months, 3.1 percentage points lower than in
      • Fiscal 2019. HRA’s Employment Services vendors continue to assist clients to help them return to the labor force if they lose
      • their job within a year of employment.
      • HRA’s redesigned approach to employment services emphasizes access to training and education, literacy programs,
      • community service, and other training consistent with the Mayor’s Jobs for New Yorkers Task Force recommendations. This
      • approach is intended to help clients secure better jobs. Periodically, each client’s participation in the program is reassessed to
      • determine the best services to meet their career goals. HRA was correcting a technical issue with the reassessment process
      • for a portion of clients in training and education activities to enable complete data reporting when, due to COVID-19, HRA
      • paused in-person training and education activities. As a result, complete data on training and education is not available
      • for Fiscal 2020.
      • Performance Indicators
      • Actual Target Trend
      • FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY20 FY21 5-Year
      • Desired
      • Direction
      • « Clients whom HRA helped obtain employment (000) 47.0 44.9 39.8 39.9 32.1 ñ ñ Down Up
      • « HRA clients who obtained employment, and maintained
      • employment or did not return to CA for 180 days (city fiscal yearto-date average) (%) 73.3% 73.1% 73.8% 74.1% 70.7% 80.0% 80.0% Neutral Up
      • HRA clients who obtained employment, and maintained employment or did not return to CA for 12 months (city fiscal year-todate average) (%) 63.5% 63.4% 63.3% 64.7% 61.6% * * Neutral Up
      • « Safety Net Assistance (SNA) cases engaged in training or education in accordance with New York City guidelines (%) 25.5% 27.0% 29.9% 28.0% NA ñ ñ NA Up
      • « Family cases engaged in training or education in accordance
      • with New York City guidelines (%) 27.4% 26.3% 28.3% 29.0% NA ñ ñ NA Up
      • « Cash assistance family cases participating in work or workrelated activities per federal guidelines (official federal fiscal
      • year-to-date average) (%) 33.4% 27.3% 25.5% 22.1% NA 34.0% 34.0% NA Up
      • « Critical Indicator “NA” Not Available ñò Directional Target * None
      • HUMAN RESOURCES ADMINISTRATION | Page 179
      • Goal 2b Provide wellness, rehabilitation and employment services to cash assistance recipients with special needs
      • to assist them to become healthy enough to work, or to obtain federal disability benefits if they are
      • unable to work.
      • HRA’s Wellness, Comprehensive Assessment, Rehabilitation and Employment program (WeCARE) supports CA clients with
      • barriers to employment to achieve self-sufficiency in the workforce and helps those who have disabilities apply for federal
      • disability assistance. As of June 2020, there were 42,608 recipients participating in the WeCARE program, 8.1 percent
      • more than in June 2019. The increase is a combination of a pause of in-person appointments due to COVID-19, and more
      • referrals as CA enrollment increased due to the economic impacts of the pandemic. During Fiscal 2020, there were 2,612
      • federal disability awards granted to clients assisted by WeCARE, 18.7 percent fewer than in Fiscal 2019. This is due in part
      • to fewer applications being filed as existing contracts expired and the new vendors were phased in from November 2018
      • to February 2019, and delays in federal processing of applications that can regularly take 12 months or longer.
      • Performance Indicators
      • Actual Target Trend
      • FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY20 FY21 5-Year
      • Desired
      • Direction
      • Total WeCARE recipients 49,637 38,016 35,164 39,433 42,608 * * Down *
      • « Number of WeCARE federal disability awards 3,227 3,613 3,565 3,214 2,612 * * Down *
      • « Critical Indicator “NA” Not Available ñò Directional Target * None
      • Goal 2c Provide access to child support services for eligible parents and their children.
      • New York Family Court stopped accepting new filings for child support in March 2020, leading to a decrease in new child
      • support orders and an overall decline in the number of cases with active support orders. The number of new child support
      • orders obtained decreased by 29.9 percent compared to Fiscal 2019, and the number of cases with active support orders
      • decreased by 4.8 percent.
      • While the percent of child support cases with orders of support remained stable, child support collections on behalf of
      • custodial parents and their children increased by $30.3 million, or 3.9 percent. The percentage of support cases with active
      • orders receiving current payments increased by 1.0 percentage point.
      • Performance Indicators
      • Actual Target Trend
      • FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY20 FY21 5-Year
      • Desired
      • Direction
      • Total new child support orders obtained 19,579 18,645 14,832 12,758 8,948 * * Down Up
      • Total child support cases with active orders (end of period) 282,451 282,013 269,761 261,073 248,488 * * Down Up
      • « Child support cases with orders of support (%) 76.7% 79.4% 79.8% 79.2% 79.0% 80.0% 80.0% Neutral Up
      • Child support collected ($000,000) $762.1 $780.9 $763.9 $780.8 $811.1 $784.4 $784.4 Neutral Up
      • « Support cases with active orders receiving current payments
      • (%) 59.7% 59.7% 59.8% 60.5% 61.5% ñ ñ Neutral Up
      • « Critical Indicator “NA” Not Available ñò Directional Target * None
      • SERVICE 3 Reduce homelessness among children and adults.
      • Goal 3a Provide homelessness prevention benefits and services to eligible children and adults.
      • HRA provides homelessness prevention assistance to families and individuals with housing emergencies and to those seeking
      • shelter. HRA offers access to emergency rental arrears payments and ongoing rental assistance at job centers, Housing
      • Courts, and DHS shelter intake and HomeBase locations. HRA exceeded its 85 percent target for shelter avoidance for all
      • clients who received homelessness prevention services through its HomeBase contracts. The number of single adults who
      • avoided entering shelter within the 12 months following receipt of services remained largely stable; however, this metric still
      • exceeded the target by more than 4.7 percentage points. The rates for adult families and families with children remained
      • stable, exceeding the target by nearly 10 percentage points.
      • Page 180 | MAYOR’S MANAGEMENT REPORT
      • In response to the COVID-19 emergency, evictions were suspended in March 2020 by a New York State moratorium. The
      • number of requests submitted to HRA’s Rent Arrears Unit (RAU) for one-time, emergency rental assistance to prevent
      • evictions decreased 15.7 percent during Fiscal 2020, and the percentage of emergency assistance requests approved
      • decreased by 5.8 percentage points. There was a significant drop in emergency assistance requests after COVID-19 hit in
      • mid-March 2020, when average weekly requests fell by 62.5 percent.
      • HRA’s Office of Civil Justice continues to oversee implementation of the City’s Universal Access to Counsel Law, the nation’s
      • first law to ensure access to legal services for every tenant facing eviction in court. Full implementation is expected by Fiscal
        1. In Fiscal 2020, HRA assisted households with legal services for City tenants in need, connecting 24,109 households
      • with legal assistance, a decline of 25.1 percent compared to the prior year. Prior to March 2020, HRA assisted a monthly
      • average of 2,534 cases, consistent with the prior year, but from April through June 2020, the monthly average declined
      • to 435 cases when the eviction moratorium was in effect.
      • Performance Indicators
      • Actual Target Trend
      • FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY20 FY21 5-Year
      • Desired
      • Direction
      • « Clients successfully diverted at PATH from entering a homeless
      • shelter (%) NA 13.4% 12.3% 13.0% 12.0% * * NA *
      • « Adults receiving preventive services who did not enter the
      • shelter system (%) 91.4% 92.6% 92.8% 90.8% 89.7% 85.0% 85.0% Neutral Up
      • « Adult families receiving preventive services who did not enter
      • the shelter system (%) 93.6% 95.3% 96.1% 95.2% 94.5% 85.0% 85.0% Neutral Up
      • « Families with children receiving preventive services who did
      • not enter the shelter system (%) 93.9% 94.1% 93.4% 93.0% 93.3% 85.0% 85.0% Neutral Up
      • Rent Assistance Unit Emergency Assistance Requests Approved
      • (%) 67.6% 66.7% 75.1% 78.0% 72.2% * * Up *
      • Requests for Emergency Assistance at the Rental Assistance Unit 82,306 79,624 77,605 77,342 65,234 * * Down *
      • Low-income cases facing eviction and homelessness who were
      • assisted with legal services in Housing Court 11,837 16,702 25,156 32,171 24,109 * * Up *
      • « Critical Indicator “NA” Not Available ñò Directional Target * None
      • Goal 3b Provide safe and appropriate services in shelter and in the community to survivors of domestic violence.
      • HRA assists individuals and families who are domestic violence (DV) survivors and require DV services within the community
      • or placement in an emergency DV shelter. In Fiscal 2020, the percent of DV-eligible families at DHS Prevention Assistance
      • and Temporary Housing intake center (PATH) entering an HRA DV shelter was 55.2 percent, 18.2 percentage points higher
      • than the previous period due to increased focus on timely vacancy control, a process by which staff closely monitor shelter
      • exits and quickly fill vacant units. This enabled HRA to provide shelter to more families as the need arose. Families who
      • cannot enter an emergency DV shelter are referred to a Department of homeless Services shelter, where they also receive
      • targeted services for domestic violence.
      • For Fiscal 2020, there was a decrease of 16.4 percent in the number of clients receiving non-residential domestic violence
      • services from the prior period. Until the onset of the COVID pandemic, the caseload throughout Fiscal 2020 was largely
      • stable. Many providers experienced a significant change in their average monthly caseloads as they transitioned to remote
      • counseling and case management activities. Many focused on maintaining their existing client caseload as referrals within
      • the community and from external entities fell during the peak of the COVID pandemic. There has been an increase as the
      • Courts and other community resources have begun to open and the upward trend is expected to continue in Fiscal 2021.
      • HUMAN RESOURCES ADMINISTRATION | Page 181
      • Performance Indicators
      • Actual Target Trend
      • FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY20 FY21 5-Year
      • Desired
      • Direction
      • « Eligible families seeking shelter at Prevention Assistance and
      • Temporary Housing (PATH) who entered HRA’s domestic violence
      • shelters (%) 30.5% 30.4% 39.0% 37.0% 55.2% * * Up *
      • Average number of families served per day in the domestic
      • violence shelter program 803 841 827 828 843 * * Neutral *
      • Number of domestic violence emergency beds (capacity) 2,282 2,378 2,414 2,414 2,514 * * Neutral *
      • Domestic violence non-residential services programs average
      • monthly caseload NA 1,818 1,618 2,016 1,685 * * NA *
      • « Critical Indicator “NA” Not Available ñò Directional Target * None
      • SERVICE 4 Provide support services for eligible vulnerable and/or frail children and adults and for
      • children and adults with disabilities.
      • Goal 4a Ensure that all eligible vulnerable and/or frail children and adults and children and adults with disabilities
      • receive services to resolve immediate risk and provide ongoing assistance to enhance their safety and
      • independence.
      • There was a decrease of 19.8 percent in the number of referrals for Adult Protective Services (APS) during Fiscal 2020,
      • compared to Fiscal 2019, mostly due to fewer eviction related referrals, as a result of the moratorium on evictions and the
      • closing of Housing Courts in March 2020. Throughout the pandemic, APS continued to take referrals directly and provide
      • services. In June 2020, the percentage of people visited within three working days of a referral for APS services increased
      • by 1.2 percentage points to 97.4 percent compared to June 2019, and the percentage of assessment cases accepted or
      • denied within 60 days increased by 1.5 percentage points to 98 percent. The number of APS cases eligible for services
      • decreased by 4.5 percent compared to the prior period because of case closures and the decline in referrals. These APS
      • cases that closed over the course of the year were because clients no longer required APS services.
      • The total number of cases receiving home care services increased 10.6 percent, driven overwhelmingly by an increase of
      • 20,977 Managed Long-Term Care (MLTC) clients between June 2019 and June 2020. The enrollment of MLTC clients is
      • managed exclusively by New York State Managed Care contractors. In addition, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, HRA did
      • not close certain cases that normally would have been closed under rules issued by New York State. During the COVID-19
      • emergency the only allowable case closings are for death or moving permanently out of state. All other cases remain open
      • and will be fully reviewed post-COVID.
      • In Fiscal 2020, the average number of days to initiate home attendant and housekeeper services for HRA clients, which
      • excludes the State-administered MLTC caseload, was 23.5 days, three and a half days longer than in Fiscal 2019. This longer
      • processing time was due to the stay-at-home order instituted in March 2020, which increased the number of requests for
      • home attendant and housekeeper services. Furthermore, because clients did not want HRA assessment staff to come into
      • their homes, processing time increased as HRA pivoted to processing initial cases telephonically, rather than in person.
      • HRA Personal Care billable hours increased by 4.5 percent because more clients with immediate needs applied through
      • HRA for Medicaid rather than through the New York State broker for Managed Care Home Care Services. Once cases
      • are opened, their billable hours are attributed to HRA until they are transitioned to MLTC within 60 to 90 days. Serious
      • personal care complaints resolved within 24 hours decreased by 9.0 percentage points during the period, due primarily to
      • technical data reporting issues in January 2020. Later manual review showed that the compliance rate was 100 percent in
      • that month as it was for the other months of the year.
      • During Fiscal 2020, the number of individuals who received HIV/AIDS Services Administration (HASA) services increased by
      • 0.9 percent, continuing a trend that began in 2016 with the implementation of a policy that expanded access to HASA
      • benefits to asymptomatic income-eligible clients (HASA expansion cases). Additionally, there was a State approved waiver
      • in place at the end of the fiscal year suspending the need for clients to recertify during the COVID-19 pandemic. The
      • time taken to conduct the application review for ongoing enhanced housing benefits decreased by 10.5 percent in Fiscal
      • 2020, compared to Fiscal 2019, and remained within the eight-day target. While the percentage of HASA clients receiving
      • enhanced housing benefits remained stable, the time to issue enhanced benefits to eligible clients decreased to 17.1 days,
      • 13.2 percent more quickly than in Fiscal 2019. These quicker processing times were due to a decrease by almost one-third
      • in the number of requests for enhanced housing benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic.
      • Page 182 | MAYOR’S MANAGEMENT REPORT
      • Performance Indicators
      • Actual Target Trend
      • FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY20 FY21 5-Year
      • Desired
      • Direction
      • Adult Protective Services (APS) assessment cases 4,041 4,258 4,863 5,241 4,485 * * Up *
      • « Individuals referred to an APS field office visited within three
      • working days (%) 95.1% 95.0% 95.3% 96.2% 97.4% 85.0% 85.0% Neutral Up
      • APS assessment cases accepted or denied for undercare within
      • State-mandated 60 days (%) 94.3% 95.3% 96.1% 96.5% 98.0% * * Neutral Up
      • « APS cases eligible for services 6,847 7,346 7,407 6,942 6,630 * * Neutral *
      • Total referrals received for APS 25,614 27,860 30,252 30,974 24,843 * * Neutral *
      • « Personal care services - average weekly billable hours 43.6 46.1 50.5 52.8 55.2 * * Up *
      • « Serious personal care complaints resolved in 24 hours (%) 100.0% 97.0% 94.0% 93.0% 84.0% 100.0% 100.0% Down Up
      • « Average days to initiate home attendant and housekeeper
      • services for all cases 20.4 20.0 23.0 20.0 23.5 30.0 30.0 Up Down
      • Cases receiving home care services 136,367 155,504 176,681 200,927 222,182 * * Up *
      • New applicants for HIV/AIDS Services Administration (HASA)
      • services 5,045 6,862 6,102 5,730 4,948 * * Neutral *
      • « Individuals receiving HASA services 31,693 33,526 34,476 34,063 34,383 * * Neutral *
      • HASA clients receiving housing assistance (%) 84.3% 80.6% 81.8% 83.6% 83.1% * * Neutral *
      • « Average number of days from submission of a completed
      • application to approval or denial of enhanced housing benefits to
      • keep HASA clients in stable housing 7.0 6.9 7.6 7.6 6.8 8.0 8.0 Neutral Down
      • « Average number of days from submission of a completed
      • application to issuance of enhanced housing benefits to HASA
      • clients 16.3 16.8 17.7 19.7 17.1 15.5 15.5 Up Down
      • « Critical Indicator “NA” Not Available ñò Directional Target * None
      • AGENCY-WIDE MANAGEMENT
      • Recoveries and Cost Avoidance In Fiscal 2020, HRA continued to focus on maintaining the integrity of the benefit
      • programs it oversees and ensuring that funds are collected appropriately through its Investigation, Revenue and Enforcement
      • Administration (IREA). Efforts include investigation of provider fraud, recovery of monies owed from collection activities,
      • such as Supplemental Needs Trusts and property and negligence liens, and securing repayments from settlements or in
      • cases of concealed income. HRA continues to pursue Medicaid investigations under agreement with New York State even
      • with the State takeover of most Medicaid administration and the enrollment of most new Medicaid clients through the
      • State Exchange.
      • In March 2020 at the start of the pandemic, nearly all of these operations were deferred or suspended, significantly reducing
      • the Medicaid, Cash Assistance and SNAP recoveries and cost avoidance results during those months and thus the total
      • result for Fiscal 2020.
      • Fair Hearings HRA is committed to making it simpler for clients to obtain and keep benefits for which they are entitled
      • by eliminating unnecessary punitive administrative actions that negatively affect clients. State administrative fair hearings
      • are held when HRA clients dispute an agency finding, usually related to eligibility or benefits. Because of the increase in
      • demand for benefits at the end of Fiscal 2020, the number of fair hearings requested increased by 7.9 percent between
      • fiscal years 2019 and 2020. Despite the increase, there has been an overall decline of 25.5 percent since Fiscal 2015 and
      • a decline of 38.2 percent since the beginning of the Administration. Of the hearings that were held with determinations
      • made in Fiscal 2020, 19.4 percent resulted in HRA’s decisions being upheld, 5.0 percentage points lower than prior fiscal
      • year. This decrease was driven by a significantly higher number of cases being settled during the COVID-19 pandemic in
      • the last four months of Fiscal 2020.
      • IDNYC HRA administers the largest municipal identification card program in the nation. IDNYC cards serve as an official
      • identification card and help New Yorkers gain access to City services and buildings. The program also offers free membership
      • in the City’s leading museums, zoos, concert halls and botanical gardens. In Fiscal 2020, there were 155,459 cards issued,
      • adding to the more than 1.56 million cards issued since the program’s inception.
      • HUMAN RESOURCES ADMINISTRATION | Page 183
      • In December 2019, IDNYC began accepting renewal applications for expiring cards. Renewal applications were submitted
      • online and contributed to the total number of applications processed in Fiscal year 2020. In this first year of both new and
      • renewal activities, here was a 23.4 percent increase in the total number of IDNYC applications processed and the 24.9
      • percent increase in IDNYC cards issued. All IDNYC enrollment centers closed in mid-March 2020, restricting the Agency
      • to process only the renewal applications remotely. The increase in applications and shift to telework during the pandemic
      • affected the timeliness of application processing.
      • Fair Fares NYC Launched in January 2019, Fair Fares NYC is a City program to help people who live in New York City with
      • low incomes manage their transportation costs. With the Fair Fares NYC discount, eligible New York City residents receive
      • a 50 percent discount on subway and eligible bus fares or Access-A-Ride fares. During the first phase of the program, HRA
      • provided discounted MetroCards to working New Yorkers at or below the federal poverty level who were receiving Cash
      • Assistance or SNAP benefits from HRA. As of June 2019, 58,946 people were enrolled in the program; and as of June 2020,
      • after the program expanded to open enrollment for all eligible New Yorkers, 193,864 people were enrolled in the program.
      • Motor Vehicle Collisions As of June 2020, HRA has 203 vehicles in its fleet and 544 authorized drivers. During Fiscal
      • 2020, there were 23 fewer motor vehicle incident reports filed by HRA drivers compared to Fiscal 2019. To reduce collisions
      • that occur while vehicles are driven, defensive driver classes are available for new drivers. Those who drive at least once a
      • week take the classes once every three years. HRA also has a review committee that meets quarterly to review crashes and
      • individual incident history and to make corrective action recommendations. HRA provides its drivers involved in preventable
      • collisions with additional driver training. HRA may suspend driving privileges for up to six months or terminate driving
      • privileges, depending on the circumstances of the incident. In March 2020, most staff began working remotely from home,
      • reducing the utilization of the HRA fleet and contributing to the decrease in incident reports.
      • Employee Injuries During Fiscal 2020, 116 Workers’ Compensation Reports were filed due to workplace injuries, 23.7
      • percent fewer than filed in Fiscal 2019. These results show a steady decrease from the 203 reports filed in Fiscal 2011. HRA
      • conducts annual workshops on workplace safety with a strong emphasis placed on how to reduce workplace violence.
      • Performance Indicators
      • Actual Target Trend
      • FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY20 FY21 5-Year
      • Desired
      • Direction
      • « Medicaid recoveries and cost avoidance for fraud, waste &
      • abuse ($000,000) $162.38 $187.39 $395.67 $267.6 $258.15 ñ ñ Up Up
      • Cash assistance recoveries and cost avoidance for fraud, waste
      • and abuse ($000,000) $171.0 $191.4 $211.8 $207.3 $161.3 * * Neutral Up
      • Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) cost avoidance for fraud and abuse ($000,000) $28.5 $29.3 $34.9 $38.0 $27.5 * * Neutral Up
      • Fair hearings requested 285,165 247,253 236,156 226,822 244,735 * * Down *
      • Fair hearings upheld (%) 7.9% 9.6% 19.9% 24.4% 19.4% * * Up Up
      • IDNYC - number of applications processed 545,184 245,610 159,109 132,422 163,350 * * Down *
      • IDNYC - total number of cards issued 544,083 238,737 153,945 124,466 155,459 * * Down *
      • IDNYC application timeliness (%) 99.0% 99.0% 99.4% 99.6% 90.6% * * Neutral Up
      • Fair Fares NYC enrollment NA NA NA 58,946 193,864 * * NA *
      • Billed revenue as a percentage of budgeted revenue (%) 74.5% 72.0% 68.4% 67.6% 57.1% * * Down Up
      • Claims filed within 60 days of the close of the expenditure month
      • (%) 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 98.8% * * Neutral Up
      • Calls resolved within 48 hours to the customer service call line for
      • vendors (%) 82.3% 80.7% 81.3% 76.9% 72.2% * * Down Up
      • Collisions involving City vehicles 51 34 43 40 17 * * Down Down
      • Workplace injuries reported 172 176 170 152 116 * * Down Down
      • Applications filed with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services 1,415 2,477 3,496 3,624 3,535 * * Up *
      • « Critical Indicator “NA” Not Available ñò Directional Target * None
      • Page 184 | MAYOR’S MANAGEMENT REPORT
      • AGENCY CUSTOMER SERVICE
      • Beginning in April 2020, the new telephonic system used for remote call-taking by staff working at home during the
      • COVID-19 pandemic did not allow for complete data collection for two MMR indicators (‘Requests for interpretation’
      • and ‘Calls answered in 30 seconds (%)’). Even though service continued, Fiscal 2020 results are incomplete for these two
      • indicators.
      • The average time to wait to speak to a customer service agent in person decreased by 14.0 percent in Fiscal 2020, compared
      • to Fiscal 2019. HRA received an overall Customers Observing and Reporting Experience (CORE) rating of 98 out of a possible
      • 100 in Fiscal 2020. Mayoral office inspectors arrive unannounced at the Agency service centers, conduct observations and
      • rate 11 physical conditions and four customer service elements.
      • Performance Indicators Actual Target Trend
      • Customer Experience FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY20 FY21 5-Year
      • Desired
      • Direction
      • Completed requests for interpretation 989,229 1,264,815 1,232,975 1,154,534 877,824 * * Down *
      • Letters responded to in 14 days (%) 86.9% 93.6% 91.2% 95.4% 97.5% 90% 90% Up Up
      • E-mails responded to in 14 days (%) 92.9% 93.2% 96.1% 96.4% 93.5% 90% 90% Neutral Up
      • Average customer in-person wait time (minutes) 34.8 34.1 34.1 32.2 27.7 60.0 60.0 Down Down
      • CORE facility rating 86 86 92 NA 98 80 80 NA Up
      • Calls answered in 30 seconds (%) 79.7% 84.1% 58% 59.1% 42% 80% 80% Down Up
      • Customer satisfaction rating for Public Health Insurance
      • Program services “good” or “excellent” (%) 93.0% 93.0% 94.0% 94.0% NA * * NA Up
      • « Critical Indicator “NA” Not Available ñò Directional Target * None
      • AGENCY RESOURCES
      • Resource Indicators Actual¹ Plan²
      • FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY20 FY21 5yr Trend
      • Expenditures ($000,000)³ $9,398.0 $9,563.4 $9,904.0 $10,243.1 $10,525.7 $10,291.9 $9,432.4 Up
      • Revenues ($000,000) $54.8 $57.8 $55.7 $62.7 $67.6 $42.6 $42.6 Up
      • Personnel 13,401 13,336 13,004 12,678 12,520 14,584 13,665 Neutral
      • Overtime paid ($000,000) $30.4 $36.5 $35.6 $39.2 $15.9 $15.9 $16.7 Down
      • Capital commitments ($000,000) $20.0 $44.7 $57.6 $44.5 $23.0 $101.6 $93.6 Neutral
      • Human services contract budget ($000,000) $455.8 $486.8 $566.5 $680.7 $757.0 $756.6 $770.9 Up
      • ¹Actual financial amounts for the current fiscal year are not yet final. Final fiscal year actuals, from the Comptroller’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, will be reported
      • in the next PMMR. Refer to the “Indicator Definitions” at nyc.gov/mmr for details. ²Authorized Budget Level ³Expenditures include all funds “NA” - Not Available * None
      • HUMAN RESOURCES ADMINISTRATION | Page 185
      • SPENDING AND BUDGET INFORMATION
      • Where possible, the relationship between an agency’s goals and its expenditures and planned resources, by budgetary unit
      • of appropriation (UA), is shown in the ‘Applicable MMR Goals’ column. Each relationship is not necessarily exhaustive or
      • exclusive. Any one goal may be connected to multiple UAs, and any UA may be connected to multiple goals.
      • Unit of Appropriation
      • Expenditures
      • FY191
      • ($000,000)
      • Modified Budget
      • FY202
      • ($000,000) Applicable MMR Goals3
      • Personal Services - Total $821.0 $870.8
        • 201 - Administration $344.3 $306.6 All
        • 203 - Public Assistance $282.1 $289.2 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 2c, 3a
        • 204 - Medical Assistance $77.0 $104.7 1c, 2b, 4a
        • 205 - Adult Services $117.6 $128.3 1c, 2a, 2b, 2c, 3a, 3b, 4a
      • 207 - Legal Services4 NA $3.2 All
      • 208 - Home Energy Assistance4 NA $1.2 1a
      • 209 - Child Support Services4 NA $37.5 2c
      • Other Than Personal Services - Total $9,422.1 $9,654.9
        • 101 - Administration $307.0 $376.9 All
        • 103 - Public Assistance $2,420.9 $2,437.1 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 2c, 3a
        • 104 - Medical Assistance $6,115.6 $6,220.7 1c, 2b, 4a
        • 105 - Adult Services $417.0 $438.4 1c, 2a, 2b, 2c, 3a, 3b, 4a
        • 107 - Legal Services $161.5 $181.9 All
      • Agency Total $10,243.1 $10,525.7
      • 1
      • Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for the Fiscal Year ended June 30, 2019. Includes all funds. 2
      • City of New York Adopted Budget for Fiscal 2020, as of June
        1. Includes all funds. 3Refer to agency goals listed at front of chapter. 4
      • This UA originated in Fiscal 2020.
      • “NA” Not Available * None
      • NOTEWORTHY CHANGES, ADDITIONS OR DELETIONS !
      • • HRA is not reporting data for the two employment indicators “Safety Net Assistance (SNA) cases engaged in training
      • or education in accordance with New York City guidelines (%)” and “Family cases engaged in training or education in
      • accordance with New York City guidelines (%)” because the HRA is working on improving the process for accurately
      • assessing and engaging clients in training and education activities. Moreover, since March 2020, due to COVID-19, the
      • HRA has not been engaging clients in training and education programs.
      • • HRA added a new indicator to this report: ‘Fair Fares NYC enrollment.’
      • • HRA adjusted previously reported figures for diversion indicators. Previously, Advice cases were only included in the
      • ‘Families with children receiving preventive services who did not enter the shelter system’ indicator. Advice cases are
      • now included in preventive services reporting for Adults and Adult families.
      • • Reporting for the customer services indicators “Requests for interpretation” and “Calls answered in 30 seconds”
      • include partial data for Fiscal 2020. These services continued to be provided but some data were not available from all
      • sources as staff shifted to telework due to COVID-19.
      • • HRA is not reporting data for the Customer Services Indicator “Customer satisfaction rating for Public Health Insurance
      • Program services “good” or “excellent” (%)” because the survey required to gather the data for this indicator was not
      • conducted.
      • Page 186 | MAYOR’S MANAGEMENT REPORT
      • ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
      • For additional agency performance statistics, please visit:
      • • HRA/DSS Facts (Links to multiple reports updated several times a year):
      • http://www.nyc.gov/html/hra/html/facts/facts.shtml
      • • Link to Jobs for New Yorkers task force report:
      • http://www.nyc.gov/html/ohcd/downloads/pdf/jobs_for_nyers_task_force_flyer.pdf
      • For more information on the agency, please visit: www.nyc.gov/hra.
MMR - FY20 - Human Resources Administration