New York County DSS and Social Services for Kinship Caregivers

The County DSS Is a Key Starting Point

New York runs its public benefit programs through a state-supervised, county-administered system. The state agencies — OTDA, OCFS, and the Department of Health — set the rules, but your local Department of Social Services (LDSS) makes the day-to-day decisions: whether your child-only grant is approved, how much your SNAP allotment is, whether the caseworker counts your income correctly, and how fast documents are processed.

For kinship caregivers, this means the application route and local office experience can differ by county. The standard processing window is 30 days for Temporary Assistance, SNAP, and Medicaid; missing information or follow-up can affect how quickly a case is completed.

NYC: HRA and ACS Split the Work

New York City does not have a single DSS. Instead, two agencies divide the work:

HRA (Human Resources Administration) handles cash assistance (including the child-only grant), SNAP, HEAP, and adult Medicaid. This is where you apply for the child-only Temporary Assistance grant, and it is the agency you deal with for recertification, reporting changes, and benefit disputes about cash or food. The online portal is ACCESS HRA at nyc.gov/accesshra, and there are physical HRA centers in every borough.

ACS (Administration for Children's Services) handles child protective services, foster care placements, CCAP local administration, and KinGAP agreements. If you are a certified kinship foster parent or are involved with child welfare, ACS is your contact. If you are an informal caregiver with no CPS involvement, you may never interact with ACS at all.

Medicaid and Child Health Plus for children go through NY State of Health (nystateofhealth.ny.gov), which is a state-level marketplace, not a city agency.

Upstate and Suburban Counties: Local DSS

Outside the five boroughs, each of New York's 57 counties has a local Department of Social Services (LDSS) that administers programs such as Temporary Assistance, SNAP, HEAP, and child welfare. Medicaid and Child Health Plus can be applied for through NY State of Health or included on Form LDSS-2921 when applying for Temporary Assistance or SNAP. Child Care Assistance uses the OCFS CCAA portal, with local administration through county LDSS offices.

Local coordination can help kinship caregivers, though the application routes differ by program. You may work with county LDSS staff for the child-only grant, SNAP, HEAP, and local childcare administration, while using NY State of Health for health coverage and the OCFS CCAA portal for a childcare application. Different workers may handle different programs.

What DSS Does and Does Not Do

Your county DSS processes applications, makes eligibility determinations, issues payments, and handles recertification. What they do not do is provide legal advice, represent you in court, or advocate on your behalf against their own decisions. If your application is denied, the caseworker who denied it is not the person to appeal to — the appeal goes to the OTDA Office of Administrative Hearings for a Fair Hearing, which is a separate state-level body.

DSS caseworkers are also not kinship care specialists. They process standard public assistance cases all day, and child-only cases are a fraction of their workload. That is why caseworkers sometimes ask for your income documents or classify your case as a household case instead of child-only — not out of malice, but because the standard process is what they know. Being prepared to explain the child-only rules (18 NYCRR Parts 350-352) and to request a supervisor review if needed protects you from classification errors.

Finding Your Local DSS

Every county DSS has a main office and, in larger counties, satellite locations. The easiest way to find yours:

• In NYC: Go directly to nyc.gov/accesshra for online services or search "HRA centers" for office locations.
• Upstate: Visit myBenefits.ny.gov, which routes you to your county's DSS based on your address. You can also search your county name plus "Department of Social Services" for the main office phone number and address.

The NYS Kinship Navigator (1-877-454-6463) can also connect you with your local DSS and explain what to expect before you walk in.

The New York Kinship Financial Help Guide includes a county-by-county reference for agency contacts and explains the NYC HRA/ACS split in detail, so you know exactly where each application goes.

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