New York Kinship Fair Hearing — What to Do When Benefits Are Denied

You Have the Right to Challenge a Denial

When your application for a child-only grant, SNAP, Medicaid, or childcare subsidy is denied, reduced, or discontinued, New York law gives you the right to a Fair Hearing through the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA). This is an administrative appeal heard by an OTDA Administrative Law Judge — not a court proceeding.

Fair Hearings are free. You do not need a lawyer, though you can bring one. You can also bring a relative, friend, or community advocate.

The 10-Day Window for Aid Continuing

This is the most important deadline. If you are already receiving benefits and the district sends a notice reducing or stopping them, you can keep your benefits flowing at the current level while the appeal is pending. This is called Aid Continuing.

To get Aid Continuing, file your Fair Hearing request before the effective date printed on the notice, or within 10 days of the notice's postmark date if the notice was delayed. Aid Continuing applies to an existing benefit being reduced or stopped, not to an initial application denial.

If you miss the applicable deadline, benefits can stop while the hearing is pending. You can still appeal within the program's filing deadline.

If you win the hearing, nothing changes — benefits were never interrupted. If you lose, the district may seek to recover the overpaid benefits from the Aid Continuing period.

How to Request a Fair Hearing

You have five ways to file:

1. Online: otda.ny.gov/hearings
2. Phone: 1-800-342-3334
3. Fax: 518-473-6735
4. Mail: OTDA Office of Administrative Hearings, P.O. Box 1930, Albany, NY 12201
5. In person: 5 Beaver Street, New York City

When you call or file online, note the confirmation number and the date. If you need Aid Continuing, emphasize that you are requesting it and confirm the effective date on your notice.

Deadlines by Program

For Medicaid managed care, the process has two steps: first file a plan appeal within 60 days, then a Fair Hearing within 120 days of the plan's final decision.

Preparing for the Hearing

Hearings happen by telephone or in person at regional hearing centers. Prepare by:

1. Requesting the district's evidence packet. You have the right to a complete copy of every document the district will use — at no charge. Demand it.
2. Submitting your evidence early. All evidence must reach OTDA and the local district at least two business days before the hearing date.
3. Organizing your documents. Bring the denial notice, your application, copies of everything you submitted, notes from any conversations with caseworkers (dates, names, what was said), and any documentation showing why the denial was wrong — for example, proof that the caseworker incorrectly counted your income in a child-only case.

OTDA provides free language translation services if you need them.

If You Lose

You have four months from the date of the Fair Hearing decision to file an Article 78 petition in New York State Supreme Court. This is a judicial review — you will likely need an attorney.

Free legal help is available through the Legal Aid Society (NYC), LawHelpNY, and the Empire Justice Center. Income eligibility limits apply, but kinship caregivers on fixed incomes often qualify.

Common Reasons Kinship Cases Are Denied Incorrectly

• Caseworker counted caregiver income in a child-only case (prohibited under 18 NYCRR Parts 350–352)
• Required a court order when no court order is needed for child-only cash assistance
• Misclassified the case as a household grant instead of a non-parent caregiver case
• Failed to apply the caregiver-income exclusion to the child's child-only Temporary Assistance determination

If you suspect the denial was based on incorrect income counting, a Fair Hearing is your strongest tool. The complete New York kinship benefits guide includes an appeals preparation worksheet and tracks the evidence you need for each type of hearing.

See more New York guides →