Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance

Service Referral Process for Victims of Domestic Violence (Follow-Up Review)

Public assistance recipients who are victims of domestic violence are not required to seek employment or participate in other work-related activities such as job training , if they or their children would be placed at risk of further abuse as a result of such participation. After actions have been taken to provide protection against further abuse, these recipients are usually required to participate in work-related activities. Public assistance recipients in New York are served by 58 local social services districts, which are overseen by the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA).

In our prior audit report 99-S-4, we examined the appropriateness of the actions taken in six local districts in assessing the safety needs of recipients who were identified as victims of domestic violence and in referring such recipients to appropriate service providers. We found that the actions taken by the local districts often were not adequately documented, and as a result, district and OTDA managers could not be reasonably assured that the activities were performed as intended. We recommended that OTDA work with the local districts to ensure that their activities were documented in accordance with requirements. In our follow-up review, we found that our recommendations had been implemented.

For a complete copy of Report 2002-F-7 click here.