Albany - Secretary of State Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez and Kristin Proud, Deputy Secretary for Human Services, Technology and Operations, who is currently overseeing the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA), announced that the state has received $717,000 in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds to improve the infrastructure through which low-income New Yorkers can find out if they qualify for various types of federal and state assistance.

In June 2008, OTDA launched a website which has since helped more than 320,000 New Yorkers determine if they are eligible for food stamps, the Home Energy Assistance Program, Medicaid, Family Health Plus, Child Health Plus, free and reduced-price school meals and numerous tax credits. The site also features an online food stamp application that is now available in 18 counties, with plans to have it implemented statewide by the end of the year. The ARRA award will both ensure that the site can accommodate the increased demand and that New Yorkers without an Internet connection will be able to gain access to the site via Internet kiosks set up across the state.

Secretary of State Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez said: "Through a partnership with the state Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, the Department of State is able to invest recovery funding effectively to enhance a proven, technologically advanced, statewide system that is accessible to nearly all New Yorkers. In spite of positive signs of an economy recovery across the state, many New Yorkers still need help making ends meet, and upgrades to the myBenefits system will ensure the right people get the assistance in an efficient fashion."

Deputy Secretary Kristin Proud said: "This is another example of successful collaboration between state agencies to help improve the lives of families in New York in this economic downturn. We have already taken numerous steps to make it as easy as possible for those who are eligible to obtain benefits, and the myBenefits site has been, and will continue to be, a key part of those efforts."

The Recovery Act included $1 billion in federal funds for the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) program, of which $86.7 million is being distributed to New York state to support programs that promote self-sufficiency and alleviate the causes and conditions of poverty. A portion of this CSBG award goes to improving the way in which individuals and families learn about and can enroll in federal, state and local benefit programs.

In an addition to funding technological upgrades, the award will pay for publicly accessible computer kiosks, beginning this summer, that will be made available to every county in the state so New Yorkers without Internet access can log on to myBenefits and determine if they are eligible for assistance. The funding will also support an outreach campaign that will get underway later this spring.

The Community Services Block Grant is a federal anti-poverty program administered by the Department of State since 1982. Its purpose is to provide assistance to states and local communities working through a network of community action agencies (CAAs) and other neighborhood organizations for reduction of poverty, revitalization of low-income communities and empowerment of low-income families and individuals to become fully self-sufficient. In New York state CSBG provides funds to a network of 56 local agencies, including four Native American tribes and tribal organizations.

For more information go to www.myBenefits.ny.gov.