Emergency Assistance to Families (EAF)

Emergency Assistance to Families (EAF) was first established in 1967 under the federal welfare law and was maintained under the Personal Responsibility and Work Reconciliation Act of 1996, with a few minor changes. EAF is intended to meet the temporary emergency needs of families with children, which if not met, would endanger the health, safety or welfare of that family.

At the federal level the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) administers the TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) block grant, which also funds the EAF program. The New York State Department of Family Assistance has administrative oversight for the EAF program, specifically the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA). In NYC, the Human Resources Administration (HRA)/Family Independence Administration (FIA) is the agency responsible. The local offices in NYC that administer EAF are called Job Centers, refer to Cash Benefits, Cash Assistance, Government Contacts.

Emergency Assistance to Families is federally funded through the Temporary Assistance to Families (TANF) block grant and by state and local funds.

Emergency Assistance to Families with Children (EAF) is a federally funded program which provides cash assistance to deal with crisis situations threatening a family with a child(ren). An EAF grant is available to non-Cash Assistance households, also known as a “one shot deal”, as well as to those households that are currently in receipt of Cash Assistance (CA), known as an additional allowance, refer to Cash Benefits, Cash Assistance, Additional Allowances for more information.

When determining financial eligibility for EAF, households must have available income at, or below, 200% of the federal poverty level for that household size. These federal guidelines are effective April 1st of each year and are in effect until March 31st of the following year. There are no resource guidelines a household is required to meet, however the household’s resources will be evaluated to determine if there are sufficient resources to meet the emergency.

If a household intends to apply for ongoing CA in addition to an EAF grant the household will be evaluated under the CA eligibility guidelines refer to Cash Benefits, Cash Assistance, Qualifying for Cash Assistance.

In NYC, households apply for EAF at the local Job Center see below, Applying for EAF, Where to Apply. EAF grants are issued to meet a one-time emergency therefore there are no recertification requirements.