NEW YORK — The Legal Aid Society and Empire Justice Center filed a lawsuit against New York state alleging a failure to provide adequate welfare support. The legal action demands an increase in the shelter allowance and a mandatory, statewide expansion of housing supplements.

The lawsuit contends that the current shelter allowance does not cover the cost of rents, despite the state constitution's requirement to provide "aid, care and support for the needy." This marks at least the fourth lawsuit in nearly 40 years to accuse New York of insufficient welfare assistance for rent. The state has not raised the monthly shelter allowance for families with children since 2003, when it was set at $450 for a family of four in New York City. The shelter allowance for adult-only households has not changed significantly since 1988.

Plaintiff Minerva Pacumio, 54, receives a $250 monthly shelter allowance. She faces eviction from her one-bedroom apartment in Queens, which rents for $1,900 per month. Pacumio lives with her two adult daughters, one of whom is disabled and requires her care five days a week. Pacumio stated that her other daughter has mental health issues and has been unable to find work. She owes thousands of dollars in back rent. "I don't want to sleep in the street. I don't want to go to the shelter. I don't want to lose everything," she said.

Pavita Krishnaswamy, a supervising attorney for the Legal Aid Society's Civil Practice Law Reform Unit, commented on the state's actions. "When you don't change your shelter allowance amounts for 40 years for single people and 20 years for families, I think there's a reasonable argument that could be made that you're not even really trying to meet your constitutional obligations to provide aid and care to the needy in New York State."

An analysis determined that almost half of the state's unhoused families and individuals outside New York City are placed in hotels. The state frequently pays more to house individuals in hotels than it would cost to cover rent for modest housing. Michael Iapoce, the social services commissioner for Ulster County, stated that no habitable apartment for rent in Ulster County would be covered by the shelter allowance. His comments were attached as an exhibit to the lawsuit. "The shelter allowance is totally irrational and arbitrary. There is no reasoned justification to keep the shelter allowance and supplements so low."

The Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, the agency responsible for setting shelter allowances, has indicated that the Legislature would need to allocate more funding in the state budget for an increase. The New York state budget is projected to face multibillion-dollar deficits in the coming years. State lawmakers have sponsored bills in multiple legislative sessions to tie the shelter allowance to fair market rent, an estimate by the federal government for the cost of modest private housing, but these bills have repeatedly failed.