Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1999. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The Associated Press - Wednesday, Oct. 20, 1999
Joel Stashenko, Associated Press Writer
In a 7-0 decision, the Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that using "eligibility verification review" (EVR) procedures for the ill New Yorkers is incompatible with a 1997 city law requiring poor people with the HIV virus and AIDS to get welfare benefits as easily as possible.
"We think it's a major defeat for the Giuliani administration and a major victory for New Yorkers living with AIDS and HIV," said Michael Kink, a spokesman for Housing Works, a group which represented HIV-infected plaintiffs in the lawsuit. "It says that the courts won't stand for the mistreatment of people with disabilities, even if local governments will."
A spokeswoman for the administration of New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said the eligibility verification reviews will continue, with some modifications.
"The basic purpose of EVR is to verify eligibility ... and to ensure that eligible people actually receive the services," said Debra Sproles, of the city's Human Resources Administration. "It weeded out fraud, so that people who aren't eligible to receive services don't receive them."
Under the EVR process, introduced in 1995, the city requires welfare recipients to apply for benefits in their home boroughs in addition to a separate appearance for the eligibility review. The EVR process allows city inspectors to make home visits to collect further information from recipients.
AIDS advocates said the eligibility reviews were onerous to people who are ill and often in need of immediate eligibility for welfare so they can get medical treatment or food.
"The main goal of the review is to remove people from the rolls and to save the city dollars," said Joe Pressley of the New York AIDS Coalition. "Unfortunately, these services are vitally important to many people."
Kink estimated that about 25,000 people a year with AIDS or HIV qualify for benefits under the city's Division of AIDS Services Income Support program.
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