Let's Get It Right! Domestic Violence Victims Report Requests for Crisis Assistance Still Not Processed on Time

Recent reports from victims of domestic violence and their advocates suggest that several Chicago-area offices of the Illinois Department of Human Services are still not processing requests for Crisis Assistance in a timely manner despite clear policy requirements that aim to ensure that they do so. As the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law reported in this column in June 2004, Crisis Assistance is a little known and underutilized program that provides limited cash grants to recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and to applicants who meet the TANF eligibility requirements. Crisis Assistance aims to alleviate the hardships suffered by families that lose their homes either through natural disaster, fire, or, in some cases, as the result of domestic violence. Grants made through the Crisis Assistance program can be used to cover part of the costs of obtaining replacement furniture, clothing, household supplies, and food, among other necessities.

While Crisis Assistance can offer meaningful financial support to help a victim of domestic violence get back on her feet, not all victims of domestic violence are eligible for Crisis Assistance. To meet the criteria for Crisis Assistance on the basis of domestic violence, a TANF applicant or TANF recipient who is homeless must have fled her home, with her children, in order to escape an abuser who remained in the home. (See IDHS Policy Manual 06-03-01.) A victim of domestic violence who is already homeless or who never lived with her abuser is most likely ineligible for Crisis Assistance.

For Crisis Assistance to provide assistance when it is needed most, the department’s own rules require staff to process Crisis Assistance applications and issue Crisis Assistance grants on an expedited time frame. (See IDHS Policy Manual 06-03-01-c, 17-02-01.) To start the process, Crisis Assistance applicants must file a written request for assistance with the department. (See IDHS Policy Manual 06-03-00.) Crisis Assistance applicants who are not already receiving TANF must file an application for TANF at that time as well. Once a written request for Crisis Assistance is made, the department must approve or deny that request within five workdays. If the Crisis Assistance request is approved, the payment must be applied to the applicant’s LINK card within two workdays from the date of the decision. (See IDHS Policy Manual 17-02-01.) For TANF applicants, a decision on the TANF application should be made within this shortened time frame as well. (See IDHS Policy Manual 06-03-01-c.) If a TANF applicant is approved for both Crisis Assistance and TANF, the date of decision on the TANF application is the beginning date for cash eligibility. (See IDHS Policy Manual 17-02-01.) Unfortunately, recent reports suggest that several Chicago-area local offices of the Department of Human Services are not sticking to the strict time limits for processing Crisis Assistance applications.

The Shriver Center recently assisted several residents of Rainbow House, a shelter for domestic violence victims and their children, whose Crisis Assistance applications were not processed in a timely manner. Three Rainbow House residents applied for Crisis Assistance at the Western Local Office and did not receive decisions on their applications within the required five-day period. Another Rainbow House resident applied for Crisis Assistance at the Roseland Local Office, which also delayed processing her request. A fourth Rainbow House resident experienced similar delays with a Crisis Assistance application at the Northern Local Office. In each case a Shriver Center attorney or paralegal contacted the local office staff to ask why the cases were not processed in a timely manner. We were dismayed to learn that there were no good explanations for why these cases were mishandled and that the biggest barrier to obtaining Crisis Assistance appeared to be a lack of understanding of the strict time frame for handling these applications on the part of department staff. In fact, the local office administrator at Roseland conceded that her staff was largely unfamiliar with the Crisis Assistance program and that they did not realize that they needed to process the Rainbow House resident’s Crisis Assistance application within five workdays. Similarly managers at the Western Local Office acknowledged that several recent Crisis Assistance applications fell through the cracks and as a result were not processed in the five-day window. Although the administrators at Roseland and Western were responsive to the Shriver Center’s inquiries and, when pressed to do so, have tried to ensure that the cases that we called to their attention were processed, we have not received any response to our request for an explanation from the administrator at the Northern Local Office. Furthermore, despite the Western Local Office’s best intentions, at least one of the cases has still not been processed.

The Shriver Center encourages victims of domestic violence who are in need of financial support and who already receive TANF or who are eligible to receive TANF to apply for Crisis Assistance despite these difficulties. The program is designed to offer the financial support to offset the losses suffered when a victim leaves her home to escape abuse. Additional applications will expose more department staff to the program and the crucial support that it can offer. To try to ensure proper processing of Crisis Assistance applications, victims and their advocates should prepare a short letter explaining the basis for the application and citing the relevant portions of the department’s policy manual. This may help caseworkers know who is eligible for Crisis Assistance and how these requests must be processed. To make it easier for victims of domestic violence to apply for Crisis Assistance, the Shriver Center has prepared a sample letter requesting Crisis Assistance; the letter can be tailored for an individual applicant. A copy of the sample letter may be downloaded from http://www.povertylaw.org/advocacy/dv_resources/dv_resources.htm.

If you or someone you know is having trouble obtaining Crisis Assistance, please contact Jennifer Lee at 312.263.3830 ext. 237 or Wendy Pollack at 312.263.3830 ext. 238.