Am I Eligible?

Employment Services

The Department's Employment Unit is responsible for the operation of the Welfare to Work program. This unit works with TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) as well Safety Net families and individuals to help them enter the workforce employment with the goal of achieving their self sufficiency.

All employable Temporary Assistance recipients are required to participate in programs or actually be working a certain number of hours each week in order to be eligible for continued assistance without penalty.

Through a variety of job training programs and educational services, the employment staff assists these individuals with finding employment, as well as provides them all necessary support services they may need to participate in these activities to include but not limited to transportation and child care subsidy funding.

Transitional Opportunities Program ("TOP")

In the fall of 2008, Albany County established TOP, an alternate Temporary Family Assistance (TANF) Program that supports client self-sufficiency goals to remove their need for on-going cash assistance. The key component of this program is to provide more intensive case management staff one-on-one time to help these families cope with the multitude of life and family issues in their day to day life that can prove very stressful and also possibly have negative impacts on their abilities to maintain their employment/self-sufficiency.

TOP partnered with the City of Albany, the New York State Department of Labor and several other organizations in order to assist these employed recipients, and former recipients, to retain their employment and/or to find better jobs. In keeping with that self-sufficiency model for these families transitioning to the workforce TOP moved their office off-site from the Department's main office and is located at Albany's One Stop Employment Center, the Department of Youth and Workforce Services, 175 Central Avenue, 12206. This office location operates a variety of federal and stated funded activities designed to assist job seekers and employers with their workforce needs which greatly benefits the TOP staff's ability to readily assist their families.

For more information regarding One Stop's resources and services, visit the City of Albany's Career Central web page .

Additional Resources for Job Seekers

The www.myBenefits.ny.gov  website has been developed to demonstrate how employment can be a positive force in people's lives, and how employment increases the economic stability for the household. The site also provides other information and resources to working families including Food Stamps, free tax preparation, Earned Income Tax Credits, Child and Dependent Care Tax Credits, Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP), Women, Infants and Children (WIC) and School Breakfast and Lunch Meals.

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