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There are 421 resources
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General Assistance and Other Cash Assistance Programs
Information from the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network
Overview of welfare and public benefits programs
(Separate Website)
Information on welfare and public benefit programs that are available to you.
By: Community Legal Services
Read this in:
Spanish / Español
Public Benefits in PA (Audio-MP3)
Episode of Northwestern Legal Services' "Access to Justice" Radio show broadcast on JET 1400 AM in Erie, PA. (8/9/07) - Information on Pennsylvania Public Benefits, including General Assistance, Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF) and Food stamps. (20:34)
Host - Jennifer Fisher, NWLS Attorney Guests - John Whitelaw, Attorney with Community Legal Services, & Jeannine Lawton-Knepper, NWLS Paralegal and Public Benefits Specialist.
Click on title above to listen to the program.
By: Northwestern Legal Services
Overview of Welfare and Public Benefits Programs
(Separate Website)
Information on benefits available to low-income working individuals and their families.
By: Community Legal Services
Agreement of Mutual Responsibility
Informational brochure on Agreement of Mutual Responsibility (AMR), how you can make your AMR work for you, defining goals, as well as what to do if your caseworker does not agree with your AMR.
By: Northwestern Legal Services
Has DPW Cut Your Welfare Check for Not Following its Work Requirements? - Don't give up!
(Separate Website)
Information on welfare terminations
By: Community Legal Services
Read this in:
Spanish / Español
Subsidized Child Care Program - Improved Changes
Fact sheet outling the new and improved changes to DPW's Subsidized Child Care Program
By: Northwestern Legal Services
How to Get Child Care and Other Supportive Services When Your Family Gets Food Stamps, But Not Cash
Informaton on obtaining supportive services from the County Assistance Office if your household only receives Food Stamp Bensifts
By: Community Justice Project
Other Formats:
PDF File
Are you in Outpatient Treatment? Do You Need Child Care?
(Separate Website)
Information on child care eligibility for people in outpatient drug and alcohol treatment programs.
By: Community Legal Services
Special Allowances
(Separate Website)
List of special allowances available from the County Assistance Office to help you get a job or participate in education, training or work.
By: Community Legal Services
Read this in:
Spanish / Español
Emergency Shelter Allowance
(Separate Website)
Information on the Emergency Shelter Allowance available from the Department of Public Welfare.
By: Southwestern Pennsylvania Legal Services, Inc.
The KEYS Program - Things to Know
Information fact sheet regarding the Keystone Education Yields Success (KEYS) Program in Pennsylvania.
By: Northwestern Legal Services
Other Formats:
PDF File
Self-Sufficiency Through Education and Training
(Separate Website)
Legal education brochure on strategies for parents pursuing self-sufficiency and getting a plan for education and training into action.
By: Northwestern Legal Services
Read this in:
Spanish / Español
What Benefits Can I Get If I Am Caring for Someone Else’s Child?
(Separate Website)
Information on rights of kinship caregivers.
By: Community Legal Services
How to Appeal Welfare Notices
(Separate Website)
Information for welfare recipients on how to appeal notices received from the Department of Public Welfare
By: Community Legal Services
Read this in:
Spanish / Español
You Have the Right to Disagree with the Welfare Office
(Separate Website)
Information on filing appeals to decisions made by your County Assistance Office.
By: Neighborhood Legal Services Association
You Can Appeal!
(Separate Website)
Information on filing an appeal if you thing the welfare office made mistake in changing your benefits.
By: Community Legal Services
Read this in:
Chinese / 中文
What to Do If You Have a Welfare Overpayment
(Separate Website)
Information on how to fight a welfare or food stamp overpayment.
By: Community Legal Services
What are My Rights if the Welfare Office Tries to Sanction Me?
(Separate Website)
Information on your options when the welfare office cuts off benefits because you fail to participate in a work, education or training program.
By: Community Legal Services
General Assistance: Can it be Made Accessible to Survivors of Domestic Violence?
(Separate Website)
A guide on General Assistance (GA) eligibility for people affected by domestic violence.
By: Community Legal Services
Have You Been a Victim of Domestic Violence? You Can Claim "Good Cause" Not to File for Support
(Separate Website)
Information on domestic violence exemptions to the requirement that you file for child support when applying for public assistance.
By: Community Legal Services
You Can be Excused from Welfare Department Rules Because of Domestic Violence
(Separate Website)
Information on obtaining a waiver from welfare rules based on domestic violence.
By: Community Legal Services
Homeless People CAN Get Welfare: Here’s How!
(Separate Website)
Information for the homeless on obtaining welfare benefits.
By: Community Legal Services
Immigrants' Rights to Public Benefits in Pennsylvania
(Separate Website)
Information on the rights of immigrants to receive different types of public benefits.
By: Community Legal Services
Impact of Criminal Record on Public Benefits in Pennsylvania
(Separate Website)
Chart of eligibility for public benefits for people with criminal records.
By: Community Legal Services
Public Benefits Consequences of Criminal Convictions in Pennsylvania
(Separate Website)
Information on the effect of a conviction on your ability to obtain and continue to receive public benefits.
By: Community Legal Services
What Benefits Can I Get With a Criminal Record?
(Separate Website)
Information on eligibility for public benefits if you have a criminal record.
By: Community Legal Services
Low-Income Telephone Assistance Programs
Information regarding telephone assistance programs that are available to low-income individuals.
By: Northwestern Legal Services
A Guide to Public Benefits
An overview of Cash Assistance, Medical Assistance, Food Stamps, and Low Income Energy Assistance (LIHEAP)
By: Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network, Inc.
Other Formats:
PDF File
Limited Income? Ideas for Stretching Your Dollars
(Separate Website)
This packet provides many ideas to northwestern PA residents on how to stretch your limited dollars, focusing on 8 areas of your life: Food, Clothing, Housing, Utilities, Money, Medical, Education, and Children.
By: Northwestern Legal Services
Allegheny County Department of Public Welfare Offices
(Separate Website)
A list of the Allegheny County Department of Public Welfare Offices.
By: Neighborhood Legal Services Association
Earned Income Tax Credit, Tax Year 2007 (Video)
Three-part excerpt from Northwestern Legal Services' "Access to Justice" cable access television show broadcast on Erie Cablevision (Channel 2) in Erie, PA.
Diana Smith, Senior Tax Specialist, Internal Revenue Service, provides information about Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for the tax year 2007. This tax program provides cash refunds to many low-income employed people regardless of whether any tax is owed. December 13, 2007.
Part 1 - Requirements of Filing for EITC- information on qualifying children; adjusted income limitations; and qualifying without children.(8:30)
Part 2 - Other Criteria Concerning EITC - citizenship requirements; and common errors when filing.(5:42)
Part 3 - Getting Free Help - via IRS Website; using the EITC Assistant; Volunteer Income Tax Assistant (VITA) Sites and using ICAN E-file; and Avoiding Refund Anticipate Loans (RALS). (11:29)
Click on title above to watch the program.
By: Northwestern Legal Services
Domestic Violence and Welfare Support Requirements Information about the requirement that families who receive cash assistance from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or General Assistance (GA) programs apply for child or spousal support unless excused for good cause.
By: Women's Law Project
Cash Assistance
(Separate Website)
Information on Cash Assistance programs administered by the PA Department of Public Welfare
By: Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare
Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT)
(Separate Website)
Information on the benefit delivery system which provides public assistance recipients with electronic access to their cash and food stamp benefits.
By: Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare
Child Care Works Subsidized Child Care Program
(Separate Website)
Child Care Works is Pennsylvania's plan for improving the quality and increasing the availability of safe, affordable child care for Pennsylvania's working families.
By: Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare
Earned Income Tax Credit - Are You Eligible [PDF]
(Separate Website)
Informational brochure on Earned Income Tax Credit and information on whether you qualify.
By: Internal Revenue Services
Pennsylvania Tax Forgiveness Program
(Separate Website)
Information on how the Pennsylvani Tax Forgiveness Program works.
By: Pennsylvania Department of Revenue
Homeless Assistance Program
(Separate Website)
Information on DPW's Homeless Assistance Program (HAP) and services available to homeless and near homeless individuals and families.
By: Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare
Puerto Rico Birth Certificates Law 191 of 2009 Fact Sheet
(Separate Website)
The Puerto Rico Birth Certificates Law 191 of 2009 will invalidate all birth certificates issued before July 1, 2010 by the Puerto Rico Health Department, through its Vital Statistics Record Office and require that anyone people who needs their birth certificate will have to request that a new birth certificate be issued. Learn the facts about this new law.
By: Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration
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PALawHELP.org is provided as a public service by the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network, the Pennsylvania Bar Association and the Legal Services Corporation.
(Separate Website)
