TO:	Commissioners; Temporary Assistance (TA),  Medicaid (MA) & Food Stamp (FS) Directors,  Staff Development Coordinators  

FROM:	Rus Sykes, Deputy Commissioner, Division of Employment and Transitional Supports
	Betty Rice, Director, DCLDR, Office of Medicaid Management

SUBJECT:  Conference Calls – Assistance for Displaced Citizens from Hurricane Katrina 

EFFECTIVE DATE:  Immediately

CONTACT PERSON: FS Questions – Food Stamp Bureau (518) 473-1469
	TA Questions-Temporary Assistance Bureau (518) 474-9344
	MA Questions - Local District Liaison: Upstate (518) 474-8887;   NYC (212) 417-4500	

GIS Messages 05 TA/DC027 – “Refugees from Hurricane Katrina” (September 2, 2005) and  05 TA/DC028 “Assistance for Displaced Citizens from Hurricane Katrina” (September 8, 2005) provided guidance to local social services districts on the provision of assistance to meet immediate and emergency needs through emergency Temporary Assistance programs, Food Stamp benefits and Medicaid for displaced citizens from Hurricane Katrina. The DETS staff will conduct conference calls regarding the policy outlined in these GIS messages to give local district staff the opportunity to discuss and resolve any issues and questions in this area.

There will be a total of four conference calls available to each district. Districts are invited to take part in each conference call for which they are scheduled. These are expected to last about one hour each. Below is the schedule for each district’s assigned days and times. Note that each district is assigned to a Group since there are two calls each day.

We invite as many of your Temporary Assistance, Food Stamps and Medicaid staff to participate in these conference calls as you deem appropriate.  Due to the number of potential participants in each call and to efficiently administer these calls, we ask that you appoint a spokesperson to coordinate your district’s questions.  In addition, if your district has more than one site, we ask that these calls be coordinated at only one of your sites. We suggest that you have a copy of the GIS messages available for reference during the call.

We encourage your district to participate in the conference call; you may do so by calling 518-408-1500 in the Albany area or 866-266-3697 in all other areas of the State. Use the following call information:

	Conference Name:  OTDA-HURRICANE KATRINA
	Conferee Code: 6071857#

In the event that your district cannot participate on your assigned day, but you have questions or problems, you may contact the Temporary Assistance Bureau at (518) 474-9101 to arrange a different day or time as long as additional phone lines are still available.

OTDA-HURRICANE KATRINA Conference Call Schedule

Group One: : Broome, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Herkimer, Jefferson,  Lewis, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Oneida, Onondaga, Orleans, Otsego, Putnam, Rensselaer, Rockland, St. Lawrence, Schenectady, Schoharie,  Schuyler, Seneca,  Steuben, Tioga, Ulster,  and Warren   (29 districts)

Group Two: Albany, Allegany, Cayuga, Chemung, Chenango, Columbia, Cortland, Delaware, Dutchess, Erie, Fulton, Genesee, Greene,  Madison,  Montgomery, Nassau, NYC HRA,  Ontario,  Orange, Oswego, Saratoga, Suffolk, Sullivan,  Tompkins, Washington, Wayne, Westchester, Wyoming and Yates (29 districts)

September 14, 2005 (Wed.)

1:30 to 2:30:  Group One

3:00 to 4:00: Group Two 

September 16, 2005 (Fri.)

1:30 to 2:30:  Group One

3:00 to 4:00: Group Two 

September 20, 2005 (Tue. - if required)

1:30 to 2:30:  Group One

3:00 to 4:00: Group Two 

September 22, 2005 (Thur. – if required)

1:30 to 2:30:  Group One

3:00 to 4:00: Group Two