MidHudson News is reporting that Governor Kathy Hochul on May 13 announced the distribution of $28 million in federal pandemic funding to help New Yorkers with children cover expenses incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. Families on Public Assistance with a child 17 or younger in their household will this month receive $250 to help pay for housing expenses, bills, and other critical needs. The payments are administered through the state Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. The one-time payment is intended to help families pay past-due bills or other household expenses. Approximately 112,000 households will receive the payments, which will help more than 216,000 children. OTDA will issue the payments directly to the household’s Electronic Benefit Transfer account. Eligible households will receive written notification from OTDA. The Pandemic Emergency Assistance Fund was created as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. According to federal guidelines, the funding must be used for issuing non-recurring benefits to impacted households with children to deal with a specific short-term situation or need. Read more at MidHudsonNews [dot] com.