1. Safety net assistance shall be provided in amounts determined in accordance with article five and, where applicable, section one hundred seventeen of this chapter in the following manner.

1. (a) Cash assistance. Safety net assistance shall be granted in cash provided, however, that where the granting of cash may be deemed inappropriate by the social services district because of an inability to manage funds, or because less expensive or more easily controlled alternative methods of payment are available, or in the case of vendor payments to landlords made for individuals residing in public housing or for similar other reasons as established by department regulations, or where an individual has so requested, safety net assistance may be granted in whole or in part by restricted payment.

2. (b) Non-cash assistance. Safety net assistance paid as non-cash assistance shall be paid in the following manner and in the following order:

   1. (i) Shelter assistance. A district shall make a payment for shelter by direct payment, two-party check or other form of restricted payment up to the maximum amount established by the department in regulation, provided that a district may make a payment for a recipient's assistance in excess of such maximum at the request of the recipient. Payments for shelter pursuant to this subparagraph shall be subject to the provisions of section one hundred forty-three-b of this chapter. A district shall make payment for shelter by two-party check upon request of the recipient; provided, however, that the district may make a direct payment whenever it finds that the recipient has persistently failed to make payment for rent without good cause as defined by regulations of the department. A district shall provide a recipient with proof of payment promptly upon request by the recipient.
   2. (ii) Utility assistance. A social services district shall make a direct payment, a payment by two party check or other form of restricted payment on behalf of recipients of safety net assistance who pay separately for utilities. Payment for utilities shall include payment for fuel for heating on behalf of recipients who are eligible for a fuel for heating allowance pursuant to section one hundred thirty-one-a of this article and the department's regulations. Payments for fuel for heating shall not exceed the fuel for heating allowance except that a district may make a payment in excess of such amount at the request of the recipient. A district shall provide a recipient with proof of payment promptly upon request by the recipient.
   3. (iii) Personal needs allowance. To the extent available within payment amounts authorized by sections one hundred seventeen, where applicable, and one hundred thirty-one-a of this chapter, a social services district shall provide each household with a personal needs allowance equal to twenty percent of the sum of the monthly standard of payment determined in accordance with the schedule contained in paragraph (a) of subdivision three of section one hundred thirty-one-a of this article and the appropriate amount of home energy grant and supplemental home energy grant as determined by the schedules in subdivisions three-c and three-d of section one hundred thirty-one-a of this article, for the appropriate household size.
   4. (iv) Other assistance. The remainder of the safety net assistance shall be provided on a non-cash basis, provided that an appropriate electronic benefit transfer system is operating in accordance with section twenty-one-a of this chapter in the social services district in which the recipient resides.

7.

1. (a) Notwithstanding subdivisions two and three of this section, adults eligible for safety net assistance who are exempt from the employment requirements contained in title nine-B of this article pursuant to section three hundred thirty-two of such article shall receive cash assistance, unless the adult has been determined to be abusing illegal substances or engaged in habitual consumption of alcohol.
2. (b) Notwithstanding subdivisions two and three of this section, adults eligible for safety net assistance who are also eligible to receive comprehensive health care services through a special needs plan defined in paragraph (n) of subdivision one of section three hundred sixty-four-j of this chapter shall receive cash assistance, regardless of whether such a plan is operating in the district in which they reside. An adult who would be eligible to receive such services through such a special needs plan but for the application of paragraph (d) of subdivision three of section three hundred sixty-four-j of this chapter shall also receive cash assistance.