Creating an office of assistance for 9/11 first responders and survivors.

This bill would create an Office of Assistance for 9/11 First Responders and Survivors within the Department of Social Services. The Office would have to connect individuals with benefits and services; provide case management; make efforts to secure priority access to benefits and services; and provide its services in coordination with other agencies and governments. The Office must provide an individual with a receipt containing a summary of an individual’s request for assistance and next steps concerning assistance. Additionally, the director of the Office would have to prepare a policy manual for Office staff and a procedure for overseeing the Office’s service delivery. The director would also be required to establish and make publicly available a bill of rights for first responders and survivors. Finally, this bill would require the Office to submit to the Mayor and the Speaker of the Council, and post online, an annual report on the Office’s service delivery.