Jiggetts v. Grinker established that families on public assistance must be provided a shelter allowance that bears reasonable relation to the actual cost of their housing. In 1987, over 60 percent of recipients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children were forced to pay rents in excess of their shelter allowances, forcing parents and young children to choose between food and paying the rent. In 1990, the Court of Appeals held that Section 350(1)(a) of the Social Services Law imposes a statutory duty on the State Commissioner of Social Services to set a reasonable benefits fee schedule, and that the State’s then schedule – “so low that it forced large numbers of families with dependent children into homelessness” – was violated that duty.

Throughout the litigation, families facing eviction were provided with a court-ordered application system through which rent arrears payments and ongoing rent supplements were approved by the State to help them retain their housing. By February 1997, 27,000 families were in receipt of the rent supplements. After a trial, the court ordered the State to increase shelter allowances in New York City. The State gave New York City and other social services districts the option to add on a rent supplement for families with minor children in receipt of cash assistance who were facing eviction. The City opted to adopt the Family Eviction Prevention Supplement (FEPS) to continue a similar application process for rent supplements as had been developed through the litigation. Between 2005 and 2010, families were transferred to FEPS through the application process. Nearly 10,000 families in New York City presently receive FEPS.