The case started as a class action brought in the New York State courts by recipients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children(AFDC).
[1] Plaintiffs filed an action challenging the adequacy of the shelter allowance schedule for families with children in New York City.
They argued that they were entitled to grant levels adequate to pay the rents actually charged and that the New York State Department of Social Services had violated this entitlement by failing to increase the shelter allowance to keep pace with shelter costs.
In the landmark decision Jiggetts v. Grinker, 75 N.Y.2d 411, 554 N.Y.S.2d 92 (1990), the New York Court of Appeals held that the public assistance "shelter allowance" for families with minor children in New York City must bear reasonable relation to the actual cost of housing.
The court ordered the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Social Services to promulgate a reasonable shelter allowance schedule.