Hooper, Lundy & Bookman Secures Recall of Provider Relief Fund Debt for a NYC Based Foster Care Agency

Our client is one of the few foster care agencies in New York City dedicated to children who have been placed into foster care due to allegations of abuse and/or neglect and face complex medical and developmental needs. Through a continuum of innovative services, the agency helps ensure these children receive the medical, educational, and social resources they need. By strengthening families and providing critical care, the agency helps children and their families achieve stability and permanency.

In 2022, the agency received approximately $350,000 in Provider Relief Funds (PRF) from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to support its work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to some confusion over the specific requirements of the tax relief program mandated by HRSA, a filing deadline inadvertently lapsed. As a result, HRSA required the agency to return the full $350,000 and assessed approximately $240,000 in interest and penalties, an almost $600,000 financial burden that would have been a significant hardship to the agency.

The agency’s efforts to convince HRSA to reconsider were unsuccessful despite congressional support and extensive outreach. Looking for a lifeline, the agency turned to HLB in December 2024. Attorneys Stanton Stock and Maydha Vinson, along with government relations professional Claire Ernst, took on the matter pro bono. Over the following months, the HLB team worked exhaustively with officials at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the General Counsel (HHS-OGC) and the U.S. Treasury Department to advocate on the agency’s behalf.

Their persistence led to a truly remarkable result: HHS-OGC agreed to recall the full $600,000 debt, including principal, interest, and penalties.

“It’s our privilege to help organizations like this one” said Stanton Stock, Partner at HLB. “While PRF monies were desperately needed during the pandemic, many organizations have since struggled with the complicated strings attached.  Helping our client get relief, so they can continue helping vulnerable children, was a moment of purpose.  This one felt really good.”

The agency’s leadership expressed their deep gratitude for HLB’s work, calling the result a “game-changing moment” for the organization and its beneficiaries.

“Stan and Maydha worked tirelessly, and we are profoundly grateful for HLB’s steadfast advocacy” said the agency’s General Counsel

HLB regularly provides pro bono legal services to organizations that advance health equity and access to care. This tremendous victory exemplifies the firm’s commitment to supporting health care providers and nonprofits who serve marginalized communities in need across the country