(a) Except as provided in subdivisions (b) and (c) of this section, all the income and resources of a sponsor of an alien who has signed an affidavit of support pursuant to section 213a of the Immigration and Nationality Act, and all the income and resources of such sponsor's spouse is deemed available to such alien for purposes of determining the eligibility of such alien for family assistance and federally funded safety net assistance. A sponsor's income and resources will no longer be deemed available to the alien when the alien:

(b) If the social services district determines that a sponsored alien would, in the absence of assistance provided by the agency, be unable to obtain food and shelter, taking into account the alien's own income plus any cash, food or housing or other assistance provided by other individuals, including the actual amount of income and resources provided by the sponsor or sponsor's spouse, the agency must:

(c) The social services district may not apply subdivision (a) of this section for a 12-month period with respect to battered aliens and their children described in section 421(f)(1)(A) of the Federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 and may not thereafter apply such subdivision if the alien demonstrates that the battery or cruelty has been recognized by a court order or order of an administrative law judge or by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. This subdivision does not apply unless the battery or cruelty bears a substantial connection to the need for benefits or if the person responsible for such battery or cruelty resides in the same household as the individual who was subject to the battery or cruelty.

(d) If and to the extent that family assistance, safety net assistance, additional state payments in the supplemental security income program, emergency assistance to aged, blind or disabled adults or emergency assistance to needy families with children is paid to or on behalf of an alien for whom an affidavit of support pursuant to section 213a of the Immigration and Nationality Act has been signed, the social services district must request reimbursement by the alien's sponsor in the amount of such assistance, and, if the alien's sponsor does not within 45 days of such request indicate a willingness to commence payments, such social services district may commence an action against the sponsor pursuant to the affidavit. Indications of a willingness to pay may include only: payment in full, commencement of substantial periodic payments, entry into a payment agreement or a written assurance of payments on a reasonable basis. Oral assurance of payment shall not be sufficient. Remedies available to enforce an affidavit of support include all of the remedies described in sections 3201, 3202, 3204, 3205 of title 28 of the United States Code, as well as an order for specific performance and payment of legal fees and other costs of collection, and include corresponding remedies available under State law; provided, however, that no action shall be brought more than 10 years after assistance was last given.