452-10 TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE AND APA

452-10 TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE AND APA

452-10 A. GENERAL POLICY

A Temporary Assistance applicant may receive APA benefits while eligibility for Temporary Assistance is being determined. However, except for Temporary Assistance to APA conversion situations, an APA applicant may not receive APA benefits for any month in which his or her needs were included in the Temporary Assistance case.

This restriction does not apply to an individual whose income and resources were considered available to the Temporary Assistance unit, if the individual was not a member of the Temporary Assistance case.

Note: The budgeting rules in this chapter also apply to families receiving Refugee Cash Assistance listed in section 441-2 D.

If one member of a couple receives Temporary Assistance or Refugee Cash Assistance and the other member receives APA , the APA recipient is budgeted as an individual. However, if the ineligible spouse is not included in the Temporary Assistance or Refugee Cash Assistance case, the APA case is budgeted as a couple, one eligible case.

452-10 B. TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE TO APA CONVERSIONS

In many situations, a Temporary Assistance recipient’s eligibility for APA will begin the month following the month the individual’s needs are removed from the Temporary Assistance case. However, in some situations, the individual will be eligible for APA benefits while his or her needs are still included in the Temporary Assistance case.

An APA applicant whose needs are included in a Temporary Assistance case is potentially eligible for APA benefits beginning with the date the applicant would be eligible for an initial month’s APA payment. See manual section 410-7 .

This situation occurs when the individual’s own countable income, including his or her share of the Temporary Assistance payment, is less than the applicable APA need standard. For APA purposes, the countable income that person derives from a Temporary Assistance grant is the difference between the Temporary Assistance payment actually made to the Temporary Assistance unit, and the Temporary Assistance payment which would have been made had the individual not been included in the grant.

Example 1: Eligible for Temporary Assistance and APA at the same time (based on 2026 Temporary Assistance and APA income standards) In July 15, 2026, a two-parent family containing one child applies for Temporary Assistance for the entire family, and APA for the father. The family is approved for Temporary Assistance, and the APA application is pended for 30 days to be in pay status with SSI . The family's only source of income is their monthly Temporary Assistance check for $923. On July 30, SSA notifies the father that he is eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits of $1,020 per month. The father is potentially eligible for APA beginning August 1, the month after the SSA notification. Because the father is now eligible for APA , his needs are removed from the Temporary Assistance case at the earliest opportunity; in this case, effective August 31st with timely notice of adverse action. Without the needs of the father included, the remaining family members qualify for a maximum monthly Temporary Assistance payment of $821.Therefore, the father’s share of the Temporary Assistance payment for the months of November is $102 ($923 - $821 = $102). Because of the father’s own income of $1,020 SSA and his $102 share of Temporary Assistance grant is less than the applicable 2026 APA need standard of $1,356, he qualifies for APA payments beginning with the month of August.

Example 2: Not eligible for Temporary Assistance and APA at the same time (based on 2026 Temporary Assistance and APA income standards) In July 15, 2026, a single mother and her two children applies for Temporary Assistance for herself and her two children, and APA for herself. The family is approved for Temporary Assistance, and the APA application is pended to be in pay with SSI . The family’s only source of income is their monthly Temporary Assistance check for $923. On July 30th, SSA notifies the mother that she is eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits of $1,050 per month. The mother is potentially eligible for APA beginning August 1, the month after the SSA notification. Because the mother is now eligible for APA , her needs are removed from the Temporary Assistance case at the earliest opportunity following adverse action notice requirements; in this case, effective August 31. Without the needs of the mother included, the remaining family members qualify for a maximum monthly Temporary Assistance payment of $554.Therefore, the mother’s share of the Temporary Assistance payment for the month of August is $369 per month ($923 - $554 = $369). Because the mother’s own income of $1,050 SSA and her $369 share of the Temporary Assistance grant is more than the applicable 2026 APA need standard of $1,356, she does not qualify for APA for the month of August. Her eligibility for APA begins September 1, 2026.