902 Income Exclusions

Only the following items shall be excluded from household income, and no other income shall be excluded: 1. Any gain or benefit which is NOT in the form of money payable directly to the household, including non-monetary or in-kind benefits, such as meals, clothing, public housing, or produce from a garden, and vendor payments. Money payments that are not payable directly to a household, but are paid to a third party for a household expense are vendor payments and are excludable as follows: a) A payment made in money on behalf of a household shall be considered a vendor payment whenever a person or organization outside of the household uses its own funds to make a direct payment to either the household’s creditors or a person or organization providing a service to the household. b) Rent or mortgage payments made to landlords or mortgages by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Farmers’ Home Administration (FmHA), or by State or local housing authorities are examples of vendor payments. c) Payments by a government agency to a child care institution to provide day care for a household member are also excluded as vendor payments. 2. Payments or allowances made for the purpose of providing energy assistance (a) under any Federal law, other than part A of Title IV of the Social Security Act including utility reimbursements provided by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Rural Housing Service or (b) a one-time payment or allowance applied for on an as needed basis made under a federal or state law for the costs of weatherization or emergency repair or replacement of an unsafe or inoperative heating or cooling device. A down payment followed by a final payment upon completion of the work will be considered a one-time payment for purposes of this provision. 3. A Public Assistance (PA) or General Assistance (GA) payment (as defined in the Glossary Manual) which is not made directly to the household, but paid to a third party on behalf of the household to pay a household expense, shall be considered as income and not excluded as a vendor payment unless such PA or GA payment is for: a) Medical assistance. b) Child care assistance. c) Utility or energy assistance (see Glossary and Index for definition of energy assistance). d) Housing assistance from a state or local housing authority. e) Any emergency PA or general assistance payment which is provided to a third party on behalf of the migrant or seasonal farm worker household (i.e. vendor payment) while the household is in the job stream. This assistance may be included but is not limited to emergency vendor payments for housing or transportation. 4. Payments in money that are not made to a third party, but are made directly to the household, are counted as income and are not excluded as vendor payment. 5. Moneys that is legally obligated and otherwise payable to the household, but which are diverted by the provider of the payment to a third party for a household expense, shall be counted as income and not excluded as a vendor payment. a) The distinction is whether the person or organization making the payment on behalf of a household is using funds that otherwise would have to be paid to the household. Such funds include: ❖ Wages earned by a household member and therefore owed to the household, a public assistance grant to which a household is legally entitled. ❖ Support or alimony payments in amounts which legally must be paid to a household member. If an employer, agency, or former spouse who owes these funds to a household diverts them instead to a third party to pay for a household expense, these payments shall still be counted as income to the household. However, if an employer, agency, former spouse, or other person makes payments for household expenses to a third party from funds that are not owed to the household; these payments shall be excluded as vendor payments. b) Payments made by an insurance company directly to the landlord/mortgage holder shall be treated as a vendor payment and therefore excluded as income if the landlord/mortgage holder is named as beneficiary of the insurance policy. If the client is named as a beneficiary of the insurance policy, the payments (which are diverted to the landlord/mortgage holder) shall be counted as income to the food stamp household. 6. Wages earned by a household member that are garnished or diverted by an employer and paid to a third party for a household’s expenses, such as rent, shall be considered as income. However, if the employer pays a household’s rent directly to the landlord in addition to paying the household its regular wages, this rent payment shall be excluded as a vendor payment. In addition, if the employer provides housing to an employee, the value of the housing shall not be counted as income. 7. All or part of a public assistance (PA) or general assistance (GA) grant or payment which is diverted to a third party or to a protective payee for purposes such as, but not limited to, managing a household’s expenses, shall be considered as income to the household and not excluded as a vendor payment, except as provided in this section. a) Assistance financed by State or local funds which is provided over and above the normal PA or GA grant or payment or is not normally provided as part of such grant or payment would be considered emergency or special assistance and excluded as income if provided to a third party on behalf of the household. b) If a PA or GA program provides all households in a particular category, with a larger monthly amount, the larger amount would not be excluded because it is part of the regular monthly assistance for all households in that category and is not really an “extra” payment. On the other hand, if a fire destroyed a household item and it receives an “emergency” amount paid directly to a store to purchase a replacement, such a payment could be excluded under this provision. c) Where the program is not composed of various standards, allowances, or components, but is simply designed to provide assistance on an as needed basis rather than provide routine, regular monthly benefits to a client, no exclusion would be granted under this provision because the assistance is not provided over and above the normal grant; it is the normal GA grant. 8. Money deducted or diverted from a court ordered support or alimony payment (or other binding written support or alimony agreement) to a third party for a household expense shall be considered as income. However, payments specified by the court order or other legally binding agreement to go directly to the third party rather than to the household, and support payments not required by a court order or other legally binding agreement (including payments in excess of amount specified in a court order or written agreement) which are paid to a third party rather than the household shall be excluded as a vendor payment, even if the household agrees to the arrangement. 9. Income of a SSI recipient necessary for the fulfillment of a Plan for Achieving Self-Support (PASS) under Title XVI of the Social Security Act. 10. Other than interest income, any income in the certification period which is received too infrequently or irregularly to be reasonably anticipated, but not in excess of $30 in a quarter. 11. Student financial assistance received by a household member shall be excluded in its entirety for persons at a recognized institution of post secondary education, at a school for the handicapped, in a vocational education program, or in a program that provides for obtaining a secondary school diploma or GED. This includes but is not limited to grants, scholarships, fellowships, educational loans on which payment is deferred, all work study, and veteran’s educational benefits. 12. Allowances, earnings, or payments (including reimbursements) to individuals participating in programs under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) (Public Law 113- 128) shall be excluded. This includes earnings from the Summer Youth Employment and Training Program. This exclusion does not apply to earnings for on-the-job training programs as stated in POE Section 901A. 13. Reimbursements for past or future expenses, to the extent they do not exceed actual expenses, and do not represent a gain or benefit to the household. Reimbursements for normal household living expenses such as rent or mortgage, personal clothing, or food eaten at home are a gain or benefit and, therefore, are not excluded. To be excluded, these payments must be provided specifically for an identified expense, other than normal living expenses, and used for the purpose intended. When a reimbursement, including a flat allowance, covers multiple expenses, each expense does not have to be separately identified as long as none of the reimbursements covers normal living expenses. The amount by which a reimbursement exceeds the actual incurred expense shall be counted as income. However, reimbursements shall not be considered to exceed actual expenses, unless the provider or the household indicates the amount is excessive. SUP payments (State Supplementation) which are greater than the actual expense for which they are intended cannot have the amount exceeding the expense counted as income unless the household verbally states the SUP check is greater than the expense. The case record will reflect the amount of the SUP check (as an income to be excluded) and the amount of the expense will be reflected in the listing of medical expenses, these figures shall not be used to determine countable income; only the household’s verbal statement of excess will entitle the amount by which SUP check exceeds the expense to be counted as income. Excludable reimbursements which are not considered a gain or benefit to the household include, but are not limited to: ❖ Reimbursements or flat allowances for job- or training-related expenses such as travel, per diem, uniforms, and transportation to and from the job or training site. Reimbursements which are provided over and above the basic wages for these expenses are excluded; however, these expenses, if not reimbursed, are not otherwise deductible. Reimbursements for the travel expenses incurred by migrant workers are also excluded. ❖ Reimbursements for out-of-pocket expenses of volunteers incurred in the course of their work. ❖ Medical or dental care reimbursements and direct payments to a household to cover costs of securing and maintaining “service animals” such as Seeing Eye dogs, hearing guide dogs and housekeeper monkeys are to be excluded as a medical reimbursement. ❖ Reimbursements received by households to pay for services provided by Title XX of the Social Security Act. ❖ P.L. 93-288, Section 312(d), the Disaster Relief Act of 1974, as amended by P.L. 100-707, Section 105(i), the Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Amendments of 1988 provide that payments precipitated by an emergency or major disaster are not counted as income or resources for food stamp purposes. This exclusion applies to Federal Assistance provided to persons directly affected and to comparable disaster assistance provided by States, local governments, and disaster assistance organizations. Disaster Unemployment Assistance. A major disaster is any natural catastrophe such as a hurricane or drought, or regardless of cause, any fire, flood, or explosion, which the President determines causes damage of sufficient severity and magnitude to warrant disaster assistance to supplement the efforts and available resources of States, local governments, and disaster relief organizations in alleviating the damage, loss, hardship, or suffering caused thereby. An emergency is any occasion or instance for which the President determines that Federal assistance is needed to supplant State and local efforts and capabilities to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe. ❖ National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) payments made to property owners under the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 as amended by P.L. 109-64, enacted on September 20, 2005. ❖ Any payment made to an E and T participant for costs that are reasonably necessary and directly related to participation in the E and T program. These costs include, but are not limited to, dependent care costs, transportation, other expenses related to work, training or education such as uniforms, personal safety items or other necessary equipment, and books or manuals (P.L. 101-485). 14. Moneys received and used for the care and maintenance of a third-party beneficiary who is not a household member. a) When a protective payee who receives money which is legally obligated to a third-party beneficiary who is not a member of the household, uses some or all of the money for himself, that portion of the money that the protective payee uses for himself is counted as income to the protective payee’s household. The portion that is not used for the beneficiary is not counted as income to the beneficiary’s household. The total moneys assigned to the beneficiary and/or the protective payee cannot exceed the amount of the benefits. b) If the intended beneficiaries of a single payment are both household and non- household members, any identifiable portion of the payment included and used for the care and maintenance of the non-household member shall be excluded. c) If the non-household member’s portion cannot be readily identified, the payment shall be evenly prorated among intended beneficiaries and the exclusion applied to the non- household member’s pro rata share or the amount actually used for the non-household member’s care and maintenance, whichever is less. 15. Earned income of children in the household under age 18 who attend elementary or secondary school, or attend classes to obtain a GED. The student can also attend elementary or secondary classes through a home-school program recognized or supervised by the student’s state or local school district. a) This exclusion shall continue to apply during temporary interruptions in school attendance due to semester or vacation breaks, provided the student’s enrollment will resume following the break. b) If the student’s earnings or amount of work performed cannot be differentiated from that of other household members, the total earnings shall be prorated equally among the working members and the student’s pro rate share excluded. c) The earned income of students who become 18 will be excluded the entire month of birth for eligibility and allotment determinations. 16. Money received in the form of a nonrecurring lump-sum payment, including, but not limited to: a) Income tax refunds, rebates, or credits. b) Retroactive lump-sum social security, SSI, Family Assistance, railroad retirement benefits or other payments. Retroactive SSI benefits paid in installments (other than for drug addiction/alcoholism) are excluded from income. c) Lump-sum insurance settlements. d) Refunds of security deposits on rental property or utilities. e) Agent Orange VA payments to disabled veterans or to spouses or dependent children of deceased Vietnam Veterans. All payments from the Agent Orange Compensation Exclusion Act or any other fund established pursuant to the settlement in the Agent Orange Product liability litigation are excluded from income and resources retroactive to January 1, 1989. The disabled veteran will receive yearly payments. Survivors of the deceased disabled veterans will receive a lump sum payment. These payments are disbursed by the AETNA insurance company using their own checks. (Public Law 101-201). f) Funds received from a guardianship or conservatorship account which is limited to use in emergency situations. g) Child support received by the household from income tax intercepts. 17. The cost of producing self-employment income. The procedures for computing the cost of producing self-employment income are described in Section 1100. 18. Any income that is specifically excluded by any other federal statute from consideration as income for the purpose of determining eligibility for the food assistance program. The following laws provide such an exclusion: a) The monthly fee collected by a qualified organization acting as the representative payee for an individual receiving SSI benefits (P.L. 101-500, Section 5105(a)) or SSI and/or Social Security disability due to drug addiction and/or alcoholism (P.L. 103-296) ❖ The monthly fee collected by the organizational representative payee is legally obligated to the payee rather than the household. The organization must be a community based nonprofit social service agency which is bonded or licensed in the state. ❖ For organizations serving as representative payees for SSI and/or SS disability payments for drug addiction and/or alcoholism (DAA), the maximum monthly fee is $50.00 or 10% of the monthly benefit, whichever is less. ❖ For organizations serving as representative payees for SSI recipients (other than DAA individuals), the maximum monthly fee is $25.00 or 10% of the monthly SSI benefit amount, whichever is less. b) P.L. 79-396, Section 12(e) of the National School Lunch Act as amended by Section 9(d) of P.L. 94-105 provides that the value of assistance to children under this act shall be excluded as both income and resources for any purpose under any Federal or State laws. Please note that the exclusion applies to assistance provided to children rather than that paid to providers. This law authorizes: ❖ The school lunch program. ❖ The summer food service program for children. ❖ The Commodity Distribution Program. ❖ The Child and Adult Care Program. The amount of Child and Adult Care Food program payments paid to the day care provider to provide meals to children other than the provider’s own children is considered self-employment income for the provider. Any payments under this program paid to a day care provider for meals served to the provider’s own children shall be excluded in its entirety to the provider’s household. c) P.L. 89-642, the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, Section 11(b) provides that the value of any assistance to children shall not be considered as income or resources for any purpose under any Federal or State law. This law authorizes: ❖ The Special Milk Program. ❖ The School Breakfast Program. ❖ The Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). d) P.L. 97-252, The Uniform Services Former Spouse Protection Act provides that a military retirement plan is property subject to division and any payments diverted to an ex-spouse in a divorce settlement shall be considered as such. Any portion of the retirement plan which is legally obligated and otherwise payable to the ex-spouse shall be excluded as income in the retiree’s household. e) Reimbursements from the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policy Act of 1970 (P.L. 91-646, Section 216). f) Any payment to volunteers under Title II (RSVP, Foster Grandparents and others) of the Domestic Volunteer Services Act of 1973 (P.L. 93-113) as amended. ❖ Payments under Title I of that Act (including payments from VISTA) to volunteers shall be excluded for those individuals receiving food assistance or public assistance at the time they joined the Title I program, except that households which were receiving an income exclusion for a VISTA or other Title I subsistence allowance at the time of conversion to the Food Stamp Act of 1977, shall continue to receive an income exclusion for VISTA for the length of their volunteer contract in effect at the time of conversion. ❖ Temporary interruptions in food assistance participation shall not alter the exclusion once an initial determination has been made. New applicants who were not receiving public assistance or food assistance at the time they joined VISTA shall have these volunteer payments included as earned income. g) Income derived from certain sub marginal land of the United States which is held in trust for certain Indian tribes (P.L. 94-114, Section 6). h) Payments received from the youth incentive entitlement pilot projects, the youth community conservation and improvement projects, and the youth employment and training programs under Title IV of the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act Amendments of 1978 (P.L. 95-524). i) Income derived from the disposition of funds to the Grand River Band of Ottawa Indians (P.L. 94-540). j) P.L. 112-240, The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, provides that all tax refunds received after December 31, 2012 are permanently excluded as income for the Food Assistance Program. This exclusion includes Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credits. k) Payments by the Indian Claims Commission to the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakima Indian Nation or the Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Reservation (P.L. 95- 433). l) Payments to the Passamaquoddy Tribe and the Penobscot Nation and the Houlton Band of Maliseet received pursuant to the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act of 1980 (P.L. 96-420, Section 9(c)). m) Payments of relocation assistance to members of the Navajo and Hopi Tribes under P.L. 93-531. n) 25 USCS 1407 Judgment Funds (as amended by P.L. 93-134 and P.L. 97-458) provides that none of the funds (appropriate in satisfaction of judgments of the Indian Claims Commission or Claims Court in favor of any Indian tribe, band, etc.) which meet one of the following: ❖ Are distributed per capita or held in trust pursuant to a plan approved under the provisions of this Act (25 USCS 1401 et seq.). ❖ On the date of enactment of this Act [enacted Jan. 12, 1983], are to be distributed per capita or are held in trust pursuant to a plan approved by Congress prior to the date of enactment of this Act. ❖ Were distributed pursuant to a plan approved by Congress after December 31, 1981, but prior to the date of enactment of this Act [enacted Jan. 12, 1983], and any purchases made with such funds. Including all interest and investment income accrued thereon while such funds are so held in trust, shall be subject to Federal or State income taxes, nor shall such funds nor their availability be considered as income or resources nor otherwise utilized as the basis for denying or reducing the financial assistance or other benefits to which such household or member would otherwise be entitled under the Social Security Act [42 USCS 301 et seq.] or, except for per capita shares in excess of $2000, any Federal or federally assisted program. The $2000 amount applies to each payment made to each person. Initial purchases made with exempt payments distributed between January 1, 1982 and January 12, 1993, is excluded from resources to the extent that excluded funds were used. o) P.L. 98-64, 8/2/83, applied the exclusion in 25 USCS 1407 to per capita payments from funds which are held in trust by the Secretary of Interior (trust fund distributions) for an Indian tribe. p) Payments made to U.S. citizens of Japanese ancestry, Japanese resident aliens, and certain eligible Aleutian residents under Wartime Relocation of Civilians (P.L. 100-383). q) P.L. 99-576, Veteran’s Benefits Improvement and Health Care Authorization Act of 1986, Section 303(a) (1) which amended Section 1411(b) and 1412(c) of the Veterans Educational Act (GI Bill), provides that any amount by which the basic pay of an individual is reduced under this subsection shall revert back to the Treasury and shall not for purposes of any Federal Law be considered to have been received by or to be within the control of such individual. Section 1411 refers to basic educational assistance entitlement for service on active duty and Section 1412 refers to basic educational entitlement for service in Selected Reserve. (Section 216 of P.L. 99-576, authorized stipends for participation in study of Vietnam era veterans’ psychological problems. These stipends are not excluded by law.) r) The Child Care Payments authorized under Title V, Section 5801 of the Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1990 to low income families who need such care to work and would be at risk of becoming eligible for AFDC if such payments are not provided. These payments are commonly referred to as “at risk” Child Care Payments, P.L. 101- 508. No deduction for child care may be allowed for that portion of the child care expense covered by the “at risk” payments. s) The value of any child care payment paid by the Jobs Opportunity Basic Skills (JOBS) program under Title IV-A of the Social Security act or the Transitional Child Care (TCC) program shall be considered as a reimbursement. Regardless of whether these child care payments (reimbursements) are paid directly to the client or paid directly to the provider, they shall not be an allowable deduction. Any amount paid by the household which exceeds the amount paid by TCC or JOBS shall be an allowable child care deduction. t) P.L. 102-586, Section 8, amended the Child Care Development Block Grant Act Amendments of 1992 to exclude the value of any child care provided or arranged under this Act. Any amount received as payment for such care or reimbursement for cost incurred for such care is also excluded. (These payments are made under the Social Security Act, as amended.) u) Payments to individuals under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act enacted October 15, 1990 (P.L. 101-426). v) P.L. 101-610, Section 177(d), 11/16/90, National and Community Service Act (NCSA) of 1990, provides that Section 142(b) of the “on-the-job trainings programs under section 129 (c)(2)(C)(iv) or section 134 (c)(3)(D)(ii)of WIOA”. This includes payments for any Summer Youth Employment and Training Programs under AmeriCorps. Title I includes three acts: ❖ Serve-America: the Community Service, Schools and Service-Learning Act of 1990 ❖ The American Conservation and Youth Service Corps Act of 1990. ❖ The National and Community Service Act. There are approximately 47 different NCSA programs and they vary from state to state. Most of the payments are made as a weekly stipend or for educational assistance. ❖ The Higher Education Service-Learning program and the AmeriCorps umbrella program come under this Title. The National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) is a federally-managed AmeriCorps program. The summer for Safety program is an AmeriCorps program under which participants earn a stipend and a $1000 post- service educational award. w) The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act and Section 15 of P.L. 100-241, 2/3/88, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act Amendments of 1987 - all payments made to households are excluded from income and resources - (P.L. 92-203) This includes cash, stock, partnership interest, land, interest in land and other benefits. x) Per capita and interest payments made to the Assiniboine Tribe of the Fort Belknap Indian Community and the Assiniboine Tribe of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation (Montana) (P.L. 98-124). y) Per capita and interest payments made to the Red Lake Band of Chippewa’s (P.L. 98- 123). z) Payments to the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan (P.L. 99-346). aa) Per capita payments to the Chippewa’s of Mississippi (P.L. 99-377) ab) Old Age Assistance Claims Settlement Act provides that funds made to heirs of deceased Indians under this Act shall not be considered as income or resources nor otherwise used to reduce or deny food stamp benefits except for per capita shares in excess of $2,000. ac) Payments to the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa’s, Arizona (P.L. 97-403). ad) Payments to the Blackfeet, Gros Ventre, and Assiniboine tribes (Montana) and the Papago (Arizona) (P.L. 97-408). ae) P.L. 99-146, Section 6(b), 11/11/85 - funds distributed per capita or held in trust for members of the Chippewa’s of Lake Superior are excluded from income and resources. Judgments were awarded in Dockets Numbered 18-S, 18-U, 18-C, and 18- T. Dockets 18-S and 18-U are divided among the following reservations: Wisconsin: Bad River Reservation Lac du Flambeau Reservation Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation Sokaogon Chippewa Community Red Cliff Reservation St. Croix Reservation Michigan: Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (L’Anse, Lac Vieux Desert, and Ontonagon Bands) Minnesota: Fond du Lac Reservation Grand Portage Reservation Nett Lake Reservation (including Vermillion Lake and Deer Creek) White Earth Reservation Under Dockets 18-C and 18-T, funds are given to the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of the Lake Superior Bands of Chippewa Indians of the Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation of Wisconsin, the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians of the Bad River Reservation, the Sokaogon Chippewa Community of the Mole Lake Band of Chippewa Indians, and the St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin. af) P.L. 99-264, White Earth Reservation Land Settlement Act of 1985, 3/24/86, Section 16 excludes moneys paid under this Act from income and resources. This Act involves members of the White Earth Band of Chippewa Indians in Minnesota. ag) P.L. 99-346, Section 6(b) (2) - payments to the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan is excluded from income and resources ah) P.L. 99-377, Section 4(b), 8/8/86 - Funds distributed per capita to the Chippewa’s of the Mississippi or held in trust under this Act are excluded from income and resources. The judgments were awarded in Docket Number 18-S. The funds are divided by reservation affiliation for the Mille Lac Reservation, Minnesota; White Earth Reservation, Minnesota; and Leech Lake Reservation, Minnesota. ai) P.L. 101-41, 6/21/89, The Puyallup Tribe of Indians Settlement Act of 1989, Section 10(b), provides that nothing in this Act shall affect the eligibility of the Tribe or any of its members for any Federal program. Section 10(c) provides that none of the funds, assets or income from the trust fund established in Section 6(b) shall at any time be used as a basis for denying or reducing benefits to the Tribe or its members under any Federal, State or local program. (The Puyallup Tribe is located in Washington State.) aj) Funds appropriated in satisfaction of judgments awarded to the Seminole Indians in Dockets 73, 151, and 73-A of the Indian Claims Commission are excluded from income and resources except for per capita payments in excess of $2,000. Payments were allocated to the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, and the independent Seminole Indians of Florida. (P.L. 101-277, 4/30/90.) ak) P.L. 101-503, Section 8(b), Seneca Nation Settlement Act of 1990, dated November 3, 1990, provides that none of the payments, funds or distributions authorized, established, or directed by this Act, and none of the income derived there from, shall affect the eligibility of the Seneca Nation or its members, or be used as a basis for denying or reducing funds under any Federal program. al) P.L. 103-66, Section 13736, dated August 10, 1993, provides that interest of individual Indians in trust or restricted lands shall not be considered as a resource and up to $2,000 per calendar year of income received by individual Indians that is derived from such interest shall be excluded in determining both food stamp eligibility and benefit level. am) 25 USCS 1931 Indian Child Welfare (P.L. 95-608, 11/8/78), subparagraph (a) provides for child and family service grant programs on or near reservations in the preparation and implementation of child welfare codes. Such programs may include, but are not limited to, family assistance, including homemaker and home counselors, day care, after school care, and employment, recreational activities, and respite care home improvement; the employment of professional and other trained personnel to assist the tribal court in the disposition of domestic relations and child welfare matters; and education and training of Indians; including tribal court judges and staff, in skills relating to child and family assistance and service programs. Subparagraph (b) provides that assistance under 25 USCS 1901 et seq. shall not be a basis for the denial or reduction of any assistance otherwise authorized under any federally assisted programs. an) In accordance with 42 USCS 1437T(i), no service provided to a public housing resident under a Family Investment Center program may be treated as income for the purpose of any other program or provision of State or Federal law. Service includes such things as child care, employment training and counseling, literacy training, computer skills training, assistance in the attainment of certificates of high school equivalency, and other similar services. This exclusion does not extend to wages or stipends paid under the Family Investment Program. (P.L. 101-625, Section 22(i), Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act, dated 11/28/90). ao) P.L. 103-322, Section 230202 dated 9/13/94 amended Section 1403 to the Crime Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10602) to provide that payments received by victims of crime from a victim’s compensation program must be excluded from income and resources ap) P.L. 103-436, 11/2/94, Confederated Tribes of the Collie Reservation Grand Coulee Dam Settlement Act, Section 7(b), provides that payments made pursuant to that Act are totally excluded from income and resources for food assistance purposes. 19. P.L. 99-425, Section (e), the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act, 9/30/86. The amount of any home energy assistance payments or allowances provided directly to, or indirectly on behalf of a household, is excluded from income and resources. In determining any excess shelter expense deduction, the full amount of such payments or allowances shall be deemed to be expended by such household for heating or cooling expenses. 20. retroactive and restored lump-sum payments, such as an FA additional payment for a prior month’s under issuance, or a social security retroactive payment; these payments are nonrecurring lump-sum payments and are excluded from income 21. P.L. 100-175, Section 166, Older Americans Act Funds received by persons 55 or older under the Senior Community Employment Program under Title V is excluded from income. Each State and eight organizations receive Title V funds. The organizations that receive some Title V funds are as follows: ❖ Green Thumb ❖ National Council on Aging ❖ National Council of Senior Citizens ❖ American Association of Retired Persons ❖ U.S. Forest Service ❖ National Association for Spanish Speaking Elderly ❖ National Urban League ❖ National Council on Black Aging 22. Cash charitable contributions from private nonprofit charitable organizations not in excess of $300 aggregate per quarter. For the purpose of this policy, a quarter is defined as: January thru March; April thru June; July thru September; and October thru December. 23. The amount of FA to be counted in the food stamp budget, when the recipient has earned income and a dependent care deduction has been allowed for FA purposes, shall be the amount of FA prior to the FA dependent care deduction. The difference between the actual FA award and the amount of FA prior to the deduction is excluded for food assistance. These households are not entitled to a deduction for dependent care. Note: In order for the correct amount of FA to be placed in the food assistance budget, the PA worker will have to determine what the FA would be prior to the dependent care deduction. 24. Governmental foster care payments received by households for foster care individuals who are not considered members of the food assistance household. Both the service payment and the maintenance payment portions of the foster care payment are excluded. 25. All loans, including loans from private individuals, commercial institutions and educational loans on which repayment is deferred. A valid loan must be a written agreement signed by both parties that includes: a) the borrower's acknowledgement of obligation to repay; and b) time table and plan for repayment; and c) the borrower's intent to repay by pledging either real or personal property or anticipated income. If the loan is invalid, the income must be counted as unearned income in the month received. 26. Credits made available to employees by an employer to be used for a variety of things, e.g., buy health insurance or life insurance, etc. The employee cannot elect to receive a cash payment; therefore, these credits are not legally obligated and otherwise payable to the employee as earnings and are excluded. 27. P.L. 103-286, dated August 1, 1994, requires that payments made to individuals because of their status as victims of Nazi persecution is excluded from income and resources. This exclusion applies to such payments received on or after August 1, 1994. 28. Additional pay received and made available to the household by a member of the military deployed to a designated combat zone for the duration of the member’s deployment. This income is excluded only if it was not received by the service member prior to the service member’s deployment to or service in a Federally-designated combat zone. A combat zone is any area the President of the United States designates by Executive Order as an area in which the U.S. Armed Forces are engaging or have engaged in combat. The list of Federally-designated combat zones is: Bahrain, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Iraq, Kuwait, Persian Gulf, Qatar, Oman, Red Sea, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Israel, Eastern Med, Jordan, Egypt, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Incirlik AFB Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Philippines (only troops with orders that reference OEF), Yemen, Djibouti, The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia/Montenegro), Albania, The Adriatic Sea, The Ionian Sea (north of the 39th parallel), Bosnia, Herzegovina, Croatia, and Macedonia. When questions arise as to specific issues or payment codes on the Leave and Earnings Statement (LES), the State agency should contact the service members’ supporting finance to clarify the types of income to determine if the income should be excluded.