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STATE OF CONNECTICUT TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES (TANF) STATE PLAN 2021-2023

EFFECTIVE DATE 10/1/20 – 9/30/23  Initial Submission 12/29/20  Revision Page 6 OVERVIEW OF CONNECTICUT’S TANF PROGRAMS Sec. 402 (a)(1)(A) of the Social Security Act (i) – This Overview part outlines how the state intends to conduct a program, designed to serve all political subdivisions in the state (not necessarily in a uniform manner), that provides assistance to needy families with (or expecting) children and provides parents with job preparation, work, and support services to enable them to leave the program and become self-sufficient. Connecticut’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program provides assistance to needy families and pregnant women meeting eligibility criteria in all political subdivisions of the state. Assistance for basic needs is provided to needy families through the Temporary Family Assistance (TFA) component of the Jobs First Employment Services program. Assistance also is provided to needy families for child care assistance for unemployed persons, and foster care maintenance. Two-Parent TFA cases are those with two parents as defined at 45 CFR 261.24. The Two- Parent component of the TFA cash assistance program for those meeting these criteria is funded as a Solely State Funded (SSF) program, and is no longer part of the TANF program or claimed as a separate state program. Other TFA families with two parents, other than those included in this definition, continue to be part of the TANF program. The eligibility criteria (including income and asset limits) vary from program to program. Connecticut defines a needy family as a family with a gross income less than seventy five percent (75%) of Connecticut’s median income level. Exceptions to this definition are noted in specific program sections in Part I. The family must include a dependent child and a caretaker relative. The ultimate goal of Connecticut’s TANF programs is to provide assistance to needy families to enable them to move out of poverty and into self-sufficiency. A dependent child must be either less than 18 years of age, 18 years of age and attending secondary school or its equivalent, or under age 24 and attending a post-secondary school and considered a dependent student through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) process, or under age 25 and participating in a TANF job training or subsidized employment program. A caretaker relative is a relative who cares for and supervises the dependent child. The caretaker may be a parent or other person related by blood, through adoption or marriage to a relative or another adult acting in loco parentis. A needy parent is a parent of a child who is a member of a needy family. The parent may be the custodial or non-custodial parent.