Page 23

21 | P a g e

of $200 per child under two years of age, or $175 per child two years of age or older. If the applicant’s remaining countable income exceeds D.C.’s maximum payment level, the applicant is ineligible for benefits. When determining the eligibility of on-going recipients and the level of benefits to which a family is eligible to receive, a $160 work expense deduction is applied and then an additional two thirds of remaining earned income is deducted to compute countable earned income. The same dependent care deductions apply to recipients and applicants. A family is eligible for benefits equal to the difference between its countable income (composed of countable earned and unearned income) and the payment level.

D.C. has conformed its asset and resource limit to those utilized under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) program ($2,250 or $3,250 for households with at least one elderly or disabled member). D.C. will disregard the entire value of all vehicles owned by or registered to the TANF applicant or recipient’s household.

Recipients must report all changes in circumstances within 10 days of the change. TANF recipients with earned income are required to report changes in income every six (6) months.

b) Orientation and Assessment: All eligible applicants attend an orientation and complete an assessment. Both are administered by DHS. Failure to complete either without good cause will result in a denial of benefits. c) Work Requirements: Non-exempt recipients are strongly encouraged to participate in work and education activities through TEP (Exemption criteria are listed above). Failing to participate in