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Delaware’s TANF State Plan 10-1-2017 to 9-30-2020

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short-term placement of less than 180 days outside of the home, as well as foster care payments for temporary absence placements of up to 365 days. Also included are case management services for preventive services, court- related activities, and foster care. Needy families whose combined earned and unearned income is at or below 900% of the federal poverty level during the year are eligible to receive these TANF or MOE funded services.

As described on page one of Appendix A, federal funds may be used under the former Emergency Assistance provision that was in effect on August 21, 1996. In addition, paragraph two describes how State MOE funds may be used to pay for these benefits and services while the child remains in the home of a relative or during a period of temporary absence from the home of up to 12 months, as long as the child is expected to return home during that period of time or a good cause extension has been granted. Service under this program include: • DSSC – Foster Grandparents serve as mentors and tutors for at-risk children and youth with special and exceptional needs. • DSCYF – Investigations provide support services to ensure the safety of children in various environments. • DSSC – CAPS Funds (includes: Utility fund, Sunoco fund, energy assistance, kinship care, needy family fund) • ECAP – Early Childhood Intervention. The Delaware Department of Education is the lead agency for the State funded Early Childhood Assistance Program (ECAP). ECAPs are designed on the Federal Head Start model. All programs follow Head Start Performance Standards as the foundation for developing their program’s systems and services. ECAP services are comprehensive and include: developmentally appropriate early childhood education, health and nutritional services, parent involvement, family partnerships/services, transportation, services for children with special needs, and transition services.

Cash Assistance for Single or Two Parent and Child Only Families

To provide broad-based support for working families, Delaware was one of the first states to recognize that the special eligibility requirements that applied to two-parent families contributed to both the non-formation and the break-up of two-parent households. The six-quarter work history requirement was particularly responsible for non-marriage of teen parents, who had not yet worked enough to meet this qualification. The denial of benefits to two-parent families if one of the parents was working at least 100 hours a month also contributed to the low work rate of two-parent families that were receiving AFDC.

When Delaware eliminated these special deprivation requirements as part of our welfare reform waiver, the numbers of two-parent families receiving TANF soared, and we believe that, without the TANF change, many of these