Page 15

Page | 8 Part B - Assistance and Eligibility

8.0 APPLICATION AND ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATION

8.1 Application Process

Households requesting financial assistance through the TANF program must file an application form; completed an eligibility interview conducted by an employee designated by the Department; and provide information and documentation pertaining to the household unit or individual household member(s) when requested by the Department designee. Form DHS 1240, Applications for Financial and SNAP Assistance, may be obtained and submitted at any processing center statewide or online through the Public Assistance Information System or PAIS. Families may request an application form to be mailed by calling the Public Assistance Information Line at 1-855-643-1643. Processing centers are open during regular business hours, Monday through Friday, but are closed on all state holidays.

During the application eligibility interview, forms DHS 1242, TANF Memorandum of Understanding; DHS 1259, First-To-Work Referral and Requirements; and DHS 1247, Notice of Requirement to Cooperate with Child Support Enforcement Agency and Right to Claim Good Cause, are reviewed with the applicant. The applicant household is informed of the sixty-month time-limit to receive financial assistance benefits, work program participation requirements, cooperation to child support establishment as a condition of TANF eligibility, and the consequences if requirements are not met.

The Department must make a disposition on an application within forty-five (45) days. The 45-day period begins on the date a processing center receives the application form containing, at a minimum, the applicant's full name, address, and signature. The 45-day period ends when financial assistance benefits are authorized or when a notice is mailed to the applicant household that their application for financial assistance has been denied or discontinued.

8.2 Eligibility Redeterminations and Reporting of Household Changes

8.2.1 A household is certified eligible for benefits for a period of twelve (12) months following their initial eligibility determination for TANF financial assistance. The household must be recertified on an annual basis by submitting a new DHS 1240 application form; completing an eligibility interview; and providing information and documentations necessary to determine continued eligibility for the subsequent twelve (12) months.