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Iowa’s TANF State Plan

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The Iowa HHS continues to recoup any excess benefits issued when a participant fails to timely report a change in circumstances or when a change makes a case or a person ineligible for FIP, but the Iowa HHS’ timely notice requirements delay the action.

 The period of ineligibility caused by receipt of a nonrecurring lump sum was changed to align with Medicaid policy to encourage timely reporting the receipt of a nonrecurring lump sum.

The period of ineligibility begins with the month when the nonrecurring lump sum is received. If the lump sum is timely reported, but timely notice provisions prevent applying it to one or both of the first two months of the period of ineligibility, no recoupment will be made for those months. If the lump sum is not timely reported, recoupment will be made.

 The substitution of a telephone interview for a face-to-face interview at the time of application or review is allowed, as appropriate. Allowing income maintenance workers the flexibility to do FIP interviews by telephone promotes efficiency for workers while removing a barrier for families who have difficulty attending a face- to-face interview. A family may have difficulty attending a face-to-face interview because of work or school schedules, lack of transportation, lack of child care, health problems, or other issues.

 Effective August 2007, the Iowa HHS increased the earned income disregard for Medicaid from 50 percent to 58 percent to align with FIP policies.

 Effective February 1, 2009, the Iowa HHS eliminated FIP quarterly reporting and moved to semi-annual reporting. This change aligns FIP reporting requirements with SNAP, resulting in less customer confusion and paperwork.

As described in the ADMINISTRATION section of this State Plan, the Iowa HHS is the single state TANF agency and responsible for administering numerous public assistance programs to help Iowans achieve healthy, safe, stable, and self-sufficient lives. These include both “needs- based” programs such as TANF cash assistance, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), child care assistance, and medical assistance, as well as programs available without regard to financial need, typically concerning child welfare services. As also described in this Plan, Iowa uses TANF and state MOE funds to support many of these programs (subject to limitations) to meet one or more TANF purposes. Iowa invests a significant portion of its annual TANF award in child care assistance and child welfare programs.

The Iowa HHS’ scope of responsibility and diverse use of TANF funds result in programs that serve both adults and children, often focusing more on one than the other, but also sometimes addressing the needs of both. From an agency perspective as well as from a TANF funding perspective, the Iowa HHS provides many essential “Two-Generation Services.” The Iowa HHS’ structure and flexible uses of TANF funds allows these services to be provided in a more integrated manner.