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Iowa’s TANF State Plan

25 The state funds expended for this program qualify as TANF maintenance of effort as they meet the criteria of 409(a)(7)(B)(i)(I) and (II) of Title IV-A of the Social Security Act.

Only the amount of refundable state EITC actually paid to the taxpayer or offset and paid to another family; i.e., to meet a child support obligation, is considered to be MOE. Amounts offset for other purposes are not considered to be MOE expenditures.

 Transfers to the Social Services Block Grant (Title XX): TANF funds are transferred to the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) within the parameters of federal law at Title IV-A, Section 404(d) of the Social Security Act.

(ii) Require a parent or caretaker receiving assistance under the program to engage in work (as defined by the State) once the State determines the parent or caretaker is ready to engage in work, or once the parent or caretaker has received assistance under the program for 24 months (whether or not consecutive), whichever is earlier, consistent with section 407(e)(2).

For purposes of Section 402(a)(1)(A)(ii), "engaged in work,” as defined by Iowa, means participation in Family Investment Agreement (FIA) activities. Specific work activities that are counted towards the federal work participation rates are described in Iowa’s Work Verification Plan effective January 2014.

The goal of Iowa’s PROMISE JOBS work and training program is to assure that needy families with children obtain the training, education and employment services they need to help them become economically self-sufficient and avoid long-term dependence on public assistance. A key element is the establishment of the FIA. The FIA is an individualized agreement between the Iowa HHS and the recipient. The agreement addresses: a particular family’s needs; the services to be provided by the Iowa HHS; the actions the family will take; and the time frame to be met by the family to attain self-sufficiency. Families who do not achieve self-sufficiency at that point after making a good faith effort to do so will have their FIA renegotiated and amended.

Unless determined to be exempt, the following people must participate in PROMISE JOBS and develop a FIA: 1. All adults on the FIP grant, including those in the Two Parents Receiving FIP program; 2. All minor parents on the FIP grant; 3. All children ages 16 to 19 on the FIP grant but not in school full-time; and 4. Any parent excluded from the FIP grant but living with a child on FIP, provided the parent is a citizen or qualified alien as defined at 8 United States Code (USC) Section 1641. 5. All persons described in items 1-4 and receiving cash benefits under the FIP for Battered Aliens Program.

As of July 2002, exemptions are granted only to people listed above who are receiving Supplemental Security Income due to disability or blindness.

In order to more effectively assist families to become economically self-sufficient in the shortest amount of time, all persons that apply for FIP benefits on or after November 1, 2004, unless determined to be exempt, must cooperate with PROMISE JOBS and establish and sign an FIA before eligibility for FIP program benefits may be determined.