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Cash or in-kind payment for members of religious orders who take a vow of poverty is considered wages if: • An individual receives compensation from the order as an active, working member of that order • An individual receives compensation from a third party for services performed as an employee • An individual receives compensation when they engage in self-employment activity unrelated to their membership in the order Any income provided by the order to a member who has taken a vow of poverty, which does not fall under one of the provisions above, is unearned income to the member, even if it is turned over to the order. Unearned income received by a member who takes a vow of poverty from any other source outside the order, such as Social Security or VA benefits, is unearned income to the member, even if the member turns it over to the order. 2810.00.00 EARNED INCOME Earned income is earnings received through wages, salaries, commissions, or profit from activities in which a person is engaged through either employment or self-employment. Income, to be considered as "earned", must entail personal involvement and effort on the part of the recipient, including managerial responsibilities. Examples of earned income include, but are not limited to the following: • Wages, salaries, commissions, bonuses, or profit received because of holding a job or being self-employed; this would include earnings from a graduate assistantship, if subject to taxation and available to the student for meeting non-educational living expenses • Wages received from sheltered workshop employment • Compensation for jury duty • Tips • Goods and services received in lieu of wages for work performed • The dollar value, as established by the employer, of income received in-kind for work performed when in-kind earnings are received in lieu of wages. Refer to IHCPPM 2815. 2810.05.00 SALE OF BLOOD OR PLASMA For all Medicaid AG’s, income from the sale of blood or plasma is included as earned income.