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Massachusetts TANF State Plan

The payments cover work related expenses and transportation costs and decrease over the four months.

Work Related Expense Stipend Transportation Stipend Month 1 $200 Month 1 $80 Month 2 $150 Month 2 $60 Month 3 $100 Month 3 $40 Month 4 $50 Month 4 $20

Special Requirements for Young Parents

The eligibility rules for parents under 20 can be found at 106 CMR 703.180 - 184. To be eligible for TAFDC as a parent under 20, you must have graduated from high school, received a high school equivalency certificate or be attending school or a certificate program full time. Parents under the age of 20 who do not have a high school degree or the equivalent who are attending school or a high school equivalency program full time also have the option of participating in an employment and training program part time while they work on their high school equivalency certificate. Parents under 20 are not required to attend school full time for three months after the birth of their child. You also must be living with your parents, another adult related to you, another adult related to your child, a foster parent or a legal guardian. The other adult or legal guardian cannot be the child’s other parent unless the parents are married or the Commissioner has determined an exception is appropriate because the living arrangement is in the child’s best interests. A parent under 20 can also be living in a structured teen living program or on their own under certain conditions specified in 106 CMR 703.184. Parents under the age of 20 are eligible to receive fully subsidized child care.

Parents under 20 who do not meet school attendance requirements without good cause are removed from the grant. If they continue to not meet school attendance requirements, the grant is terminated.

Self-Sufficiency Specialists (SSS)

The mandate to have SSS case managers is found in Mass. Gen. Laws Chapter 18, section 5. The primary focus of the SSS case managers are young parents, ages 23 and younger. SSS case managers carry a reduced caseload in order to provide intensive case management to specialized populations. The target case load for a SSS case manager is 90; each local office has enough SSS case managers to cover their young parent population at that case load ratio. If a SSS has room in their caseload, they may also serve other specialized populations, such as those living in an emergency shelter or a domestic violence shelter.

SSS case managers work with families to develop a solid foundation, including establishing education, training and employment goals, as well as strategies to help with any challenges the family may have as they advance their economic mobility.

SSS case managers maintain a weekly presence at young parent program sites where the families on their caseload receive services. This allows SSS case managers to work