Page 523

COMBINED MANUAL

ISSUE DATE 11/2021

FAMILY STABILIZATION SERVICES

0011.34

MFIP: Family Stabilization Services (FSS) is a service track that exists to provide more flexibility in services and program expectations in order to help families address health and personal challenges. FSS participants are required to work with employment services unless they meet an exemption. See 0028.06 (Participation Requirements), 0028.06.02 (Universal Participation Provisions).

Participants who meet 1 of the following criteria are considered Family Stabilization Services (FSS): ● The participant is applying for SSI/RSDI (Retirement Survivors Disability Insurance). This includes those who are appealing a denial of an SSI or RSDI application.

● A participant who is age 60 or over.

● A participant is a legal non-citizen who has been in the United States 12 months or less. “12 months” is defined as 12 FULL months after the month of entry. If the participant is in an English Language Learning (ELL) program and has a Student Performance Level (SPL) or Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment Systems (CASAS) equivalent at or below level 6, they may be extended beyond the initial 12 months.

● The participant has a Family Violence Waiver and is complying with an Employment Plan. See 0005.12.12.09 (Family Violence Provisions/Referrals).

● The participant has an illness, injury, or incapacity that has been certified by a qualified professional, the condition is expected to continue for more than 30 days and severely limits the person’s ability to obtain or maintain suitable employment.

● The participant’s presence in the home is required as a caregiver due to the illness, injury, or incapacity of another member in the assistance unit, a relative in the household, or a foster child in the household when the condition, and the need for a person to provide assistance in the home, has been certified by a qualified professional and is expected to continue for more than 30 days.

● The participant has a child or adult in the household who meets disability or medical criteria for home care services, a home and community-based waiver services program, or meets the criteria for severe emotional disturbance or serious and persistent mental illness. See 0011.36 (Special Medical Criteria).

● The participant has been diagnosed by a qualified professional, as developmentally disabled or mentally ill and the condition severely limits the person’s ability to obtain or maintain suitable employment.

● The participant has been assessed by a vocational specialist or the county agency to be unemployable.

● The participant has an IQ below 80, and has been assessed by a qualified professional to be employable but the condition severely limits the person’s ability to obtain or maintain suitable employment. The condition can also significantly restrict the range of employment that the person can perform.

● The participant was determined by a qualified professional to be learning disabled, and the condition severely limits the person's ability to obtain or maintain suitable employment. The condition can also significantly restrict the range of employment that the person can perform.

NOTE: “Severely limits the person’s ability to obtain or maintain suitable employment” means that a qualified professional has determined that the person’s condition prevents the person from working 20 or more hours per week.

See 0011.39 (Qualified Professionals).

DWP: If a participant meets an FSS category, they are considered unlikely to benefit and will need to be converted or referred to MFIP. See 0008.06.24 (DWP Conversion or Referral to MFIP).