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COMBINED MANUAL

ISSUE DATE 11/2021

DWP BASES OF ELIGIBILITY

0013.05

11. A family unit with a caregiver who is unlikely to benefit from DWP. See 008.06.24 (DWP Conversion or Referral to MFIP), 0011.34 (Family Stabilization Services).

12. A family unit applying for or participating with Tribal TANF Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe or Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians. See 0029.06.24.03 (Tribal TANF-Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe), 0029.06.24.06 (Tribal TANF – Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians).

A 2-PARENT FAMILY UNIT MUST PARTICIPATE IN DWP UNLESS THE UNIT MEETS 1 OF THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS ● Both parents meet 1 of the exception criteria listed above in 3 through 6.

OR ● 1 or both parents meet 1 of the exception criteria listed above in 7 through 11.

A 2-parent family unit that includes a child under 12 months (with no other DWP exclusion reason) must participate in DWP. One parent may claim the ES exemption for the care of a child under 12 months if, between them, they have not used the entire 12 months lifetime ES exemption while previously on MFIP or DWP.

Determine eligibility for MFIP for any applicant unit that meets the criteria in 1 through 12. When a new caregiver who meets 1 of the criteria in items 6 through 12 joins the unit, convert the case to MFIP. See 0008.06.24 (DWP Conversion or Referral to MFIP).

NOTE: Unless a unit meets criteria to be converted to MFIP, a unit is ineligible for MFIP any month of the 4-month DWP period.

DWP participants must meet the 30-day residency requirement (or qualify for a hardship exception) before issuing any benefits. See 0011.06.09 (State Residence - 30-Day Requirement).

Eligibility for DWP is limited to 4 consecutive months in a 12-month period. The 4-month DWP period is a fixed period of time. It includes the initial month of eligibility (which may be a partial month because the initial month’s benefits are prorated based on the date of application) plus the following 3 calendar months. The 4-month DWP period is not affected by a break in receipt of benefits for any reason.

If a participant leaves DWP and reapplies for cash within the consecutive 4-month period, whether in the same county or a different county, determine eligibility for DWP. If the person reapplies after the DWP consecutive 4-month period but within the 12-month period of ineligibility for DWP, the unit is eligible for MFIP if all MFIP eligibility criteria are met.

MAXIS will track the 4 consecutive months of DWP and will autoclose the case for the 5th month and issue a DAIL message.

For applicants who were on MFIP, the 12-month period begins the month after the MFIP case was closed. See items 7 and 8 above. A 2-parent family is not eligible for DWP if either of the 2 parents has received MFIP or DWP assistance within the above time periods.

NOTE: For the purpose of determining if an applicant has been on MFIP in the last 12 months, a suspended or food portion only MFIP month counts as a month in which the participant received MFIP. For DWP, all 4 months of the 4-month consecutive period of eligibility count as DWP months, even if no benefits were issued. See 0008.06.06 (Adding a Person to the Unit – Cash).

Before DWP benefits can be issued to a family, the caregiver(s) must develop and sign an Employment Plan with a job counselor. In a 2-parent unit, both parents must develop and sign Employment Plans before benefits can be issued. This early engagement in DWP Employment Services is designed to move participants to work as quickly as possible. See 0028.15 (Employment Plan (EP)).