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COMBINED MANUAL

ISSUE DATE 01/2017

MFIP HOUSING ASSISTANCE GRANT

0013.03.09

MFIP: To be eligible for the $110 MFIP Housing Grant, an assistance unit:

● Must meet all MFIP financial and non-financial eligibility factors.

● Must not be an assistance unit with a relative caregiver who opted out of MFIP assistance, or a unit in which the relative caregiver applied for MFIP as part of the assistance unit, but only the relative children were found to be eligible.

● Must not be opting out of MFIP cash portion or the MFIP Housing Grant, see 0014.03.03.03 (Opting Out of MFIP Cash Portion).

● Must not be currently receiving a Housing subsidy through the Department of Housing and Urban Development UNLESS 1 or both of the caregivers meet 1 of the criteria below:

- Age 60 or older.

- Caring for another member in the assistance unit, a relative in the household, or a foster child in the household due to illness or incapacity certified by a qualified professional which is expected to continue for 31 days or more.

- Caregiver is certified by a qualified professional to be suffering from an Illness, injury or incapacity that is expected to continue for more than 30 days, and severely limits the caregiver’s ability to work 20 or more hours per week.

- Meets Special Medical Criteria (SMC).

- Receives Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

- Receives Mille Lacs Tribal TANF.

There is no proration for the MFIP Housing Assistance Grant. If an assistance unit is eligible 1 day in the month, there is eligibility for the full MFIP Housing Assistance Grant.

Eligibility for the MFIP Housing Assistance Grant is determined prospectively.

Suspended MFIP cases or MFIP cases that receive a food portion only grant continue to receive the MFIP Housing Assistance Grant. Receipt of the MFIP Housing Assistance Grant counts towards the 60 month time limit. For those caregivers who are subject to the TANF time limit, see 0011.30 (60-Month Lifetime Limit).

MFIP units that choose to opt out of the cash portion of MFIP must also opt out of the MFIP Housing Assistance Grant. Suspended MFIP units or MFIP units that receive a food portion only grant, may choose to opt out of the MFIP Housing Assistance Grant.

The MFIP Housing Assistance Grant is not subject to sanction. When the 10% or 30% sanction policy is applied to the MFIP cash, the $110 MFIP Housing Assistance Grant is not affected. When a vendor is in place for a sanction, the $110 is not required to be vendored as part of the sanction policy. If a case closes for a 100% sanction, the MFIP Housing Assistance Grant benefit will also be closed as part of the MFIP closure.

There is no recoupment from the MFIP Housing Assistance Grant for cash, food or Housing Assistance claims.

Only 2 types of mandatory vendoring apply to the MFIP Housing Assistance Grant:

● Drug felon offenses, see 0011.27.03 (Drug Felons).

● Money mismanagement, see 0024.09 (Protective and Vendor Payments).

For reporting requirements, verification requirements and voluntary vendoring, follow MFIP in 0007 (Reporting), 0010.18.01