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Cash Assistance in Minnesota Minnesota House Research Department Page 4 must come from participation in the nine core activities) to count as a two-parent family engaged in work for the month.3 Fourth, each state must have a system in place for determining whether the hours it reports toward the work participation rates correspond to the hours in which work-eligible individuals actually participate in work activities. Finally, each state must have a system in place for sanctioning recipients who do not comply with program requirements. Requirements for Recipients Cash assistance recipients must meet several requirements in order to be eligible for assistance. Below are the basic eligibility requirements for the MFIP and GA programs. Minnesota Family Investment Program In order to be eligible for MFIP, a family must meet income and asset limits. To be eligible for MFIP, family income, after all allowable deductions are made, must be below the program’s established family wage level for a family of like size (for example, $1,436 per month for a family of three). The equity value of an assistance unit’s personal property (assets) must not exceed $10,000. Personal property is limited to: (1) cash; (2) bank accounts; (3) liquid stocks and bonds that can be readily accessed without a financial penalty; (4) vehicles that are not excluded (one vehicle per assistance unit member age 16 or older is excluded from the personal property limitation); and (5) the full value of business accounts used to pay expenses not related to the business. To receive MFIP, families who meet the program’s income and asset limits must also:  have a minor child in the home (or be pregnant);  be residents of Minnesota;  be U.S. citizens, qualified noncitizens, or noncitizens otherwise lawfully residing in the United States;  assign rights to child support;  have received fewer than 60 months of assistance; and  satisfy any other eligibility requirements of the program.

3 See Code of Federal Regulations, title 45, § 261.32.