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Minnesota Family Investment Program Minnesota House Research Department Page 3 applied for and received federal approval to operate separate Tribal TANF programs. Funding for Tribal TANF programs comes from the state TANF block grant of the state in which the Tribe’s service area is located.2 For more on the Tribal TANF programs, see page 15. Eligibility Requirements MFIP provides cash and food assistance, employment and training services, and related support services and transitional services to eligible low-income Minnesota families. In order to be eligible for MFIP, a family must:  have income and assets under the program’s limits; and  satisfy the other eligibility requirements of the federal and state laws that govern the program. Who’s Who in an MFIP Household An MFIP caregiver is a person who lives with, and provides care and support to, a minor child. Some caregivers must be included in the assistance unit (e.g., parents, stepparents); other caregivers may choose not to be included in the assistance unit (e.g., grandparents, other adult relatives, legal custodians). The MFIP assistance unit is the group of people receiving MFIP benefits together. An MFIP participant is a person who is currently receiving cash assistance or the food portion available through MFIP and may also be required to participate in employment and training services. Income Limits For an initial applicant to be eligible for MFIP, family income, after all allowable deductions are made, must be below the program’s family wage level for a family of like size. To make the eligibility determination, the county agency calculates an applicant’s net income in two steps. First, the county subtracts all allowable disregards and deductions from the applicant’s gross monthly earnings, to determine the applicant’s net monthly earned income amount. These disregards and deductions include:  the first $65 of earned income plus one-half of the remaining earned income per month (this earned income disregard provides an incentive for people to work);  actual dependent care costs paid by the applicant caregiver, up to a maximum of $200 per month for each child under age two, and $175 per month for each child age two or older;

2 Minnesota’s annual TANF block grant amount is $267,358,000. Of this total, $4,550,816 goes directly to the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe and $2,980,612 goes directly to the Red Lake Nation of Chippewa Indians for the operation of each Tribe’s separate TANF program. The remainder is available for the state to help fund its welfare reform activities, which include MFIP.