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MISSISSIPPI [BUDGETARY PROCESS: GENERAL PRINCIPLES]

Revised 12-01-17

disregard ends with the next possible month and the recipient loses any future entitlement to this disregard. NOTE: The 60-month counter will be incremented during the disregard period. Individuals receiving the marriage disregard at the time the 60th month pays will not be eligible for any remaining months of their disregard. When the marriage disregard months end, the TANF case must be reviewed; a new MDHS- EA348 must be completed and the disregard of income and resources will be removed. If the addition of the spouse s income to the case at the end of the marriage disregard period causes case closure, the family does not qualify for the 3-month disregard. MAVERICS notice A415, Marriage Disregard Closure Notice, will be sent advising the recipient of the case closure and the reason for the closure. Processing the Marriage Disregard When the New Spouse is a Legal Parent: If the TANF parent marries the legal parent of a least one of the children in the TANF case and would be potentially eligible for the marriage disregard, the worker should first determine whether the family would qualify for TANF based on unemployed parent or incapacity deprivation factors. If the family is not eligible on either of these deprivation factors, the marriage disregard will be applied to the case without changing the deprivation code in the case until the end of the disregard period. Child Support Enforcement will be notified via the change reporting procedure for the MAVS-METTS interface system. At the end of the disregard period, the situation must be reviewed again to determine whether the child(ren) remain deprived based on incapacity or unemployed parent criteria. NOTE: If the new spouse who is a legal parent receives SSI, the disregard will not apply because he/she will not be a part of the TANF Assistance Unit based on the receipt of SSI. The deprivation reason should be changed to "IC". BUDGETING EARNED INCOME/SPECIAL DISREGARDS Earned Income Disregards are available when a TANF case is subject to closure due to earned income, if otherwise eligible, depending upon the specific rules for the applicable disregard. The first month of TANF ineligibility will be the month income is disregarded for both 6D and 3D, if reported timely. 6D/3D income will only be disregarded in a month in which the client received a money payment. Common characteristics of the 6D/3D disregards include the following:

MISSISSIPPI [BUDGETARY PROCESS: GENERAL PRINCIPLES]

Revised 12-01-17 • Must be a new job.