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[ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATION PROCESS: THE
MISSISSIPPI APPLICATION PROCESS]
Volume III | Chapter 7
7018 Volume III | Chapter 7
[ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATION PROCESS:
MISSISSIPPI THE APPLICATION PROCESS] Revised 07-01-17
Accrual Rights Provided he was alive and eligible, as far as was known, the applicant's right to a TANF benefit accrues on the earliest of the following dates: 1. The date on which the TANF benefit is authorized, or 2. The 30th day following the date on which a signed and completed application form was received. EXCEPTION: See below for accrual rights of individuals added to an active case. To protect an applicant's accrual rights, retroactive benefits must be made in any case when the application process takes so much time that an initial award for the current month does not cover the calendar month in which the 30th day occurred. This is true regardless of whether the delay was caused by the applicant or agency. However, TANF benefits issued for the month in which the application was filed must be prorated to include the date on which the rights to the grant accrued and any days which remain in the application month. See Chapter 6, General Principles - Prorating Grants for Applicants, for handling proration of grants. For example, the right to the TANF grant accrues: 1. For an application made on July 30 and authorized on August 16 for children who are alive and determined to be eligible for August, the accrual date is August 16, and the grant is issued for the month after application (August). Since authorization occurred within 30 days of application, accrual occurs on the authorization date. The first TANF benefit is not prorated. 2. For an application made on July 1 and authorized on August 22, the accrual date is July 31, providing the children are alive on that date and eligible for July. Since the authorization date is later than the 30th day after application, accrual occurs on the 30th day, and TANF benefit must be prorated for one day in July. A retroactive benefit must be authorized.
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