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MISSISSIPPI [ PROGRAM COMPONENTS: TANF WORK ACTIVITIES DEFINED]

Revised 08 - 01 - 12 considered to be employed full-time. The goal of the TANF Work Program is to help participant’s obtain full-time, unsubsidized employment of 35 or more hours per week. However, unsubsidized employment of 32-34 hours per week may be considered full-time employment, provided the following criteria are met: • The benefits for an employee working 35 hours per week are also available to an employee working 32-34 hours per week, e.g., personal leave, medical leave and insurance; and • The hourly rate of pay is equivalent to at least 35 hours at the federal minimum wage. Part-time Employment An individual who is employed part-time who does not earn enough to move to self-sufficiency will be required to “job search” to find a full-time job or a job which pays higher wages (refer to Chapter 9, Assignment to Job Readiness/Job Search). Individuals may participate in more than one work activity. Participants who are working part-time and are unable to find a better job after job searching may be assigned to another activity (i.e., AWEP, community services, GED, or vocational education) which will provide training and experience needed to make the participant more employable. Types of Unsubsidized Employment 1. Regular employment is work in the public or private sector for which a person receives unsubsidized wages on an hourly, weekly, monthly basis, etc. NOTE: Contractual employment is considered regular employment for which a person is paid monthly. 2. Self-employment is work for which a person earns income directly from one’s own business, trade or profession rather than a specified salary or wages from an employer. Income may be verified by a 1099 form, check stubs, or written statements from customers. Individuals earning less than the federal minimum wage, regardless of the number of hours working, must also participate in other allowable activities which will lead to self-sufficiency (i.e., an individual caring for a child 30 hours per week earning $50 per week will be assigned to job readiness/job search). Self-employment work hours for TWP participation must be determined by the income used to calculate the family’s TANF cash assistance grant. The monthly income will be divided by the federal minimum wage to obtain the monthly hours. The monthly hours will be divided by 4.33 to obtain the average weekly hours that can be counted as TWP participation. Selfdeclaration of work hours is not an acceptable method of determining work hours for TWP participation rate purposes.

Volume III | Chapter 9Volume III | Chapter 9 902011