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17 North Carolina

22. A family must apply for Work First Cash Assistance in the county of their residence. However, if the recipient moves to another county, the Work First case will transfer to the new county of residence.

23. Work First Cash Assistance payment received solely because the timely notice (10-day notice) requirement prevents appropriate action to reduce or stop benefits is not considered an overpayment and does not have to be repaid.

24. Individuals who have been convicted of a Class H or I controlled substance felony in North Carolina may receive Work First Cash Assistance, or other services under the following conditions:

• The individual may be eligible six months after release from custody; or • Six months after the date of conviction if the individual was never committed to custody; • And if there is no additional controlled substance felony offense during that time; • And the individual completes or continues appropriate substance use treatment as determined by the Local Management Entity. Individuals receiving Work First under these conditions are required to undergo substance use treatment as a condition of eligibility.

25. Families must legally reside in the state to receive assistance. Families that have moved to North Carolina after receiving cash assistance in another state will not be treated differently from current residents.

26. Work First Cash Assistance overpayments are recovered from the family, as allowed under state law or rule. This includes fraud, intentional program violations, and inadvertent errors by the family.

27. For Work First Cash Assistance cases, all changes are required to be reported by the family to the county within 10 calendar days of the date the change becomes known. This includes changes in income. All changes must be processed by the county within 30 calendar days of the report.

28. The certification period for Work First Services for families with income at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level may be for a period of up to twelve months. Once certified, a family’s eligibility does not need to be reviewed until the certification period ends.

29. All applicants for and recipients of Work First must provide verification of citizenship, qualified immigrant status, and identity.

30. Any family that includes an adult who has quit a job without good cause, or has been fired from a job with cause, is ineligible for Work First payments the month of the job quit or firing and the two months immediately following.

31. The following applicants/participants are subject to the substance use screening and testing requirement: single parents (biological, adoptive and step); both