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State of New Hampshire

TANF State Plan

4 New Hampshire State Plan Effective October 2023 GENERAL PROVISIONS

Section 42 USC 602 (a) (1) (A) (i) of the Act: Conduct a program, designed to serve all political subdivisions in the State (not necessarily in a uniform manner), that provides assistance to needy families with (or expecting) children and provides parents with job preparation, work, and support services to enable them to leave the program and become self-sufficient.

The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is the single State agency that administers the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. Under TANF, financial assistance benefits are provided to families who are in need with children. New Hampshire does not provide TANF benefits to pregnant women who do not have any other children. For eligible families, parents are provided with job preparation, work, and support services.

The program operates uniformly in all parts of the State. DHHS provides access to the supports of the TANF program through 12 District Offices located throughout the state, administered by the Bureau of Family Assistance (BFA).

The policies through which DHHS administers the TANF program are located in the Family Assistance Manual on the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services website, which is located at Family Assistance Manual (nh.gov).

All New Hampshire residents may apply for TANF financial assistance and can expect a fair determination of eligibility for services under the policies described above. All individuals who apply for assistance are advised of their rights and responsibilities as a part of the application protocol. It is the policy of DHHS not to discriminate against people because of their age, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics), race, color, creed, color, marital status, physical or mental disability, religion, national origin or political affiliation or belief. There is no discrimination in accepting or providing services, or the admission or access to, or treatment or employment in, any of DHHS’s programs or activities. Individual rights and responsibilities, the non-discrimination policy and the application process are located in the Family Assistance Manual under:

Section 101- Individual Rights and Responsibilities Section 103- Nondiscrimination Section 109- Application Process

New Hampshire residents have the choice to apply for services via fax, paper application, and the NH Easy on-line portal at https://nheasy.nh.gov or by telephone application by calling the Customer Service Center. Clients may also choose to manage their case on-line by establishing a NH Easy account and conducting the eligibility operations through that account. TANF financial assistance applicants have access to applications for SNAP, Medicaid, and Child Care services through the same operation.

New Hampshire accepts applications and redeterminations via paper, electronic transmission, and by telephone. Electronic signatures were accepted beginning September 23, 2009, via the on-line NH Easy system, and as of October 5, 2011, the telephonic signature process was approved to be acceptable for TANF applications and redeterminations.

New Hampshire uses document imaging, eliminating the need for the storage of paper records to verify eligibility. All verifications required to determine and maintain eligibility are scanned into a central