Access Nevada

Each TANF member of the household must provide or apply for a Social Security Number (SSN) unless religious beliefs prohibit enumeration. Non-qualified non-citizens are not required to provide or apply for an SSN.

The head of household must provide proof immediately, or within six months, that all children for whom benefits are received are appropriately immunized. Each household is advised of the availability of standard immunizations through clinics. Exemptions are provided for religious belief or medical conditions.

The household members must have countable income within certain limits to be eligible for any TANF benefit. The maximum allowable income is based upon the number of eligible persons in the household. A monthly budget is completed for all households with income to determine eligibility without application of disregards. Also, some types of income are counted in this test and not counted in the cash benefit computation. If gross income is less than 130% of poverty; next a 100% Needs Standard Test is used to determine if earned income disregards can be applied. The cash benefit is computed by subtracting allowable disregards from gross earned income to arrive at the net earned income, adding unearned income to arrive at the total countable income. The total countable income is compared to the payment standard for the household size. The income of stepparents and responsible parents are also budgeted towards the needs of the TANF household.

Earned Income Disregards

Need / Payments Standards

Responsible Parent Income

Stepparent Income

Subsidized Housing

Access Nevada

Access Nevada

Applicants must be living in the state with the intention of making Nevada their home permanently, for an indefinite period, or entering Nevada with a job commitment or seeking employment.

Liquid and non-liquid resources are evaluated to determine whether or not they are countable. Countable resources cannot exceed $10,000 per TANF household. If the resources exceed the limit, the application will be denied, or the case will be terminated. There are certain types of resource which are not counted when determining eligibility such as:

Two vehicles.

The home, including any contiguous land, which is the usual residence of the assistance unit that the household owns or is buying.

One burial plot for each member of the household.

One Bona fide funeral agreements for each member of the TANF assistance unit.

Household goods and personal items.

Sanctions are imposed against TANF-NEON and TANF Child-Only households who do not cooperate with the terms of their Personal Responsibility Plan (PRP). The household is given a time period (30 or 10 days) to work with their case manager to resolve the compliance issue. If the household is not in compliance with their PRP after this conciliation period, cash benefits are terminated and the household is ineligible to receive cash assistance for three consecutive months.

Access Nevada

Access Nevada

The purpose of the TANF program is to provide temporary assistance for the care of dependent children in their own homes or the homes of relatives by furnishing financial assistance, and self-sufficiency services.

TANF is federally funded through a block grant from the Department of Human Services. States are required to contribute money equal to 80% of the amount spent on the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and related programs during federal fiscal year 1994. This is the state's Maintenance of Effort (MOE) requirements.

The Division of Social Services (DSS) administers five different TANF benefit programs. Two programs are considered assistance by federal definition and three are considered non-assistance programs. Nevada recognizes family situations vary and the approach for some to meet their immediate and ongoing needs should be different. When a family may qualify for more than one category, the family has the final decision on which category they wish to receive.

This is the state's cash assistance program for families with a 'work-eligible adults' in the home. Most parents and needy relative caregivers are defined as 'work-eligible' by federal regulation and are required to meet work participation requirements as a condition of eligibility. For this reason it is commonly referred to as our 'work program'. The work-eligible-adults must enter into a Personal Responsibility Plan for reducing or ending their household's dependency on public assistance. Adult(s), unless they meet an exemption, will be required to engage in a defined number of hours of work activities every week to maintain eligibility for cash benefits. TANF-NEON benefits are considered assistance and are subject to time limits.

This is a cash assistance program for households with no 'work-eligible adults' . Generally the monthly cash benefits are paid because the child(ren) is living with a relative, referred to as a relative caregiver, because the parent(s) is not in the home or if they are in the home they are ineligible due to citizenship requirements or receiving SSI. An example of a Child-Only case would be an Aunt applying for assistance on behalf of her niece who is in her care and supervision. While Child-Only benefits are considered a form of assistance, they are not subject to time limits.

This is a one-time lump sum payment to help families who would otherwise be eligible for another program to meet an immediate financial need. The intent is to preserve the family's independence from long-time dependence on Social Services. Recipients of a Self-Sufficiency Grant (SSG) are not eligible to receive TANF benefits for a period of time determined by dividing the SSG benefit amount provided by the maximum TANF benefit for the family size. Any part of a month counts as a full month. Households may receive TANF assistance prior to the end of the ineligible period if a qualifying hardship exists. Although the receipt of SSG benefits are not considered assistance, they can preclude a household from receiving TANF/NEON benefits. Time-limits do not apply to SSG.

This program provides monthly cash payments to meet an immediate episode of need and is limited to no more than four months per episode. An episode of need is defined as an unforeseen circumstance such as fire, earthquake, etc. Benefits from the TEMP program are not defined as assistance. Time-limits do not apply.

This program provides eligible households with a monthly cash payment to meet the family's immediate basic needs when an adult member has a future anticipated source of income and the expectation is the benefits will be repaid upon receipt of the anticipated income. The expectation is that the benefits will be repaid upon receipt of the anticipated income. Benefits from the Loan program are not defined as 'assistance'. Time-limits do apply.

"Assistance" is defined as cash payments, provided to meet a family's ongoing basic needs such as food, shelter, clothing, etc. It may also include: child care, transportation and other support services. Accepting TANF-NEON assistance subjects the household to federal and state time limits on receipt of assistance, including but not limited to: work participation requirements, cooperation with child support enforcement, activities included in federal data reporting, and cooperation with all other eligibility requirements. Accepting Child-Only assistance subjects the household to cooperation with child support enforcement, activities included in federal data reporting, and cooperation with all eligibility requirements.

Those wishing to apply for any TANF benefit must complete an "Application for Assistance". The applicant or their representative may request an application by:

Contacting the local DSS district office;

Downloading an application from the Division's Website.

Accessing DSS's online electronic application "ACCESS Nevada"

Completing the application form and faxing it to the local DSS Office for processing.

An eligibility decision is generally made within 45 days from the application date.

Ag e / School Requirements

Agreement of Cooperation

Assessment

Child Support Enforcement Program (CSEP)

Children Must be Living in the Home of a Specified Relative

Citizenship

Cooperation / Reporting Obligations

Furnishing Social Security Numbers

Immunizations

Income / Consideration / Budgeting Earned Income Disregards Need / Payments Standards Responsible Parent Income Stepparent Income Subsidized Housing

New Employees of Nevada (NEON)

Personal Responsibility Plan

Residency

Resources / Property

Sanctions for Non-Cooperation

School Attendance

Time Limits

Access Nevada

Access Nevada

Agency need standards are used to determine eligibility and payment amounts. The need standard includes food, clothing, recreation, personal incidentals, fuel for heating, cooking and water heating, electricity for refrigeration and lights, household supplies, medical chest supplies and shelter.

If all or a portion of monthly income is budgetable, the reduction in the benefit amount is dollar for dollar. However, there are specific deductions allowed for earned income and application of the earnings disregard for certain household members entitled to use them.

The following link provides a guide to income levels and maximum payment amounts. A maximum payment is issued when there is no countable income.

Current TANF need standards can be reviewed below:

TANF Need Standards

Access Nevada