340:10-19-2 Emergency assistance to needy families with children

The Emergency Assistance Program consists of Emergency Family Services (EFS) administered by the Children and Family Services Division (CFSD), Office of Juvenile Affairs (OJA), and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Emergency Assistance (TANF-EA) administered by the Family Support Services Division (FSSD). (1) EFS. EFS are services to families in which immediate action is necessary to avoid placement of a child(ren) in out-of-home care or to assist in reuniting a child(ren) with the family when in out-of-home placement and thereby prevent destitution of a child(ren) or family. (2) TANF-EA. TANF-EA is administered by FSSD. TANF-EA is available to or on behalf of a needy child(ren) if the assistance is necessary to avoid destitution of the child(ren). TANF-EA payments are state disaster relief funds to families for food, medicine, shelter, utilities, clothing, and personal items. These payments are authorized only after all other resources such as emergency funds from the Social Security Administration (SSA), Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Veterans' Administration (VA), other federal, or state, county, city agencies, and community organizations have been determined unavailable. (A) Persons who might be eligible for TANF-EA. The assistance unit for TANF-EA is defined as containing the natural or adoptive parent(s) if residing with the child(ren) or if the parent(s) is absent from the home, the applicant who is of the specified degree of relationship, the applicant's spouse and any dependent child(ren) in the home who meet the age and relationship requirements. The applicant must be responsible for meeting the emergency need(s) of the child(ren) and unable to meet such need(s). The assistance unit must have suffered a major loss to their home as a result of a natural disaster and whose interest was not protected by insurance. In this instance, income and resources may be disregarded if they are not available or are insufficient to meet the emergency need. Partial insurance coverage must be considered when determining the amount to be disregarded. (B) TANF-EA emergency benefits. Emergency benefits for persons eligible for TANF-EA are: (i) food which is not available through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Program; (ii) medicines or medical supplies not otherwise covered under the SoonerCare (Medicaid) Program; (iii) shelter or emergency repairs on the home. If the client owns the home or is responsible for repairs, benefits can be provided for emergency repairs required to make the home livable. Verification of the repair cost must be documented in the case record. If the request is for new shelter, the worker contacts the prospective landlord, either in person or by telephone, to document details regarding the new shelter plan; (iv) utilities when services have been discontinued. A written notice is required from the supplier that services or fuel cannot be provided or utilities turned on until a payment is received. The notice must be other than routinely printed on the regular bill and must include client's name, address, amount of bill, and account number; and (v) clothing and personal items lost or destroyed.