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883 Chapter 5:Temporary Assistance for Domestic Violence Survivors (TA-DVS) Program • Section 3: Eligibility groups (07/2026) Eligibility groups Introduction There are five eligibility determination groups (EDG): household, filing, financial, need and benefit. Who is included in each of these groups may affect program eligibility, whose assets are considered, whose non- financial criteria are reviewed, and who receives benefits. To be eligible for TA-DVS, applicants must meet the TANF eligibility determination group requirements. However, there are some exceptions based on situations unique to domestic violence. Household group The household group is usually the people who live together, with or without a dwelling. For a residence to be considered separate, it must have access to the outside that does not pass through another residence. It also must have a sleeping area, bathroom and kitchen facility. The household group forms the basis for determining who is in the remaining eligibility groups. “Homeless” means lacking a fixed regular and adequate nighttime residence and includes living in an emergency shelter; shared housing with others due to loss of housing or economic hardship; or staying in motels, cars, parks, public places, tents, trailers or other similar settings. For homeless applicants, the household group consists of the individuals who consider themselves living together. Individuals who live in more than one household group during a calendar month are members of the household group in which they spend more than half of their time. No children in the household To be eligible for TA-DVS, the survivor must have a dependent child in the household more than 50 percent of the time. If the survivor fled without their child due to domestic violence, review recent, current and ongoing household composition. Determine what the household composition was before fleeing, what the current living situation is, and what is anticipated to change in the next 90 days. In some situations, the survivor flees without their children, or their children are placed in another household for safety reasons due to the domestic violence. If this is the only reason the children are not in the household at time of application, we consider them in the household if they were living with the caretaker more than half of the time before they fled, and they are anticipated to be living with the caretaker within 90 days of application. Abuser in the household For TA-DVS, the definition of household group is the same as TANF unless the abuser is in the same household as the survivor; in that case, we can exclude the abuser only from the TA-DVS case due to safety concerns. The abuser would not be listed on the TA-DVS case and would not have access to case notes or case records. Living in domestic violence shelter