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Subject: Families First Income Eligibility

Policy 23.05 Date of Last Review: 01/10/2024 Effective Date: 01/15/2024 Date of Next Review: 01/10/2027 RDA: SW22 Page 4 of 5 Definitions/Acronyms Term Definition AU Assistance Unit CNS Consolidated Need Standard Consolidated Need Standard The amount of income an assistance unit would need to meet subsistence living costs, according to allowances set by the state, for items including food, clothing, fuel, lights, household operations, personal incidentals, and shelter. This amount determines the income level used to determine Families First financial eligibility. Earned Income Money derived from an individual’s work efforts, such as wages, salaries, commissions, or as profits from a self-employment enterprise Elementary School A state approved educational institution comprised of grades K through eight (8). GIS Gross Income Standard SSI Supplemental Security Income Secondary School A secondary school is defined as a state approved educational institution offering a curriculum for grades nine through twelve. Note: A full-time student in a secondary school is defined as one who is taking an adequate grade level academic load to meet the graduation requirements for the respective school system in which he is enrolled. Generally, this is defined as 25 clock hours/week or 4 Carnegie units per year; half time is defined as 12 clock hours/week or 2 Carnegie units per year. Student A minor child attending elementary/secondary school, college, university, or a course of vocational or technical training. • A student retains student status during official school vacations and breaks if requirements prior to the vacation/break were met and if the student plans to return. • A child who is receiving elementary/secondary or equivalent vocational/technical instruction from a homebound teacher meets student requirements. • Participation in apprenticeships, correspondence courses, other courses of home study, and rehab programs other than academic or institutional vocational or technical training do not qualify a child as a student. • An equivalent level of vocational or technical training means equivalent to elementary or secondary education. It is not post-secondary education such as that leading to an Associate of Arts (A.A.) degree. Full- time attendance in a trade, technical, or vocational school is considered to be 30 clock hours per week with shop practice or 25 hours a week without shop practice. A part-time student is defined as one who attends 15 clock hours per week with shop practice or 12 hours per week without shop practice. TDHS Tennessee Department of Human Services Unearned Income Any income which does not meet the definition of earned income Unmet Need The difference between the CNS and the AU’s Net Countable Income including the Families First grant amount VA Veteran’s Administration Vendor Payment Payments that are not paid directly to an AU but paid to a third party for the AU’s expenses.