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Subject: Families First Work Diversion Payments

Policy 23.23 Date of Last Review: 10/18/2023 Effective Date: 11/01/2023 Date of Next Review: 10/18/2026 RDA: SW22 Page 2 of 5 Diversion Payment Eligibility To qualify for a Diversion payment, the AU must meet all the following criteria: 1. Be eligible for Families First; 2. Be a resident of Tennessee for no less than six (6) months; 3. Have no major barrier(s) to employment, like a drug/alcohol problem and domestic violence etc.; 4. Have a High School diploma or General Education Development (GED) certificate; 5. Have a recent work history of six (6) of the last twelve (12) months with three (3) months being consecutive; 6. Have an immediate and compelling financial need to be determined on a case-by-case basis; and 7. Sign HS-2943 Diversion Agreement. 8. A customer who has an uncured sanction for non-compliance with the work and/or educational activity as outlined in policy 23.13 Families First Work and/or Educational Activity may be eligible for a diversion payment if all other qualifying points of eligibility for diversion are met. • If the customer with an uncured sanction applies for a subsequent diversion payment, the individual will not be eligible until the mandatory sanction period has been served. 9. A two (2) parent AU may only receive one (1) Diversion payment, even if they are eligible to group into separate AUs. 10.A customer who is receiving a Families First grant in a “Child Only” case may qualify for a Diversion payment for their own children, if all other points of eligibility are met. Diversion Payment Calculation The Diversion payment will be calculated based on the aggregate amount of the monthly Families First cash assistance an AU is eligible to receive not to exceed twelve (12) months. Other Benefits to Diversion Recipient A customer receiving a Diversion payment who is employed within thirty (30) days of enrollment into the Diversion program may be eligible to receive twelve (12) months of subsidized child care payment assistance. 1. If employed at the time of authorization, the twelve (12) month count will begin with the month following the month of approval (plus the partial month if approval did not occur on first day of the month). 2. If employment begins within thirty (30) calendar days of authorization, the twelve (12) month count will begin with the month following the month employment began (plus the partial month if approval did not occur on the first day of the month). 3. Diversion child care recipients are not eligible for child care after twelve (12) months.