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Tennessee Housing Development Agency 2025 LIHEAP Policy Manual for Regular and Crisis Assistance 23

These eligibility criteria questions are integrated into the SmartSimple beneficiary application section. If paper applications or forms are used by the subgrantee, they must include these eligibility questions and be approved by THDA 15 days prior to each program year.

Crisis Funding Allocation Crisis Assistance is allocated as a minimum of 10% of the subgrantee’s Direct Assistance award to individuals. Subgrantees may allocate more than 10% to Crisis Assistance, transferring funds from Regular Assistance as needed. Crisis assistance must remain available to approved applicants who meet the eligibility requirements, as long as funding is not exhausted. Crisis funds are managed in a separate budget category within SmartSimple to ensure availability of crisis intervention through March 15 of each program year. A copy of the notification correspondence sent to the household must be kept in the applicant’s record. If the subgrantee communicates with a utility provider via email, this documentation must also be maintained in the applicant’s record and available for review. The notification serves the purpose of preventing disconnection of services until payment is received. Crisis Assistance will be determined provided by THDA’s benefit matrix.

2.10 Family Size and Percentage of Poverty Eligibility Refer to the Benefit Matrix in the Appendix for detailed Income Guidelines. Households with income at or below 60% of the State Median Income (SMI) are eligible to receive assistance under the LIHEAP program. Prioritization of Households for Assistance The determination of which households receive assistance is based on a prioritization system that considers the presence of vulnerable household members. Households are ranked according to the following vulnerability categories: 1. Individuals aged 60 or older who are receiving Social Security benefits