Page 2

2

Eligibility

Eligibility for Families First/TANF cash assistance benefits are determined based on the following criteria: • The Assistance Unit (AU) lives in Tennessee.

• The AU includes either:

o A child under age eighteen (18);

o A child under age nineteen (19) who is expected to complete high school or an equivalent vocational/technical training on or before his/her nineteenth (19th) birthday;

o A pregnant woman in her last trimester; or

o The otherwise eligible parents or caretakers of a child receiving SSI.

• The children live in the home of a parent or a relative, within the specified degree of relationship, who maintains care and control of the child.

• All members of the AU are citizens or qualified aliens and have provided a Social Security Number.

• Households meet income eligibility, including an income test and a resource test.

All AUs will be subject to a sixty (60)-month lifetime limit of Families First/TANF cash assistance. Months of Families First/TANF funded assistance received in other States will count toward the lifetime limit. Those AUs that reach their sixty (60)-month limit and are exempt from the Families First/TANF work requirement and otherwise eligible may be considered for an extension. No more than twenty percent (20%) of the caseload can be on an extension at any given time. (B) REQUIRE A PARENT OR CARETAKER RECEIVING ASSISTANCE TO ENGAGE IN WORK (DEFINED BY THE STATE) ONCE THE STATE DETERMINES THE PARENT OR CARETAKER IS READY TO ENGAGE IN WORK, OR ONCE HE OR SHE HAS RECEIVED 24 MONTHS OF ASSISTANCE, WHICHEVER IS EARLIER, CONSISTENT WITH THE CHILD CARE EXCEPTION AT 407(E)(2) (SECTION 402(A)(1)(A)(II) OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT) Families First/TANF AUs with eligible adults who are not exempt must engage in a minimum of thirty (30) hours a week of countable work or training activities. Transitional Cash Assistance (TCA) AUs with eligible adults, who are not exempt, must engage in thirty (30) hours a week of countable work or training activities (or a combined 55 hours for two parent households receiving federally funded childcare). Although this exceeds the minimum federal requirements, this ensures that the minimum hours are being met and that we have the opportunity to work with each individual and assist them in achieving self-sufficiency. An exception to the thirty (30) hours work requirement will be granted to those individuals who require a reduction in activity hours due to an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) modification.