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PY26 WHEAP Manual

Revised: August 2025 4. Foster children who are placed for care by a court order. Contact the HE+ Help Desk for further guidance for situations with long term (over one (1) year) placement of foster children. 5. A household member who has been called to active duty in the military and is to be out of the household for at least 60 days. The base income of this individual should not be counted. Any household support provided to maintain the household (i.e., housing allowances, allotments sent directly to the household for support) is counted as income for the household.

3.3 Financial Eligibility 3.3.1 General The WHEAP income test is based on 60% of the SMI level. If the household's gross income is less than or equal to the income limit for its size, the household passes the income test. If the gross income exceeds the limit, the household is not eligible unless categorical eligibility criteria are met. The income guidelines for different household sizes can be found on the Division website. 1. Assets

The HE+ Program does not have a vehicle or asset limit test for eligibility. While Regular WHEAP Benefits lack an asset test, assets may be considered in deciding Crisis Assistance benefits or HE+ Program Services, including assets of the landlord, if applicable to the situation. The proceeds of the sale of an asset are generally not counted as income. If the sale proceeds: a. Include capital gains realized from the asset, the capital gains are not counted as income. b. Involve a series of payments, any interest included in the payments needs to be counted as income. One common example is a land contract sale of real estate; the land contract should contain a description of the payments showing the principal and interest amounts (often this is in a chart or table). 2. Categorical Eligibility

Categorical eligibility status allows a household to pass the income test if they are above the 60% SMI level. For a household to be determined as categorically eligible, every household member must be a recipient of Wisconsin Works (W-2)/TANF, FoodShare, or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for the month prior to the date of application. W-2 is considered a categorical eligibility criterion only if there is a “cash benefit.” a. W-2/TANF: If the household is over income for WHEAP but is determined to be categorically eligible because the household is receiving W-2, the agency must verify that all household members are a part of the assistance group and document, in HE+ System Notes, how this was verified. b. FS: If the household is over income for WHEAP but is determined to be categorically eligible because the household is receiving FoodShare, the agency must verify that all household members were receiving FoodShare in the month prior to the date of application and document in HE+ System Notes how this was verified. System Notes should specifically indicate which household members and months FoodShare was received.