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West Virginia Income Maintenance Manual Chapter 20
West Virginia Income Maintenance Manual Page 10 Chapter 20 Emergency and Special Assistance Programs
of cash. If the Worker determines that cash is available, the member must use the cash toward the amount required to eliminate the emergency. Cash must always be considered an asset and must not be confused with income. However, the Worker must make sure that the AG is not faced with an additional emergency as a result of using the asset toward the emergency. Cash Example 2: The applicant reports having $75 cash at the time of application. He has requested payment of an overdue electric bill and submitted a termination notice in the amount of $75. The Worker must deny the application for the electric bill because the cash must be used to pay the bill. However, the Worker must determine that the applicant is not faced with an additional emergency need during the 30-day period as a result of using the cash to pay his electric bill. Cash Example 2.1: Using the example above, if the applicant states that he has budgeted $50 of the $75 for food for the next 30 days and will be faced with a food emergency if he uses it for the electric, the Worker will only consider $25 as available toward the emergency. ➢ Non-Liquid Assets Assets such as recreational vehicles, non-income producing livestock, and business equipment usually must be sold and converted into cash to use toward the emergency. The Worker must consider the following guidelines before he requests that the applicant convert a non-liquid asset into cash: • Can the asset be converted into cash? • If the AG makes a reasonable effort to pursue this action, will the resource be available in time to prevent an imminent emergency or immediately eliminate an existing emergency? After giving careful consideration to the guidelines above, the Worker must decide whether or not to request a conversion of the AG’s assets. When the applicant or AG member is required to convert his assets to cash, he must receive a reasonable return or the fair market value rather than just the amount needed to eliminate or prevent the emergency. NOTE: "Reasonable effort" is defined as the AG actively attempting to convert the asset into an available resource to eliminate or prevent an emergency.