ALASKA TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE MANUAL CHAPTER CONTENTS 757 EXEMPT INCOME... JJ LOANS... JJ VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION PAYMENTS...

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1 CHAPTER CONTENTS Section Page 757 EXEMPT INCOME... JJ FOODSTUFFS AND FOOD STAMPS... JJ PROPERTY ACT PAYMENTS... JJ LOANS... JJ WORK-STUDY EARNED INCOME... JJ VOLUNTEER SERVICE PAYMENTS... JJ VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION PAYMENTS... JJ FOSTER CARE AND BOARDING HOME PAYMENTS... JJ EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT... JJ EXPERIMENTAL HOUSING ALLOWANCE PAYMENTS... JJ ENERGY ASSISTANCE PAYMENTS... JJ ENERGY EMPLOYEES OCCUPATIONAL ILLNESS COMPENSATION PAYMENTS... JJ INCOME OF EXCLUDED CHILDREN... JJ-5 A. TREATMENT OF CHILD'S INCOME... JJ-5 B. CHILD SUPPORT PAYMENTS... JJ-5 C. SOCIAL SECURITY PAYMENTS... JJ TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE PAYMENTS... JJ TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE SUPPORTIVE SERVICE PAYMENTS... JJ RESTITUTION PAYMENTS... JJ MAJOR DISASTER AND EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE... JJ SUMMER YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING PROGRAM... JJ PERMANENT FUND DIVIDENDS AND FOOD STAMP PFD HOLD HARMLESS PAYMENTS... JJ NON-RECURRING LUMP SUM PAYMENTS... JJ-7 MC #15 (09/05)

2 EARNED INCOME OF A DEPENDENT CHILD... JJ MEDICARE DRUG DISCOUNT AND CREDIT... JJ SUBSIDIZED ADOPTION PAYMENTS... JJ-8 MC #15 (09/05)

3 757 EXEMPT INCOME FOODSTUFFS AND FOOD STAMPS The value of the following items is not counted in determining the initial or continuing eligibility and payment amount. The presence of any of these 5 items in a Temporary Assistance economic or assistance unit need not be investigated, verified, or documented. 1. The value of any home produce that is consumed by the members of the household, including farm or garden crops, home canned foods, etc.; 2. The value of any foods that are donated to the household by the United States Department of Agriculture; 3. The value of any bonus food stamp coupons provided to the household under the Food Stamp program; 4. The value of any supplemental food assistance provided to the household under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (WIC Program), and the special food service program for children under the National School Lunch Act; and 5. The value of benefits of any type (cash, food, etc.) received by anyone in the household under the Nutrition Program for the Elderly, Title VII of the Older Americans Act of PROPERTY ACT PAYMENTS Payments received under the Uniform and Real Property Acquisition Act of 1970 will not be counted in determining initial and continuing eligibility and payment amounts. These payments may include monies to buy a new home, pay for additional rent, pay for moving costs or to relocate a business. Such payments are generally associated with urban renewal projects and other household programs operated by the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation or other non-profit housing corporations. No verification is required. JJ-1

4 757-3 LOANS All bona fide loans, including educational, personal, and commercial loans, are disregarded as income. A bona fide loan is a debt that the borrower has an obligation to repay and expresses his or her intention to repay. The bona fide nature of a loan must be verified and documented in the case file. Commercial and educational loans can normally be verified by seeing a copy of the written loan agreement or a document identifying the payment as a loan. In the case of personal loans, written documentation from the lender and the borrower must be provided as verification of the bona fide nature of the loan. This verification must provide, at minimum, acknowledgment by the borrower and lender that an obligation to repay the loan exists, and acknowledgment by the borrower that he or she intends to repay the loan (with or without interest). If it is determined the funds received are not from a bona fide loan, (there is no repayment obligation or the borrower has no intention of repayment) the amount received potentially may or may not be countable income. (See section ) WORK-STUDY EARNED INCOME College or university students may be enrolled in a work-study program in which they attend school part-time and work part-time at a job. Any income an applicant or recipient earns from employment in a work-study program will not be counted as income for Temporary Assistance purposes. This disregard applies to both Temporary Assistance adults and children. The case worker must verify that part-time employment of an applicant or recipient who claims to be in a work-study program is in fact a work-study job and not individually acquired regular part-time job. JJ-2

5 757-5 VOLUNTEER SERVICE PAYMENTS Any payments (salary, wages, stipends or reimbursements) paid to volunteers in the following programs are exempt income for the Temporary Assistance program: VISTA Literacy Corps; University Year for VISTA; and Literacy Challenge Grants. Any payments for supportive services or reimbursements paid to volunteers in the following programs are also exempt income: Retired & Senior Volunteer Corps; Foster Grandparents Program; and Senior Companion Program. All other AmeriCorps stipends and living allowance payments are countable earned income for the Temporary Assistance program. Volunteer status and participation in an exempt program must be verified by contacting the person's supervising office VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION PAYMENTS Payments made by the: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), or Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR), Alaska Department of Education for vocational rehabilitation are considered complimentary program benefits and are disregarded as income. Note: Any VA payment which is not for vocational rehabilitation is considered unearned income. VA educational assistance is treated as educational income and certain educational costs may be allowed as deductions (see section 758-3B). JJ-3 MC #5 (03/02)

6 757-7 FOSTER CARE AND BOARDING HOME PAYMENTS Any foster care or adult foster care payment made by any division of the Department of Health and Social Services to a Temporary Assistance caretaker relative in order to care for a foster child or foster adult who is not receiving Temporary Assistance benefits will not be counted as income in determining eligibility or payment amounts. A child cannot be included in the assistance unit and be receiving Title IV-E Foster Care or State-funded foster care benefits for the same period. Any boarding home payment made by the state, local government, or school board to a Temporary Assistance caretaker relative in order to care for a non-temporary Assistance eligible student while that student is attending school will not be counted as income EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT Low-income workers who have earned income and are responsible for the care of a dependent child during a tax year may be eligible to receive a payment from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the form of an Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). The EITC is an amount an individual may be able to subtract from his or her federal income tax. If the credit is larger than the tax due, they may qualify for a refund even if the employed worker did not pay any taxes during the tax year. It is also possible to obtain the EITC on a monthly basis as an advance directly from an employer. Any EITC payment made to an applicant or recipient of Temporary Assistance is disregarded as income EXPERIMENTAL HOUSING ALLOWANCE PAYMENTS The Experimental Housing Allowance Program (EHAP) provides long-range housing assistance to low income families in 12 states (not Alaska). EHAP payments to applicants and recipients are disregarded. JJ-4

7 ENERGY ASSISTANCE PAYMENTS All payments made to or on behalf of a Temporary Assistance applicant or recipient by the Division's Energy Assistance Program are totally disregarded as income, including annual direct cash payments to Temporary Assistance recipients. Energy assistance monthly payments made by the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation to its tenants are disregarded as income ENERGY EMPLOYEES OCCUPATIONAL ILLNESS COMPENSATION PAYMENTS The Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Act provides compensation to individuals who develop illnesses as a result of employment at certain federally owned facilities in which radioactive materials were used. These payments are exempt income INCOME OF EXCLUDED CHILDREN A. TREATMENT OF CHILD'S INCOME The earned or unearned income of any child who is not a part of the Temporary Assistance economic unit or is not in the mandatory filing unit is not counted in determining initial or continuing eligibility or in calculating the grant amount. It is not necessary to verify earned income sources or amounts belonging to such a child. However, it may be necessary to verify that the amounts of certain types of unearned income the applicant claims belong to the child who is not included are accurate and do in fact belong specifically to that child. This will be particularly necessary in cases of child support payments and Social Security payments. B. CHILD SUPPORT PAYMENTS If the child is not included in the economic unit, the amount of court ordered child support which the court has ordered for that child is not counted. Verification is available in the court order. If the court only specifies a total amount, the case worker must divide the amount actually received by the number of children for whom support was ordered to determine what amount to disregard for each child who is not included in the economic unit. JJ-5 MC #10 (12/03)

8 Continued C. SOCIAL SECURITY PAYMENTS Particularly in situations involving a deceased parent, the remaining parent (or other caretaker relative) may be receiving a single SSA check each month, even though that check includes separate amounts of benefits for him and for each one of his SSAeligible children. The case worker must verify the amount of SSA paid to the survivor as payee for any child who is not included in the assistance unit TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE PAYMENTS Any Temporary Assistance retroactive corrective payment is disregarded as income in the month it is received. Regular ongoing payments are not counted as Temporary Assistance income TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE SUPPORTIVE SERVICE PAYMENTS Payments made for supportive services under the Temporary Assistance program are exempt regardless of whether they are paid to a vendor or directly to the client. This includes payments made for child care, transportation, work-related expenses, and any other Temporary Assistance-related supportive services. Such payments do not need to be verified unless the source is questionable RESTITUTION PAYMENTS Restitution payments made to Aleuts or individuals of Japanese ancestry under Public Law are excluded as income MAJOR DISASTER AND EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE Any Federal major disaster and emergency assistance or any comparable disaster assistance provided by states, local governments, or disaster assistance organizations are exempt. Verification is not required unless the source of the funds is questionable. JJ-6 MC #5 (03/02)

9 SUMMER YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING PROGRAM Any income earned from participation in the Summer Youth Employment and Training Program operated under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 is exempt as income PERMANENT FUND DIVIDENDS AND FOOD STAMP PFD HOLD HARMLESS PAYMENTS Permanent Fund Dividends (PFDs) and Food Stamp PFD Hold Harmless payments issued to replace Food Stamp benefits are exempt NON-RECURRING LUMP SUM PAYMENTS Non-recurring lump sum payments are exempt as income. Generally, lump-sum payments are monies owed to the family from the past. Lump-sum payments include such things as income tax refunds, rebates or credits, retroactive payments from Social Security or other agencies, and insurance settlements. Lump-sum payments are counted as a resource in the month of receipt EARNED INCOME OF A DEPENDENT CHILD The earned income of a dependent child who is a full-time or parttime student is exempt. This exemption applies only to dependent children, including eligible 18-year-old dependent children. The exemption is not allowed against the earned income of a caretaker relative, even if that person is under 19. This income becomes countable the month following the month of course completion, withdrawal of the child from enrollment, or the child's 19th birthday, whichever occurs first. JJ-7 MC #11 (05/04)

10 Continued "Full-time student" means enrolled in and regularly attending: 1. A vocational training that is designed to prepare a student for gainful employment, including participation in the Job Corps program, for at least 30 hours a week if the program involves shop practices or at least 25 hours a week if the program does not involve shop practices; 2. A college or university for at least 12 semester or quarter credit hours a semester or quarter; 3. A high school for at least 25 hours a week, or if in a high school cooperative or apprenticeship training program, full-time as defined by that program; or 4. An accredited correspondence course for at least 25 hours a week. Part-time student means enrolled in and regularly attending a school, college, university, or course of vocational training less than full-time, but at least one-half of the full-time requirements. Accept the client s statement regarding a dependent child s student status, unless questionable PRESCRIPTION DRUG DISCOUNTS AND SUBSIDIES Some individuals may qualify for discounts or subsidies to help them with the cost of prescription drugs. These include the Medicare-approved prescription drug discount card and annual credit to be used for drug purchases, the Medicare Part D Low- Income Subsidy, and the Alaska SeniorCare prescription drug benefit. These are exempt income for Alaska Temporary Assistance SUBSIDIZED ADOPTION PAYMENTS Subsidized adoption payments are intended to cover expenses incurred due to the special needs of an adopted child. These payments are exempt. JJ-8 MC #16 (12/05)