CHAPTER CONTENTS Section Page 758 UNEARNED INCOME... KK-1 758-1 CHILD SUPPORT INCOME... KK-1 758-2 IN-KIND INCOME AND VENDOR PAYMENTS... KK-2 758-3 EDUCATION ASSISTANCE... KK-2 A. TITLE IV HIGHER EDUCATION ACT AND BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS GRANTS AND AWARDS... KK-2 B. OTHER EDUCATION ASSISTANCE... KK-3 C. BUDGETING COUNTABLE EDUCATION INCOME... KK-3 758-4 CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS... KK-5 758-5 PAYMENTS TO NATIVE AMERICANS... KK-5 A. PER CAPITA PAYMENTS... KK-5 B. ANCSA DISTRIBUTIONS... KK-5 758-6 INCOME OF SSI/APA RECIPIENTS... KK-6 A. SEPARATE ECONOMIC UNITS... KK-6 B. TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE APPLICANTS WITH SSI/APA RECIPIENTS... KK-7 C. TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE APPLICANTS WITH POTENTIAL SSI/APA ELIGIBILITY... KK-7 D. CLIENT RESPONSIBILITY TO REPORT RECEIPT OF SSI... KK-8 758-7 GUARDIANSHIP PAYMENTS... KK-8 MC #18 (12/06)
THIS PAGE LEFT BLANK INTENTIONALLY
758 UNEARNED INCOME 758-1 CHILD SUPPORT INCOME The requirement to sign over any child support payments to the state and to cooperate with the Child Support Services Division (CSSD) is described in Chapter 717. Families may receive up to $50 a month as pass-through payments from the child support collected (see MS 717-7A). Child support payments received by applicants and recipients are processed as follows: Payments received before application approval: Count any child support payment received and kept by an applicant, less the passthrough amount of up to $50, to determine eligibility and the amount of the assistance payment (use the CH code in EIS). The child support may be received from a child support enforcement agency or directly from a noncustodial parent. Payments received after approval: After Temporary Assistance is approved, CSSD should receive any child support paid. If it is expected that child support payments will continue, the expected amount, less the pass-through amount of up to $50, is counted in determining prospective eligibility (use the CS code in EIS). The child support amount is disregarded in the assistance payment calculation, as described in MS 717-7B. A financial penalty may be imposed and a protective payee selected if a family keeps child support payments from the noncustodial parent after Temporary Assistance is approved. If the payments could have been anticipated, the amount of the payment, less the $50 pass-through amount, must be counted to determine if an incorrect assistance payment has been issued. If the family will continue to keep the child support paid, the payments, less the $50 pass-through amount, must be counted as income in the payment calculation for future months. Child support payments count as income to the child for whom the payments are intended. Child support contributions that are made in-kind rather than as cash are not counted as income. KK-1 MC #14 (3/05)
758-2 IN-KIND INCOME AND VENDOR PAYMENTS Any income which is paid "in-kind" rather than in cash to any member of the Temporary Assistance economic unit is not counted in determining eligibility or payment except as noted below: 1. The case worker must verify that contributions or gifts are made in such a way that actual cash does not pass through the hands of any member of the economic unit. 2. Any cash contribution made directly to any member of a economic unit is considered as income. 3. In-kind earned income received as full or partial compensation for services rendered, such as rent reduction in exchange for managing apartments or "working off" a store bill, will be counted as earned income. Verification of circumstances and dollar value must be obtained. 4. Any direct or vendor payments made to or on behalf of applicants or recipients by DPA's General Relief program will count as available income. 758-3 EDUCATION ASSISTANCE A. TITLE IV HIGHER EDUCATION ACT AND BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS GRANTS AND AWARDS The total amount of any grant, scholarship, or award issued under any program funded under the Title IV of the Higher Education Act or under a Bureau of Indian Affairs student assistance program is not counted as income in determining eligibility or benefit amount. Payments that fit this category include: Pell Grants State Student Incentive Grants (SIG) Academic Achievement Incentive Scholarships Byrd Scholars KK-2 MC #18 (12/06)
758-3 Continued Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunities Grants (FSEOG) Federal Educational Loans (Federal PLUS Loans, Perkins Loans, Stafford Loans, Ford Loans, etc.) Upward Bound Gear Up (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) LEAP (Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership) SLEAP (Special Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership) Work-Study Programs Verify that the source of the education assistance is Title IV or BIA by viewing the individual s award letter. Contact the awarding institution if the award letter is not available or is unclear. B. OTHER EDUCATION ASSISTANCE Education assistance that is not funded under Title IV of the Higher Education Act or the Bureau of Indian Affairs student assistance program funds is excluded as income if it is used or will be used for paying tuition, fees, or other necessary education expenses at any educational institution, including vocational, technical, and correspondence schools, and schools for people with disabilities. Any portion of education assistance that is not used or set aside for paying tuition, fees, or other necessary education expenses is countable unearned income. C. BUDGETING COUNTABLE EDUCATION INCOME 1. Total all countable education assistance. Do not add any other type of earned or unearned income unless it is received specifically because of the student's status and is intended to pay education-related expenses. KK-3 MC #18 (12/06)
758-3 Continued 2. Subtract from the above the costs for tuition and fees charged by the school. 3. Subtract the costs for books, school supplies, and any special clothing, tools, or other expenses of the student that are related to the cost of attending school. 4. Subtract costs for childcare necessary for the student to attend school. The childcare limits at MS 760-2B do not apply. 5. Subtract costs for transportation (actual costs, such as bus pass or parking fees, or standard mileage rate permitted by IRS) 6. Divide the remaining amount by the number of months the money is intended to cover. 7. Count the prorated amount as monthly income for each month in the period of intended use. If the money is received after the period it is intended to cover has already begun, prorate the money over the entire period of intended use and apply the prorated amount only to the months in which it was received and the remaining months it is intended to cover. 8. Any amount of money retained after the period of intended use is a countable resource. These deductions from countable education income are also given to anyone not included in the assistance unit whose income is used to determine eligibility and benefit amount. Verification of source, amount, period of intended use, and allowable education expenses is required. KK-4 MC #18 (12/06)
758-4 CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS Cash donations based on need, up to $300 per quarter, from private non-profit (as determined by the IRS) charitable organizations are exempt. For this provision, quarters are January - March, April - June, July - September, and October - December. Cash donations over $300 per quarter are not excluded. For example, an individual receives $200 in May and $200 in June. The $200 May payment and $100 of the June payment are exempt; $100 is countable income in June. The $300 exemption is available to each member of the assistance unit and to any person who is not included in the assistance unit but whose income is defined as available to the assistance unit. The case worker must document the family's receipt of income that is exempted under this section. 758-5 PAYMENTS TO NATIVE AMERICANS The following types of payments made to American Indians or to Alaska Natives (Eskimos, Aleuts, Athabascans, Tlingits, Haidas, etc.) are not counted as income in determining eligibility or payment amount for applicants and recipients: A. PER CAPITA PAYMENTS All funds held in trust by the Secretary of the Interior for an Indian tribe and distributed on a per capita basis to members of that tribe are excluded as income. These per capita payments may be distributed by the Secretary of the Interior or by the tribe itself. In Alaska, the only reported distribution of this type has been from the Metlakatla Indian Community. These types of distributions are authorized under Public Laws 92-254, 93-134, 94-114 (Section 6 only), and 94-540, as amended by Public Laws 97-458 and 98-64. B. ANCSA DISTRIBUTIONS The first $2,000 per year of cash distributions made by Native corporations to Alaska Natives under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) are excluded as income. This $2,000 exclusion applies to each individual and to each single calendar year. (See section 754-9 regarding ANCSA payments and resources). KK-5 MC #18 (12/06)
758-5 Continued If there is any reason to doubt a client's statement that he or she has received or expects to receive an ANCSA payment, or reason to doubt the amount of that payment, verification must be sought from the client or the client's Native Corporation, which will usually require a specific written release of information. Cash distributions paid in excess of $2,000 per calendar year to an individual shareholder by a regional or village Native corporation count as income to the individual shareholder in the month of receipt. Normal Temporary Assistance prospective/retrospective budgeting policies apply to any ANCSA cash distributions in excess of $2,000 per individual per calendar year. Any income received by an individual applicant or recipient as a result of his own investment of his ANCSA payments counts as income. 758-6 INCOME OF SSI/APA RECIPIENTS The policies in this section apply to adult applicants and recipients. See section 770-1 for policy on SSI child cases. A. SEPARATE ECONOMIC UNITS All income of an adult who is receiving SSI, SSI and APA, or APA only, and who is living in a Temporary Assistance household and is a member of the Temporary Assistance economic unit will be disregarded in determining eligibility and payment amounts of applicants and recipients. Interim Assistance payments are not considered an APA benefit for Temporary Assistance purposes. SSI/APA and Temporary Assistance persons living together will be treated as completely separate economic units, regardless of the legal or family relationships between them. Except for SSI children, no person may receive SSI/APA and Temporary Assistance benefits in the same calendar month. KK-6 MC #18 (12/06)
758-6 Continued B. TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE APPLICANTS WITH SSI/APA RECIPIENTS The case worker will not count income determined by SSI/APA as belonging only to the SSI/APA eligible adult in the Temporary Assistance eligibility determination. Verification of sources and amounts of SSI counted income must be obtained from SSI/APA case files, EIS interfaces, computer printouts, or the servicing SSI office. SSI/APA considers portions of the income of the SSI/APA ineligible spouse or ineligible parent of a child under 18 to be available to the SSI/APA applicant. SSI/APA cannot deem income that has been considered in determining Temporary Assistance. In making the Temporary Assistance determination, all income deemed by SSI/APA to be available to the SSI/APA recipient will be considered Temporary Assistance income unless it is otherwise not countable. The case worker should not concern himself with the net amounts SSI deemed, but merely identify the recipient's own income and consider the gross amounts of all other deemed income as available to the Temporary Assistance unit. After the Temporary Assistance determination is made, the case worker must notify the SSI office and/or the APA case worker that the income they originally deemed available to the recipient has now been considered available in the Temporary Assistance program. Notification may be accomplished by providing them with a copy of the Temporary Assistance budget. SSI must then eliminate the deemed income DPA counted and increase their payment. This action will affect the related APA case, if any. C. TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE APPLICANTS WITH POTENTIAL SSI/APA ELIGIBILITY Any Temporary Assistance applicant who resides with an adult or child who has potential eligibility for the SSI/APA program should be referred to SSI to make application(s) if it would be to the household's financial advantage. KK-7 MC #18 (12/06)
758-6 Continued The case worker must determine Temporary Assistance/APA eligibility under normal procedures, including the potential SSI/APA household member in the economic unit if he is a dependent child or a legally responsible relative or spouse. Once eligibility has been determined to exist or not exist, the case worker must inform the appropriate SSI office of: The results of the Temporary Assistance determination; Which household members are included in the Temporary Assistance case; and Whose income and resources were considered in the determination, identified by amount and source. The APA case worker must be similarly informed. Notification may be done by telephone or by mailing the SSI office a Xerox copy of the Temporary Assistance notice of decision and budget. D. CLIENT RESPONSIBILITY TO REPORT RECEIPT OF SSI The Temporary Assistance recipient or applicant is required to notify DPA within 10 days after a member of the economic unit or assistance unit begins receiving SSI benefits. Application for SSI benefits is not a condition of Temporary Assistance eligibility. If any of the persons in a Temporary Assistance household appear to have SSI/APA eligibility, they must be informed of their potential eligibility. The advantages and disadvantages of SSI eligibility must be explained. 758-7 GUARDIANSHIP PAYMENTS Guardianship payments may be referred to as Kinship Care and subsidized guardianships. The child for whom the payments are intended may be an optional member of the assistance unit. If a child is included in the assistance unit, the guardianship payment made for that child is counted as unearned income. If the child is not included, this payment is not counted as income to the family. KK-8 MC #18 (12/06)