1830 Employment Support Services | TANF

Support services are available to TANF applicants to assist them in the following situations:

Support services are available to TANF recipients in order to:

Transportation, childcare, incidental expenses may be paid for up-front or reimbursed as needed to help clients meet the requirements of the TANF Family Service Plan (TFSP).

Upfront payments can be provided to the applicants/recipients in the form of a gift card, gas card or check. Upfront payments are provided to participants only if it is needed to meet the requirements of the TFSP or to start/maintain employment.

Participants must provide documentation to validate the need for upfront payments. The receipts and hardship statements must be documented in Integrated Eligibility System (IES) and scanned into WebCenter Enterprise Capture (WEC).

The case manager and the participant will be working together to determine the need for support services.

The cost of support services cannot exceed the amounts specified in this section. The case manager must approve in advance any reimbursement for allowable expenses.

Support services may be reimbursed, or payment may be made in advance for costs associated with employment or preparation for employment.

These include:

Support services can be provided for any activity identified in the TFSP. The activity does not have to be countable towards the federal work participation rate. However, the activity must assist the AU to progress towards economic self-sufficiency.

Support services are available to TANF applicants to assist them in becoming employed. However, an applicant is not eligible to receive support services for incidental expenses other than for auto repairs except when incidental expenses are incurred as the result of participation in activities specified in the TFSP.

Support services can be provided for an activity as long as the participant participates in the activity in accordance with the requirements of the TFSP and the activity helps the participant make progress towards economic self-sufficiency.

A month in which an applicant receives support services, including TANF childcare, but does not receive cash assistance, counts toward the applicant’s TANF 48-month lifetime limit if the applicant is not employed in the same calendar month for which support services are provided.

A month in which an applicant receives support services, including TANF childcare, but does not receive cash assistance does not count toward the applicant’s 48- month TANF lifetime limit if the applicant becomes employed in the same calendar month for which support services are provided.

A month in which only CAPS childcare services are provided does not count toward the client’s 48-month TANF lifetime limit under any circumstance.

A cash assistance recipient may receive any applicable support service for recipients listed in this section if the service is deemed necessary for the recipient to meet the requirements of the TFSP, to accept employment, or to maintain employment.

A participant who chooses to take the work requirement exemption is not eligible to receive support services. However, an exempt participant who subsequently chooses to participate in a work activity, or becomes employed during an exemption period, is eligible to receive support services. Form 196A of the TFSP must be completed in order to provide support services to an exempt recipient.

If a county is unable to provide support services to all recipients who are otherwise eligible to receive them, support services are to be provided to clients in the following order of priority:

A recipient who is placed on a waiting list must be informed of other resources available in the community that may be accessed for education, training and employment needs while waiting for services to be provided through DFCS.

Transportation costs include the cost of operating a vehicle, bus tickets or tokens, taxi or other fares, and parking fees if free parking is unavailable.

Reimbursement of or payment for transportation is paid to the participant for the cost of transportation from the participant’s residence to the place of employment/training or childcare provider and from the place of employment/training or childcare provider to the residence.

Transportation costs are reimbursed at a daily rate of $7 per day. If higher routine costs can be documented for the area in which the client is participating, a higher daily rate may be paid.

Reimbursement of or payment for transportation costs cannot exceed $350 per participant per month. Covered transportation costs include:

This list is not intended to be all-inclusive but merely provides common examples of transportation costs.

The case manager must assist a recipient in obtaining childcare services when childcare is necessary for them to meet TFSP requirements, gain or to maintain the employment.

Childcare is available through the Childcare and Parent Services (CAPS) program for:

TANF recipients, who gain employment, remain eligible for a decreased check and close their on-going case to preserve TANF months may be eligible for seamless service provided by CAPS. Use closure code, ‘Voluntary closure to save TANF months' so the childcare can be provided by CAPS if hours are less than 25.

There is a 12-month time limit on Transitional Childcare. To be eligible for seamless services the former TANF clients must meet CAPS eligibility criteria at the expiration of 12-month period.

CAPS cannot pay childcare to support the personal responsibilities component (Form 196) of the TFSP or other activities that are not part of the work component (Form 196A) of the TFSP.

Childcare that is provided in order to support the client in meeting personal responsibility requirements apart from work requirements must be paid from a funding source other than those used to provide services through CAPS.

In counties where responsibility for employment services and childcare is assigned to different workers, it is essential to maintain communication. The childcare worker must be notified of changes in work activities and hours of participation, as well as of negative actions. Comprehensive policies and procedures for providing childcare are located in the CAPS manual.

During a recipient’s participation in work activities that are a part of the TFSP, incidental expenses can be covered if given approval by the case manager before the expenses are incurred.

Specified limits on incidental expenses are as follows:

A copy of the title or tag registration verifying that the client is the owner of the vehicle must be secured for the case record prior to approval for reimbursement.

Verification of the amount of an expense must be provided before reimbursement of or payment for the expense can be paid.

A county may request a waiver to the maximum reimbursement amount.

Employment Intervention Services (EIS) for TANF applicants, or Transitional Support Services (TSS) and Transitional Shelter Assistance (TSA) for TANF recipients are available to assist customers in meeting the goal of becoming independent of the need for government assistance.

Employment Intervention Services (EIS) is available to an applicant if s/he:

EIS is non-recurrent, short-term assistance that is equivalent to four times the maximum grant amount for the AU size.

The availability of the EIS must be discussed with the client at application. EIS is available only once in a client’s lifetime.

EIS can be used to pay for shelter costs (rent, utilities etc.) transportation costs, or other employment-related expenses needed to help the client accept and/or maintain employment.

The purpose of providing EIS is to assist employed applicants in maintaining employment and becoming self-sufficient.

Payment of EIS is tied to an individual and not to an AU.

In a two-parent AU in which each parent is employed, ineligibility for cash assistance and the subsequent eligibility for EIS can result from wages earned by one parent alone or by the combined wages from both parents.

Clients receiving EIS are not subject to certain ongoing TANF regulations such as, work requirements, lifetime limits and child support assignment.

EIS cash assistance is paid as a lump sum to the TANF AU. An AU that receives EIS is not eligible to receive TANF cash assistance for twelve months. The twelve-month count begins after the month in which the EIS payment is approved.

An AU may be eligible to receive ongoing TANF cash assistance prior to the expiration of a 12-month ineligibility period if they experience a loss of employment due to no fault of their own, (i.e., plant closure, company goes out of business, downsizing, lay off) and intensive monitored job search during applicant job search does not yield a job.

If the AU is approved for TANF cash assistance prior to the expiration of the 12-month period, then the EIS it previously received will count as 4 months toward the 48-month lifetime limit.

The following guidelines apply to the payment of EIS:

Transitional Support Services (TSS) can pay for or reimburse the cost of childcare, transportation, and incidental expenses to an applicant or a recipient.

Transitional Shelter Assistance (TSA) helps stabilize TANF families who are transitioning from TANF to employment.

Support services can continue during the three-months 25% reduction sanction period if the following criteria apply:

It is the responsibility of the case manager to explain to the client when the receipt of support services will count toward the 48-month TANF lifetime limit. The client must decide whether receipt of these support services warrants the use of months of TANF eligibility.

Childcare may also be continued if the participant meets the eligibility criteria for another childcare funding source. Refer to the Childcare and Parent Services (CAPS) policy manual for guidance.

Due to the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, Lawbreakers are now considered work eligible adults. According to TANF rules and regulations, certain lawbreakers are "ineligible" to receive federal TANF assistance. However, we will provide them with support services from state funds.

Support services will be provided to lawbreakers if the following criteria apply: