Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 18 - HUMAN SERVICES › Part 19 - DIVISION OF ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE TANF STATE PLAN

Current through June 25, 2024
State of Mississippi TANF State Plan
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
			 (TANF)
States that include TANF in the Combined State Plan must outline
			 how the State will meet the requirements of section 402 of the Social Security
			 Act including how it will:
a.
Conduct a program designed to serve all political subdivisions in the
		  State (not necessarily in a uniform manner) that provides assistance to needy
		  families with (or expecting) children and provides parents with job
		  preparation, work, and support services to enable them to gain necessary skills
		  and credentials required to obtain living wage employment and leave the
		  program, specifically cash assistance, and become self-sufficient (section
		  402(a)(1)(A)(i) of the Social Security Act).
For the period beginning July 1, 2020, Mississippi will conduct a
			 program designed to provide access to allowable work activities that will serve
			 all political subdivisions (counties) in the State with emphasis on providing
			 assistance to needy families with children and providing parents with job
			 preparation, work, and support services to enable them to leave the program and
			 become selfsufficient to the degree that State and local resources
			 allow.
Program Administration
The TANF Program is administered by the Mississippi Department of
			 Human Services (MDHS), the single State agency designated by State law for
			 eligibility determination and spending authority. The organization is State
			 administered with at least one full-service office for intake and client
			 service delivery located in each county with structured supervisory and
			 regional administrative levels.
Mississippi will operate a statewide work program mandated by
			 State law and TANF to provide work activities and supportive services
			 (childcare, work stipend, and work-related expense payments) focused on
			 enabling families to achieve and maintain self-sufficiency. In Mississippi,
			 TANF monthly benefits and supportive service payments provided to individuals
			 participating in allowable work activities or transitional programs are
			 provided to the family by means of a Mississippi Debit MasterCard® card
			 account. TANF supportive service payments issued to providers are paid by
			 check, direct deposit, or by vouchers redeemable for services.
Mississippi will continue to provide financial assistance to
			 needy families determined eligible under the established policies and the
			 Standard of Need and maximum payment level for that size family. Needy Families
			 are identified according to ongoing income, resources, and deprivation
			 criteria. The monthly TANF grant described in Mississippi Code 1972 Annotated
			 at 43-17-5(1), is $200 for the first person, $36 for the second person and $24
			 for additional persons, except as restricted by the Family Benefit Cap. A needy
			 family is defined as a family with a dependent child(ren) and an average annual
			 income at or below 185 percent of the need standard. TANF funds may be used to
			 provide non-financial assistance/services to families with income at or below
			 350 percent of the Federal Poverty Level.
Evaluation of Resources
Mississippi adopted Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility (BBCE) in
			 June 2010 which exempted TANF families from being tested for resources, with
			 certain exceptions, and provided TANF-funded services through Families First
			 Resource Centers, thus conferring BBCE to certain applicant/recipient
			 households.
In 2017, the Mississippi Legislature passed House Bill 1090, The
			 Medicaid and Human Services Transparency and Fraud Prevention Act, or "Hope"
			 ("Act to Restore Hope Opportunity and Prosperity for Everyone") Act. The Hope
			 Act required a significant change in the consideration of resources for
			 applicants and recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
			 benefits. Under the requirements of the Hope Act, conferring BBCE status to
			 most benefit households is no longer permitted. Effective July 1, 2019, all
			 families applying for TANF (new applications and redeterminations) will be
			 subject to an evaluation of all household resources. The resource limit is
			 $2000 for all TANF households.
Under Change Reporting rules, families subject to an evaluation
			 of resources must self-report if the total amount of resources exceeds the
			 resource limit for the family. This self-reporting requirement is included in
			 the Rights and Responsibilities (MDHS-EA-300) provided to the family. The
			 Change Reporting Form (MDHS-EA-946) provides households the opportunity to
			 self-report changes in liquid resources, such as cash, stocks, bonds, and bank
			 accounts.
A child or children under 18 years of age and their parent(s) or
			 other caretaker relative must meet all technical and financial eligibility
			 requirements in order to qualify for a TANF benefit.
The child or children must be deprived of one or both parents due
			 to:
1. Incapacity.
2. Death.
3. Continued absence which includes, but is
		  not limited to, absences by reason of:
a.
		  Divorce.
b. Desertion or
		  non-support of legal parent.
c.
		  Illegitimacy.
d. Hospitalization
		  for more than a temporary period.
e. Imprisonment.
f. Court sentence to perform unpaid public
		  work or service while living at home.
g. Removal of the child from the home by
		  court order.
h. Legal adoption by a
		  single parent.
4.
		  Unemployment of the principal wage earner (PWE)
TANF UP Program
Mississippi operates a separate state program to serve needy
			 two-parent families. State funds are used for cash assistance payments (TANF
			 grant and transportation stipends). This program will not count toward the
			 state's MOE requirements. Although two able-bodied parents are in the home, a
			 dependent child is considered deprived of parental care or support when the
			 natural or adoptive parent is unemployed. Two-parent families are only eligible
			 if the parent is designated as the "principal wage earner."
* Meets the state's definition of "unemployed," which means that
			 he or she is not currently working or has not worked full-time for at least
			 thirty (30) days prior to receipt of TANF benefits,
* Works less than 100 hours per month,
* Has not refused a bona fide offer of employment or training,
			 without good cause, within the 30-day period prior to receipt of TANF benefits;
			 and
* Is not on strike.
All other eligibility requirements for the two-parent family are
			 the same as the TANF (Basic) case.
To encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent
			 families:
* When the TANF recipient marries, the new spouse's income and
			 resources will be disregarded for six months. This will allow the single parent
			 who marries an employed person the opportunity to continue receiving TANF cash
			 assistance and work preparation activities without immediately losing benefits
			 because of the spouse's income. (One-time disregard for the first marriage of
			 the PI on or after October 1, 1999
* Recent work history requirements will be waived for two-parent
			 families when both parents are under 21 years of age to allow these young
			 families to qualify for the TANF Unemployed Parent program.
Deny TANF Assistance
a. According to the TANF
		  prohibitions/requirements outlined in federal regulations and state statute,
		  Mississippi will, except for individuals and families specifically exempt or
		  excluded for good cause, deny TANF assistance to:
* Families without a minor child residing with the parent or
			 adult caretaker relative;
* Families including an adult head-of-household or spouse of the
			 head-of-household, pregnant minor head-of-household or spouse of such
			 head-of-household, a minor parent head-of-household or spouse of such minor
			 parent head-of-household who has received assistance under TANF for 60 months
			 (cumulative but not necessarily consecutive);
* Families not assigning certain support rights to the
			 State;
* Families who fail to cooperate in establishing paternity or
			 obtaining child support;
* Teenage parents without a high school diploma or a high school
			 equivalency (HSE) diploma, who are not employed and do not attend school or an
			 equivalent training program;
* Minor parents not living in an adult-supervised setting;
* Minor children who are absent from the home for a significant
			 period (30 days or more). NOTE: A relative who fails to report the absence of a
			 child within five days will be disqualified;
* Fleeing felons and parole violators; and
* Ineligible aliens
b. Mississippi will also deny TANF assistance
		  to families if the adult(s), age 18 or older, included in the assistance unit
		  fails to engage in TANF applicant job search activities, fails to comply with
		  the Employability Development Plan signed by the individual, fails to cooperate
		  with the TWP, fails to participate satisfactorily in the assigned work
		  activity, or after receiving TANF assistance for twenty-four (24) months,
		  whichever is earlier.
c.
		  Mississippi will deny TANF assistance to families if the adult(s), age 18 or
		  older, included in the assistance unit fails to submit to a written substance
		  abuse screening questionnaire.
d.
		  Mississippi shall deny TANF assistance to a convicted fleeing felon.
e. Mississippi will also deny assistance for
		  ten years to an individual convicted in Federal or State court of having made a
		  fraudulent statement or representation, with respect to the individual's place
		  of residence in order to receive TANF assistance simultaneously from two or
		  more states.
f. Recipients of SSI
		  are excluded from the TANF assistance Unit.
g. In accordance with agency policy, adults
		  and minor children who fail to comply with enumeration requirements will be
		  excluded from the TANF assistance unit.
Mississippi will coordinate services, where available, with
			 public and private entities (i.e., Mississippi Departments of Rehabilitation
			 Services, Employment Security and Mental Health, and the Mississippi Community
			 College Board, etc.) to allow TANF families with barriers (i.e., little or no
			 work experience, domestic violence, limited English proficiency, learning
			 disabilities, mental, physical disabilities and/or substance abuse) an
			 opportunity to gain access to services and resources needed to obtain the
			 highest level of self-sufficiency within the constraints of the TANF
			 time-limits. Special screening and referral procedures will be used to identify
			 and refer the individual for the appropriate service. Mississippi will deny
			 benefits to individuals who fail to comply with the activities provided by
			 these entities.
Mississippi will not deny assistance to a minor parent with a
			 child under the age of 12 weeks for failure to attend school but will permit
			 the minor parent to voluntarily participate in educational activities as
			 medically appropriate.
Mississippi will deny benefits to all adult TANF applicants who
			 do not meet an exemption from work requirements and fail to comply with TANF
			 Work Registration requirements or vocational rehabilitation activities during
			 the 30-day TANF application processing period.
Mississippi will deny benefits to all adult TANF applicants age
			 18 and older who fail to submit to a written drug screening questionnaire.
			 State law provides for an individual sanction of TANF until compliance for an
			 adult recipient age 18 or older who fails, without good cause, to submit to a
			 required drug test or declines to enter into required treatment for a substance
			 abuse disorder or fails to meet the requirements of his/her treatment plan,
			 including refusal to take or testing positive to a required drug test.
Mississippi will not issue assistance payments to a family that
			 includes an adult head-of-household, minor head-of-household, minor parent
			 head-of-household, spouse of such head-of-household or a non-recipient parent
			 who has received TANF funding for 60 months (whether consecutive or not),
			 except as allowed by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
			 Reconciliation Act of 1996 in regard to the 20% exemption.
60-Month Extension
Hardships will be assessed starting at forty (40) months and
			 continued eligibility determined at the end of the individual's five (5) year
			 time limit. The following individuals, as approved, may continue to receive
			 benefits beyond the five-year time limit so long as the State does not exceed
			 the 20% exemption criteria:
* Adults who are determined to be temporarily or permanently
			 incapacitated and the household income does not exceed the TANF Basic 100%
			 Requirement.
* Parents who are required to provide full-time care for an ill
			 or incapacitated child or adult in the home and the household income does not
			 exceed the TANF Basic 100% Requirement.
A family will
not
be considered for a 60-month time
			 limit extension when the only child remaining in the TANF case is a family cap
			 child and is ineligible for monthly TANF benefits.
School Attendance Requirement
Mississippi requires regular school attendance and regular
			 immunizations for all dependent children served under TANF. This is in
			 accordance with regulation described in Mississippi Code of 1972 Annotated at
			 43-17-5 (5). A 25% monthly benefit reduction is imposed for failure to comply
			 without good cause.
Family Cap
Mississippi will impose a family benefit cap to prevent increases
			 in assistance for new children coming into the family after the initial ten
			 months of benefits, with certain exceptions.
Earned Income Disregards
Mississippi will provide a one-time total earned income disregard
			 opportunity for six months to TANF adults who find a job working at least 35
			 hours per week, at or above the federal minimum wage either: within 30 days
			 after authorization for new TANF approvals on or after July 1, 1997; or within
			 30 days after the initial start date of the job readiness/job search work
			 activity. The sixmonth total disregard of earnings will be available only once
			 for new TANF approvals and ongoing cases beginning July 1, 1997, and
			 thereafter.
A three-month total earned income disregard will be available
			 when the TANF case is subject to closure because of increased earnings and the
			 individual is employed at least 25 hours per week at or above the federal
			 minimum wage. The three-month disregard cannot be claimed in combination with
			 the six-month disregard. The three-month disregard can be claimed again after a
			 12-month consecutive break in assistance.
Non-Discrimination
The MDHS does not discriminate against any individual or group
			 because of race, sex, religion, national origin, color, marital status,
			 handicap, or political beliefs. Mississippi will follow the nondiscrimination
			 provisions in Title IV, Section 408, for any program or activity receiving
			 funds under Public Law
			 104 - 193, provision in State Law and Title IV of
			 the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and
			 Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act.