Administrative Rules of Montana › Department 37 - PUBLIC HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES › Chapter 37.78 - TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES (TANF) › Subchapter 37.78.4 - TANF Cash Assistance: Resources › Rule 37.78.401 - TANF: TANF CASH ASSISTANCE; RESOURCES

Current through Register Vol. 13, July 5, 2024
(1) This
				rule governs the treatment of resources for purposes of all benefits in the
				TANF cash assistance program.
(2)
				In determining eligibility for TANF cash assistance, the department will count
				the equity value as defined in ARM
				37.78.103 of all resources
				available to any member of the filing unit, unless there is a specific
				provision for the exclusion of the resource elsewhere in this rule or in
				federal law. A resource is considered available if actually available or when
				the applicant or participant has a legal interest in the resource and the legal
				ability to make it available for support and maintenance. In the case of
				qualified aliens, as defined in ARM
				37.78.220, the income and
				resources of the alien's sponsor and the alien's sponsor's spouse must be
				considered in determining the eligibility of the alien. A sponsor is any person
				over the age of 18 who petitions for admission of an alien under section 213 of
				the Immigration and Nationality Act.
(3) If the total value of the filing unit's
				countable resources exceeds $3,000, the filing unit is ineligible for
				assistance. Eligibility is determined on the basis of the countable resources
				as of the date of application and the first moment of the first day of each
				month for which ongoing assistance is being determined. If the filing unit's
				countable resources exceed the $3,000 resource limit on the first day of the
				month, the filing unit is ineligible for that entire month, even if the value
				of the filing unit's countable resources drops below $3,000 later in the
				month.
(4) The following resources
				are not counted in determining eligibility:
(a) the filing unit's home, which is the
				usual residence of the filing/assistance unit, regardless of its
				value;
(b) household goods,
				clothing, or other essential personal effects, equipment, or other essential
				day to day items of limited value;
(c) tools, equipment, and other assets
				essential for the self-employment of a member of the filing unit;
(d) one burial space for each member of the
				filing unit and not more than $1,500 designated under a funeral agreement for
				burial arrangements for each member or irrevocable burial accounts or
				agreements;
(e) Agent Orange
				settlement payments;
(f) radiation
				exposure compensation payments;
(g)
				vehicles as follows:
(i) one vehicle
				regardless of its value; however, the equity in any additional vehicles must be
				counted as a currently available resource; and
(ii) all income-producing vehicles;
(h) Maine Indian Claims Settlement
				Act of 1980 payments;
(i) the cash
				value of life insurance policies;
(j) restitution made to individuals of
				Japanese ancestry who were interned during World War II as per the Civil
				Liberties Act of 1988;
(k)
				restitution made to Aleuts who were relocated during World War II as per the
				Civil Liberties Act of 1988;
(l)
				major disaster and emergency assistance as per the Disaster Relief and
				Emergency Assistance Amendments of 1988;
(m) student financial assistance for
				post-secondary education made for attendance costs under Title IV of the Higher
				Education Act or Bureau of Indian Affairs Student Assistance Programs as per
				the Higher Education Technical Amendment Act of 1987. The exclusion lasts only
				as long as the recipient of assistance is continuously attending an institution
				of higher education, excluding regular school breaks such as semester breaks or
				summer vacations;
(n) earned income
				tax credit (EITC) advance payments and refunds;
(o) trust fund or similar legal document
				which cannot be accessed by the grantor, beneficiary or trustee for the purpose
				of providing for the health, welfare, maintenance or daily needs of the
				beneficiary;
(p) annuities from
				which payments are being made;
(q)
				funds which have been prorated as income, during the period for which they have
				been prorated;
(r) governmental
				disaster payments designated for restoration of a home damaged in a disaster if
				the household is subject to legal sanction if funds are not used as
				intended;
(s) funds which are held
				in an escrow account during the household's participation in a department of
				housing and urban development family self-sufficiency program; or
(t) senior benefit payments received by the
				Crow elders as per the Crow Boundary Settlement Act of 1994.