2180 Other General Program Requirements

 

2181 Not Receiving SSI (Cash only) - Recipients of SSI are not eligible for cash assistance coverage. Adult clients of TANF who are potentially eligible for SSI (i.e., 65 or older or physically or mentally incapacitated with a condition that is expected to last 12 months or longer or result in death) must apply for such benefits to remain eligible for assistance pending the SSI eligibility determination.

 

For persons who are potentially eligible for SSI during periods of SSI suspension or termination, the person must seek to have such benefits reinstated.

 

NOTE: When the Social Security Administration determines retroactive SSI payments, a person's share of TANF benefits received is deducted. If only one person was on the TANF plan, the amount reported to SSA would be the actual grant amount received. If the assistance plan was for two or more, determine the person's share by deducting from the TANF grant amount received, the grant amount that would have been received had the person been receiving SSI and not TANF. The difference is that person's share of TANF. Generally, a shared living need standard must be used to determine the grant amount had the SSI person been excluded. (See Table II Standards section in the Appendix.)

 

2182 Fugitive Felons and Probation and Parole Violators (Not Applicable to Child Care) - There is ineligibility for cash assistance and food assistance for persons (including juveniles) who are either fugitives from justice due to a felony conviction or charge or in violation of a condition of probation or parole imposed under federal or state law. Action to deny or terminate assistance can only be taken if evidence of such fugitive status or violation of probation/parole is obtained from such sources as law enforcement officials or parole officers or if it is reported by the household.

  

NOTE: For Food Assistance, an individual is a fleeing felon when a Federal, State, or local law enforcement officer acting in his or her official capacity presents an outstanding felony arrest warrant that conforms to one of the following National Crime Information Center Uniform Offense Classification Codes:



The provisions of 2182 take precedence over other statuses that would result in a food assistance household member being ineligible for food assistance. Specifically, these sections take precedence over non-household member status of a student, and excluded statuses due to failure to provide or apply for an SSN, ABAWD status, or ineligible non-citizen status. See 4212.1 and 4212.2.

 

2183 Felony Drug Convictions (TANF only) - Any individual who has been convicted on or after July 1, 2013 of a state or federal felony offense which includes an element of the offense of manufacture, cultivation, distribution, possession or use of a controlled substance or controlled substance analog is ineligible TANF for five years from the date of the conviction for a first offense.

Any person convicted of a first felony offense after July 1, 2013 and subsequently convicted of a second felony offense which includes an element of the offense of manufacture, cultivation, distribution, possession or use of a controlled substance is ineligible to receive TANF benefits for their lifetime.

Note: There is no comparable penalty for food assistance.

 

2184 Felony Drug Convictions (Food Assistance only) - Any individual who is convicted of a felony offense occurring on or after July 1, 2015, which includes as an element of such offense the manufacture, cultivation, distribution, possession or use of a controlled substance or controlled substance analog will be ineligible to receive food assistance benefits until the individual as part of an approved drug treatment plan, participates in an drug treatment program. When the individual has completed treatment, he/she must submit to and pass drug testing as part of the approved drug testing plan.

 

Any individual convicted of a first felony offense after July 1, 2015 and subsequently convicted of a second felony offense which includes as an element of such offense the manufacture, cultivation, distribution, possession or use of a controlled substance or controlled substance analog is ineligible to receive food assistance benefits for their lifetime.

 

The ineligible individual will be treated as a disqualified household member. The remainder of the food assistance household may receive food assistance benefits if they are otherwise eligible. See 4212.3

 

NOTE: The individual may not meet standards to be eligible for drug treatment and therefore would only need to submit to the approved drug testing plan.