Help for Families When They Leave TANF
Sometimes parents on TANF (Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families) worry that
when they get a job and leave TANF, they’ll
lose MaineCare, Food Stamps, and child care
help, too. This situation has improved! Many of
the programs have rules in place to help make
sure that families who return to work don’t lose
these benefits due to increased earnings.
Food Stamps. You and your family will
get the same amount of Food
Stamps you got while on
TANF for at least five months
after your TANF ends. This
is called Transitional Food
Stamps. When you leave
TANF, the Department of
Health and Human Services
(DHHS) will automatically sign you up for
Transitional Food Stamps. This will help
families who are making more money after they
leave TANF. If your family is actually making
less money after your TANF ends, you should
talk to your DHHS eligibility specialist about
recalculating your Food Stamp benefit.
You may still continue to get Food Stamps
after your five months in the Transitional Food
Stamp program. But, the amount of your
earnings will affect your monthly food stamp
benefit. In general, households lose about one
dollar in Food Stamps for every three dollars in
increased income. The Food Stamp Estimator
on the Pine Tree Legal Assistance website can
give you a more accurate estimate.
Child Care. The
Transitional Child Care (TCC)
Program helps families who can
no longer get TANF or Parents
as Scholars (PaS) because their wages are too
high. Here are some important facts about
Transitional Child Care:
You are eligible if:
- You have a child under age 13 (or older, if the child needs child care because of a physical or mental health problem), and
- You lost your TANF benefits because of earnings or you voluntarily left TANF and are working, and
- Your weekly family income is less than 85% of the State median wage for your size family.
See the chart below for what this means in dollars:
| People
in Household |
Transitional
Child Care
Weekly Income Limit
(85% of State median wage) |
| 2 |
$705.84 |
| 3 |
$871.92 |
| 4 |
$1,038.00 |
| 5 |
$1,204.08 |
| 6 |
$1,370.16 |
These numbers apply from 10-1-08 through 9-30-09
When you leave TANF you will get a letter
from DHHS telling you that you may be able
to get help with child care costs. The letter
will tell you to contact your DHHS eligibility
specialist. You must contact them within 12
months after you leave TANF if you want to
get TCC. Once this 12-month period ends,
you will likely be put on a waiting list. If you
ask for the help within 12 months of your last
TANF check, you should be able to get help
with your child care costs without going on a
waiting list.
Important Note: TCC is only for people
who leave TANF because of work. Be
sure to tell your TANF worker if you are
working. If you tell your worker that you
want to go off TANF but don’t say that it
is because you have a job, you could lose
out on this important child care benefit.
Transitional Child Care will not pay ALL of
your child care costs, but it should pay for
most of them. Depending on your income,
you will have to pay a fee of between 2%
and 10% of your gross income for each
child. The cost will go down for each
additional child you have in care. You will
pay your share of the cost on a monthly
basis.
Sometimes your child care fees are more
than the maximum allowed by DHHS. In
this case you will have to pay your share
of TCC and pay the extra amount over
DHHS’s maximum.
If you want help figuring your TCC cost,
your DHHS eligibilty worker can help you.
There are some restrictions on what TCC
covers. TCC won’t pay for child care
provided by the child’s parents, guardian,
step-parent or household members who
were also on your TANF grant. DHHS will
also do a background check on the childcare
provider before they will pay for the child
care. This is to check for criminal offenses
or any history of abuse or neglect.
Transportation. The Transitional
Transportation Program (TT) helps
families who lose their
TANF benefits because they get a paying
job. Transitional Transportation helps
with your transportation costs for the first
12 months after you get your last TANF
check. You will be paid a lump sum every
3 months for the first full year. You can
receive between $1.00 and $10.00 per day
of work, depending on how far you travel
and how much you earn. After you lose
your TANF, ASPIRE can no longer help
you with mileage reimbursement to and
from your job. Transitional Transportation
will now be there to help.
Important note about Transitional
Transportation! Unlike the other
transitional benefit programs, you only
have 30 DAYS from the time you lose
your TANF to ask for help from the
Transitional Transportation Program.
MaineCare. You and your children can
often still get MaineCare even though you
are not receiving TANF. MaineCare income
guidelines are much higher than those for
TANF. Parents and their minor children
are eligible for MaineCare if their income
is less than 200% of the Federal Poverty
Level (FPL). The chart below tells you the
monthly income limit for your household
size so that you can see if you qualify for
MaineCare.
|
# of people in houshold
|
200% FPL
|
| 2 |
$2,334 |
| 3 |
$2,934 |
| 4 |
$3,534 |
| 5 |
$4,134 |
| 6 |
$4,734 |
Each additional person add $600.
Amounts current as of October 2008.
Your children, 18 and younger, will continue to be eligible for MaineCare until the end of their 12-month
certification period, no matter how much money you make.
If you receive notice that your income is too
high to continue to receive MaineCare, ask
your worker about Transitional MaineCare
for your whole family or the Full Cost
Purchase Option for just your children.
DHHS wants you to succeed in your efforts
to support your family without TANF. The
rules for these programs are complicated
so, sometimes, mistakes can be made.
Please don’t hesitate to speak to your
DHHS worker or an advocate at Maine
Equal Justice Partners or Pine Tree Legal
Assistance if you believe you are eligible
for a Transitional Benefit that you are not
getting.
More information on Transitional Benefits
One last note: Alternative Aid
The Alternative Aid
Program can help families
who are no longer on TANF if they have a
work-related emergency. Some examples
of work-related emergencies are needing
car repairs so that you can get to work, or
catching up on rent payments so that you
don’t become homeless.
Not all families are eligible for this help.
There are guidelines related to income
as well as household make up. If you
are eligible, Alternative Aid can give you
up to 3 months worth of a TANF benefit
in a lump sum. This benefit comes as a
voucher, not as a cash payment.
More information about the Alternative
Aid Program or call Maine Equal Justice with your questions.
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