You and your children can often still get MaineCare even though
you are not on TANF. MaineCare income guidelines are much higher than TANF's.
Your MaineCare will continue when your TANF ends unless your income is too
high to be eligible.
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.
Both you and your children will continue to be eligible unless your family
income is over the monthly income guidelines in Table 1. You
may be asked to pay a premium, between $8 and $64 per month total,
depending on your income and how many children you have.
TABLE 1
MaineCare Income Guidelines for
Children ages 0-18* and
Their Parents**
Even if your gross income is slightly higher, you and your children may get MaineCare.
MaineCare allows some deductions from your income.
* Children who are disabled may continue to
be eligible even if your income is higher than in Table 1. For more
information on the "Katie Beckett" MaineCare option
for children
with disabilities, contact your local
office of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services
** If you are a parent who is disabled and working, you may still be eligible for
MaineCare even if your income
is higher than Table 2. Contact your
local office of the Maine Department of Health and
Human Services or Legal Services for the Elderly at 1-800-750-5353.
Over Income? Read
this...
If your family income is over the monthly income guidelines in Table 1
because of money you earn and you (the parent) are also enrolled in MaineCare,
then you and your children may be eligible for Transitional MaineCare
for up to six months. For more information, see the Transitional
MaineCare section below.
When your children under 19 can no longer get MaineCare
because of higher family income, you can choose to pay
to keep MaineCare for your children. You can keep MaineCare for up to 18 more months. This is called the
MaineCare "Full Cost Purchase Option."
The premium for the Full Cost Purchase Option is $100 per month per child. You can
choose to get coverage for all your children or only for one or more of
your children.
What Happens
to My
Food Stamps
When I Leave TANF?
You your family will still get food stamps for at least five months
after you leave TANF. When you leave TANF, DHHS will automatically sign you up for transitional food stamps.
Your transitional food stamp benefit will be the same amount as the food stamp benefit you got while on TANF,
even if your income now is much higher. This will help families who are making more money after they leave TANF.
If your family is making less money, you should talk to your eligibility specialist about recalculating your Food
Stamp benefit.
You can still get food stamps after your five months in the transitional food stamp program. But, the amount of your
earnings will affect your food stamps. In general, households lose about one dollar in food stamps for every three
dollars in increased income. To find out if you will still be eligible for food stamps and to estimate the amount
you will get, you can use the
Food Stamp Estimator on the Pine Tree Legal Assistance website.
What Happens with
Child Care
When I Leave TANF?
The Transitional Child Care (TCC) Program helps families who
can no longer get TANF or PaS checks because they are working. Here are
some important facts about Transitional Child Care.
Who is eligible?
You will be eligible for TCC if:
- you have a child under 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 family income is under the amount for your family size
on this table:
| People
in Household |
Transitional
Child Care Weekly Income Limit |
| 1 |
$539.76 |
| 2 |
$705.84 |
| 3 |
$871.92 |
| 4 |
$1,038.00 |
| 5 |
$1,204.08 |
| 6 |
$1,370.16 |
How do I apply?
When your TANF or PaS ends, ask you TANF worker about Transitional
Child Care (TCC). You will get a letter from the Department of
Health Human Services (DHHS) telling you that you may be able to get help
with child care costs and suggesting that you contact them. You must contact your eligibility specialist within
12 months after you leave TANF to get help.
Important Note: TCC is only for people
who leave TANF because of work. Be sure to tell you TANF worker that
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.
Will the Transitional
Child Care Program pay for all of my child care costs?
No, but it should pay for most of them. Depending on your
income, you will have to pay a per child fee of between 2% and 10% of your
gross income. 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 the extra
amount over the DHHS's maximum.
Who can be
a child care provider?
TCC won't pay for child care provided by the child's parents,
guardian, step-parent or household members who were also on the TANF grant.
DHHS will also do a background check on the childcare provider (checking
for criminal and abuse or neglect history) before they will pay for the
child care. Otherwise, TCC will help pay for your choice of child
care provider.
The Transitional Transportation Program (TT) helps families
who lose their TANF or Parents as Scholars (PaS) benefits because they got
a paying job. Transitional Transportation helps with your transportation
cost for the first 12 months after you get your last TANF check. It is paid
as a lump sum every 3 months for the first full year.
Example: You get your last TANF check in May. You
will be eligible for Transitional Transportation benefits starting in
June. You will actually get your first TT benefit check in September,
and then another every 3 months for the first full year.
How do I apply for Transitional Transportation
benefits?
You will get a letter from DHHS before your TANF cash grant
is going to end. The letter will let you know if you may be eligible
for Transitional Transportation benefits. You must tell your worker that
you want this benefit within 30 days of getting this notice. If
you don't ask within 30 days, you may still be able to get this benefit,
but you must be able to show that you had a good reason for not making the
request on time.
Important Note: TT is only for people who leave TANF
because of earnings from work.
You must make it clear that you are leaving TANF becaue of earnings from work.
Don't just tell your worker that you want to go off TANF without
saying that it is because you have a job. This may cause you to lose
out on this important benefit. TT is only for people who leave TANF
because of earnings from work. If you don't tell your TANF worker that you
are working, they won't know that you should get this benefit. Report your
earnings; then wait until your TANF worker decides you are no longer eligible
to be sure you get Transitional Transportation.
How much help
will I get?
That depends on the amount of your income and your mileage.
The amount ranges from $1 a day to a maximum of $10 a day for each day that
you work in the 12-month period. (Pine Tree Legal posts more
details on payment rates.)
New TANF "Worker Supplement" Payment
Starting in July of 2008, families leaving TANF for work will receive a TANF Worker Supplement food benefit.
This means that families who leave TANF for work will receive:
-
$100 per month for the first 12 months after they leave TANF,
-
$75 per month for the second 12 months, and
-
$50 per month for the third 12 months.
The benefit will be placed on families' EBT cards. It will not be in the form of cash.
People can use it to buy anything that can be bought with food stamps. By giving the benefit this way,
it will not count as "income" for the federal food stamp program. It will not cause you to lose any food stamp
benefits.
You have a right to appeal a decision by DHHS. You can have a fair hearing if you disagree with any
decision they make about your benefits. This includes decisions about MaineCare, the amount
of your TANF or Food Stamp benefits, or any of the transitional benefits
described here. You can request a fair hearing by just asking your worker.
If you get a letter from DHHS and you disagree with the decision
be sure to make your appeal by the deadline given in the letter. You
have a right to bring a friend, lawyer, or advocate to help you at your fair hearing.
Contact your local office of Pine
Tree Legal Assistance if you want to ask them for help with your fair hearing.
