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DE General Assistance - Overview

General Assistance (GA) is a cash assistance program available to families and unemployable individuals who meet the financial eligibility requirements of the program and who are not eligible for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

Married or unmarried couples who are living with their children as a family unit that is not eligible for TANF are "technically eligible" for GA. They must meet the GA - Financial Eligibility criteria.

NOTE: "Technically eligible" means that you meet the non-financial eligibility requirements.

Adults, aged 18-54, are not technically eligible for GA if they are:

1. Employable; and
2. Have no children in their care.

Unrelated Children

A needy child (one whose income is less than the GA Standard of Need, who lives with an unrelated adult caretaker, is technically eligible for General Assistance. The caretaker is payee for the child's grant and may be included in the GA unit if he/she is also needy and meets at least one of the unemployability standards.

In such cases, the Division of Social Services (DSS) will document the child's presence in the home and the reason that the child is not living with his/her parents. The possibility of financial support from the parents is also investigated.

In all such cases, the DFS will be notified of the child's placement so a study of the home can be made.

A child's caretaker relative, who is otherwise eligible for GA and who is not the child's parent, may choose to receive GA instead of TANF.

EXAMPLE: A woman with no income is unemployable and is the caretaker of a seven year old niece. The woman may choose to receive GA for herself and be payee only for the TANF grant for her niece, or she may be included in the TANF unit with her niece.

Married or unmarried couples living with their children as a family unit that are not eligible for TANF are technically eligible for GA.

Ineligibility Due to Family Cap

A needy child, who is ineligible for TANF cash benefits due to the Family Cap provision of Delaware's TANF program, is not technically eligible for GA.

Residence

Applicants must reside in Delaware to be eligible for benefits. Persons including the homeless (those with no fixed address or not living in a permanent dwelling) who currently live in Delaware and plan to stay, regardless of the length of time they have been here, meet the residency requirement.

General Assistance and SSI

An SSI recipient cannot receive GA payments for him/herself while receiving SSI, but may be a payee for a GA grant for others. The SSI recipient's income and resources are not considered available to meet the needs of any other person in the household.

General Assistance and Medicaid

Any person aged 0 through 17 eligible for GA is also eligible for AFDC-TANF Related Medicaid. (Any individual under age 18 who is ineligible for a GA grant because of a budgeted need of $.01 to $9.99 is eligible for Medicaid.)

GA recipients aged 18 can receive Federal Poverty Level-related Medicaid.

Uninsured GA recipients age 19 and over may be eligible as an adult in the expansion population under the Diamond State Health Plan.

Source:

DSS Policy Manual (Sects. 3018, 3018.1, 3020, 3021, 3022, 3023, 15100)

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DE Division of Social Services - Overview

DE Benefit Information System Overview

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