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DE TANF - Grant Amount

Once the Division of Social Services (DSS) finds you financially eligible for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the amount of your TANF Cash Assistance Grant must be computed. DSS does so in the following manner:

Computing the Grant Amount

The amount of the grant to an eligible TANF Assistance Unit is computed using both the income of the and the TANF Income Limits (that is, the Standard of Need and the Payment Standard) for the size of the Assistance Unit.

NOTE: See below for the rules regarding the payment maximum when there is more than one Assistance Unit in a Family Budget Group.

1. From Earned Income, calculate the Net Earned Income by subtracting:

·          The standard work deduction ($90.00); and

·          The $30 plus 1/3 disregard (if applicable) from each earner's earned income; and

·          Allowable child care costs.

NOTE: See Earned Income Disregards for details.

2. Add the Net Earned Income to Unearned Income to calculate the Assistance Unit's Countable Income.

3. Subtract the Countable Income from the Standard of Need for the size of the Assistance Unit; the number calculated is the Deficit.

4. Multiply the Deficit by 50%; the number calculated is called the Remainder.

5. The grant is either the Remainder or the Payment Standard for the size of the Assistance Unit, whichever is less.

Family Budget Groups and Assistance Units

In some circumstances your Family Budget Group may have more than one Assitance Unit. In such cases, the maximum that the sum of the TANF and/or GA payments can be is the TANF Payment Standard for the size of the Family Budget Group.

In the case where one of the Assistance Units receives a TANF Grant, and one receives General Assistance (GA), the unit receiving the TANF Grant will get the full TANF Grant as computed above, and the GA grant can be no more than the difference between the TANF Grant and the maximum Payment Standard for the size of the Family Budget Group.

In the case where two or more Assistance Units receive TANF Grants, one of the units will be designated as primary and will receive the full computed amount, and the other TANF Grant(s) will total no more than the difference between the primary unit's TANF Grant and the maximum Payment Standard for the size of the Family Budget Group.

For example -- using Payment Standards in effect from October 2006 to September 2007 -- if there are five people in your Family Budget Group, then your maximum payment amount would be $475 per month. If your primary Assistance Unit of three people qualifies for the $338 Payment Standard, then the maximum that the other Assistance Unit(s) could get would be $137 ($475 - $338 = $137). Note that if the two people in that Assistance Unit were not in your Family Budget Group, they could qualify for a maximum of $270 instead of $137.

NOTE: You may be able to have the primary Assistance Unit designation changed if you want a different Assistance Unit to be primary. Contact your DSS Office to have the changes made.

See also:

DE TANF - Income Eligibility

DE TANF - Resource Eligibility

DE GA - Financial Eligibility

DE DSS - Application Procedures

DE DSS - Change Reporting Requirements

DE DSS - Contact Information

Source:

DSS Policy Manual (Sect. 4008)

Back to:

DE TANF - Financial Eligibility

DE TANF Overview

DE Division of Social Services - Overview

DE Benefit Information System Overview

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