Food stamp benefits are determined by the number of people and income in a household. . A grantee will not need to amend its TANF plan to provide NRSTs with the PEAF. After your application is filed, an interview will be arranged to determine your familys eligibility, either by phone or in person. Your completed application will be sent to the DHR office in the county where you live. The cards may take several weeks to arrive due to the volume of eligible children and shipping time frames. Clients can use their EBT card to access cash benefits (TANF) through automated teller machines (ATMs) and Point . A voucher to cover the cost of utility bills in arrears due to financial issues arising from the pandemic. We are extremely grateful to our partners at USDA-FNS and to Dr. Eric Mackey and his team at the Department of Education, along with our advocates, for their continued support of our mission to feed Alabamas children.. This program is designed to raise the nutritional level of low income households. %PDF-1.6 % Additionally, they. The ASPIRE program helps TANF recipients move towards financial independence through case management, job training, education, support and employment services. Under the law, a grantee must expend reallotted funds within 12 months of receipt of the reallotted funds. hbbd``b` Sc `4A@i bi~"@ $TP; Preston Hornsby, governmental relations manager for the Alabama Department of Human Resources, told AL.com Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program beneficiaries received funds in their accounts today that increased March benefits to the monthly maximum for their family size, regardless of household income. Your completed application will be sent to the DHR office in the county where you live. We hope that making this determination now will enable grantees to act expeditiously in distributing PEAF benefits and be responsive to the current crisis. Low TANF cash benefits, which disproportionately affect the benefits available to Black children, are rooted in a long history of racist ideas and policies. The Food Assistance Division administers the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in Alabama. 436 0 obj <> endobj The law exempts PEAF funds from the spending cap in section 1108 of the Social Security Act. While each grantee must decide whether or not it intends to use its full allotment, it is important to understand that if a grantee elects to receive an amount less than the full allotment, it will lose its claim to the remainder of that allotment. This means that a grantee could offer the same or different NRSTs from the ones it offers under TANF, as long as they meet the requirements of the PEAF, including adhering to the requirement not to supplant current federal, state, tribal, territorial, or local expenditures. If the grantee elected to accept $2,000,000 of that allotment, the remaining $876,380 would no longer be set aside for that grantee and would be reallotted to all grantees eligible for reallotment. Use the map here to find the DHR office contact in your county, For additional details, please call(334) 242-1310. Department of To be considered financially eligible, families must have a monthly income lower than the maximum benefit for their family size. 455 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<8E2CFAEFB75791468CED12F6B483C4D4><70332ACC9AF89D40AF0184A0EF036C29>]/Index[436 29]/Info 435 0 R/Length 90/Prev 161574/Root 437 0 R/Size 465/Type/XRef/W[1 2 1]>>stream We have published tables showing the full allotment of each grantee and will include them as an appendix to this program instruction as well. Families with children under 6 years old who participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) also qualify for P-EBT, but their benefits will be issued at a later date. Office for Family Independence Before you can complete the application online, you must first register for an account. Additionally, they may use funds for administrative costs (up to a 15-percent cap for states and territories and up to the negotiated cap for tribes). A one-time payment to provide extra cash to weather the pandemic to current Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipient families with children affected by the pandemic. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the primary cash assistance program for families with children when they face a crisis or have very low incomes, can play a key role in ensuring that these families have incomes to meet their basic needs. President Biden's emergency relief plan includes $1 billion to help states deliver much-needed aid to families with the lowest incomes through state Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs which would mark an important step in the federal response to today's extraordinary hardship across America. Health and Human Services A one-time payment to provide extra cash to all current TANF recipient families to assist them in dealing with added costs caused by the pandemic. Failure to comply with the work requirements, without a good cause, will have their benefits reduced or revoked. DHR has created a toll-free customer service hotline at 1-800-410-5827 for questions related to P-EBT. DHHS It does count for TANF. If a grantee does choose to offer a benefit without determining an individual episode of need, it would need to be clear that the NRST expenditure was related to the pandemic. management shortterm nonrecurrent benefits as discussed in 45CFR 260.31, day care, transportation and other work and training services. A beneficiary receiving less than their households size monthly maximum will now be bumped up to the higher level. Families will receive separate EBT cards for each eligible child in their households. Option 1: Apply online through My Maine Connection. An Office of the Administration for Children & Families, TANF-ACF-PI-2021-02 (The Pandemic Emergency Assistance Fund), The PEAF provides funding to states (which includes the District of Columbia), tribes administering a TANF program, and five U.S. territories, Grantees may use funds to provide certain non-recurrent, short term (NRST) benefits, described in more detail below. After deducting $2 million for federal administration: A grantee must make a one-time election of the amount of its allotment it wishes to receive. Indeed, as we noted above, all PEAF-funded benefits must be designed to address needs arising from the pandemic. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely. Transitional Transportation (TT) can help working families pay for transportation related expenses for a period of time. Learn more about the HOPE program. We anticipate having only one reallotment of those two sources of funds, but we will make a decision on whether to have more than one after we see how much of the allotment grantees request initially. The law specifies an allotment formula. Option 4: Fax an application to (207) 778-8429. The PEAF provides funding to states (which includes the District of Columbia), tribes administering a TANF program, and five U.S. territories[1] to assist needy families impacted by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. It could use the PEAF funds for diversion, as long as it adds to its program and does not replace existing funding with the PEAF dollars. Alabama's Family Assistance(FA) Program provides temporary financial assistance for needy families with children whose income must meet the eligibility thresholds. Office for Family Independence. The Continuing Appropriations Act, 2021 ( PL 116-159 ), extended a number of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) flexibilities approved under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. Farmington, ME 04938. A benefit to cover burial expenses for needy families who have had a family member die from COVID-19. Susan J. GolonkaActing DirectorOffice of Family Assistance. The Alabama Department of Human Resources (DHR) oversees the distribution of P-EBT with assistance from the Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE). Given that the fund was created specifically to help address needs arising out of the pandemic, we have determined that NRST benefits that meet Purpose One (provide assistance to needy families so that children may be cared for in their own homes or in the homes of relatives) are in line with the PEAF and we do not think benefits meeting the other purposes are. Pandemic EBT Distribution Starts This Week for Families with Eligible School-Age Children June 8, 2021 Dominic Binkley MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) benefits will start rolling out this week to families with eligible school-age children who missed out on free or reduced-price school meals because of the pandemic. If a grantee wishes to use PEAF funds for a benefit that meets a different purpose, it must be able to demonstrate how the benefit is designed to address pandemic-related needs. Once enrolled in TANF you may also be eligible for help receiving job training and education. Under Alabamas Work First approach, most adult recipients of cash assistance are required to participate in TANF employment program (JOBS) for up to 40 hours a week, unless otherwise exempt. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Option 4: Fax an application to (207) 778-8429. The site is secure. 11 State House Station $40012:g`$@g ` 0 If you have already applied or are receiving food assistance, you can sign up for an account on MyDHR or MyAlabama to access your case information, complete your recertification for benefits, and manage your benefits including reporting changes and completing your six-month report. All grantees are eligible for reallotted funds, unless they have unexpended funds at the end of the expenditure period. 2.TANF Emergency Assistance (Formerly AFDC-EA as provided by 45 CFR 233.120 with provision date of August 21, 1996): Assistance and services to or on Alabama food stamp recipients can now buy food online through Amazon. A payment for hotel rooms and meal delivery for people who need to quarantine away from their families. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure youre on a federal government site. The PEAF represents a singular opportunity to help some of our nations neediest families struggling with the effects of the pandemic. The NRST benefits a grantee funds with PEAF need not be the same as the ones funded by TANF. A supplement will also be received at the end of April as part of the response to the COVID-19 virus. You must also be either pregnant or be responsible for a child under 19 years of age and be unemployed or under employed with very low wages. Updated 6/30/2021 Phone: (207) 626-7058 Fax: (207) 621-8148 www.maineequaljustice.org $300/week does not "count" as income for SNAP and Mainecare. TANF provides cash assistance to families while they work towards becoming self-sufficient. An official website of the United States government. The Family Assistance Division administers programs funded by the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant designed to provide benefits and services to needy families so children may be cared for in their own homes or in the homes of relatives. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. We will issue supplemental information specific to tribes that integrate TANF under Public Law 102-477 into a single plan. MONTGOMERY, Ala. Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) benefits will start rolling out this week to families with eligible school-age children who missed out on free or reduced-price school meals because of the pandemic. 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