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2.10.2.1
W-2 Group Limit
2.10.2.2
Native American Exemptions
2.10.2.3
TANF Received in Another State
2.10.2.3.1
TANF Received in Another State and Time Limit Extensions
The state 60-month time limit is the cumulative total of the number of months the individual or any adult member of the individual's W-2 Group has participated in, or has received benefits under, any of the following or any combination of the following:
1. A TJ, CSJ, or W-2 T at any time during a month.
2. Any TANF funded program in this state or any other state for which the participant received TANF cash assistance while in that program (see 2.10.2.3). This includes Tribal TANF funds.
3. The AFDC JOBS program from October 1, 1996, to W-2 implementation that had been:
included in the SFU in an open AFDC assistance group (includes sanctioned adults);
age 18 or older;
coded with a JOBS registration code of mandatory (M), voluntary (V), or PFR Demonstration with a code of (P) or (R); and
enrolled in JOBS under experimental or non-experimental PFP, WNW, Experimental or Control PFR.
The time limit applies to the W-2 Group. In W-2 Groups with more than one adult member, the adult member with the greatest number of months accumulated counts toward the W-2 Group’s 60-month lifetime limit. Individuals leaving a W-2 Group take with them the number of months accumulated prior to entering the W-2 Group as well as the number of months accumulated while a part of the W-2 Group.
Dependent 18-year-olds are considered to be children in the W-2 Group and are not subject to time limits. If the dependent 18-year-old has a Dependent Child and applies for services independent of his or her parents, she or he then would be eligible for W-2 and subject to the 60-month time limit.
Example 1: Mary is in a W-2 Group consisting of herself and her 4 year old daughter. She has accumulated 30 months towards her 60-month lifetime limit. Because she is the only adult in the W-2 Group, the W-2 Group is credited with 30 months toward the 60-month lifetime limit. John, Mary’s estranged husband, joins the W-2 Group. John has accumulated 35 months toward his 60-month lifetime limit prior to moving back in with Mary. Because John has the greater number of months accumulated towards the lifetime limit, the W-2 Group is now credited with 35 months towards the lifetime limit.
Example 2: After ten months, John and Mary divorce. At the time John left the W-2 Group, he and Mary had accumulated 45 months (35 + 10) towards the 60-month lifetime limit. John moves out of the home and the W-2 Group once again consists of Mary and her daughter. Because Mary had 30 months accumulated toward the 60-month lifetime limit when John moved in and she accumulated ten more months during the time she and John lived together, the W-2 Group of Mary and her daughter is credited with 40 months towards the lifetime limit.
Any adult in the W-2 Group is exempt from the 60-month time limit while living in a federally recognized American Indian reservation, an Alaskan Native village, or an Indian country occupied by an Indian tribe for a month, if during that month the following applied:
1. At least 1,000 individuals were living on the reservation or in the village or Indian country; and
2. At least 50 percent of the adults were unemployed.
TANF cash assistance is limited to up to 60 months in an individual's lifetime. This means that TANF assistance received by an adult in this state or any other state counts toward the 60-month time limit.
When there is evidence that an applicant has received TANF cash assistance in another state, the FEP must:
1. Determine the number of months TANF cash assistance was received in the other state by contacting the appropriate persons. The directory contacts for TANF verification can be found at: http://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/em/pdf/public-assistance.pdf. Only months of TANF cash assistance received after September 1, 1996 can be counted. If the contact cannot confirm that the assistance received in the other state was TANF, do not use the information. The months of TANF cash assistance received in the other state does not have to be verified in writing.
2. Enter the month and years that the TANF was received in the other state on CARES screen AIWO.
If an individual who has received more than 60 months of TANF assistance in another state is eligible for W-2, but has used 60-months on his or her lifetime limit, the FEP must determine time limit extension eligibility based on the time limit extension criteria.
When applying the time limit extension criteria, the FEP must use information obtained during the W-2 informal assessment. In addition, the FEP must attempt to contact the other state for more specific information about the applicant. If the FEP is unable to obtain additional information, the information gathered through the informal assessment must be used to determine time limit extension eligibility.
(See 2.10.6 for more information on time limit extensions)
This
page last updated in Release # 12-01
Release Date: 01/23/12
Effective Date: 01/23/12