|
Wisconsin Department of Children and Families Wisconsin Works (W-2) Manual |
In addition to meeting the nonfinancial eligibility criteria, applicants must also meet financial eligibility criteria to be considered eligible for W-2 services or a JAL.
There are two exceptions to this:
· A Minor Parent is eligible for case management services without regard to income or assets.
· Participants in a CMF or CMF+ placement do not have to meet the financial eligibility requirements. CMF or CMF+ participants must meet nonfinancial eligibility requirements in order to be eligible for ongoing case management services.
W-2 financial eligibility is determined by both a gross income and an asset test. When testing prospectively for income and assets, months of asset ineligibility or months of income ineligibility must not be combined to create two consecutive calendar months of financial ineligibility.
EXAMPLE: Judy receives $5,000 as a lawsuit settlement on February 11, 2016, while participating in a CSJ. Judy reports this to her FEP on February 12. Judy’s FEP enters the initial settlement as income in February, and uses the bank statement Judy provides as verification. Although Judy is over the income limit, she remains eligible because this is only the first month that she is over the income limit. At Judy’s next appointment on March 15, Judy’s FEP asks if Judy has any settlement money remaining. Judy indicates that she spent $2,200 of the settlement in February, and plans to spend the remainder this month. Judy’s FEP enters the remaining $2,700 as an asset in March. Although Judy is over the asset limit, she remains eligible because this is the first month that she is over the asset limit. Judy’s FEP calls Judy on April 6 to see if Judy has any settlement money remaining. Judy confirms that she spent the remainder and provides another bank statement as verification that she is again under the income and assets limits for W-2. Even though Judy was over the income limit and over the asset limit in two consecutive months, she remained eligible because being over the income limit one month and over the asset limit the next month cannot be combined to create two calendar months of ineligibility. Therefore, as Judy neither exceeded the income limit for two consecutive calendar months nor exceeded the asset limit for two consecutive calendar months, there is no impact on Judy’s eligibility for a CSJ placement.
History: Release 16-01.