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Wisconsin Department of Children and Families Wisconsin Works (W-2) Manual |
Amerasian - An individual born in Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Kampuchea or Thailand after December 31st, 1950 and before October 22, 1982 who was fathered by a United States citizen.
Assistance Group - An individual or group of individuals whose income and assets are tested together when applying for public benefit programs, including Refugee Cash and Medical Assistance. Criteria for determining assistance groups can vary between different public benefit programs.
Asylee - An individual who meets the definition of a refugee and has traveled to a new country on his or her own, applied for and received a grant of asylum.
Asylum - Protection granted by a nation to an individual who cannot return to his or her home country based on a fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.
Asylum-seeker - An individual who is seeking but has not yet been granted asylum.
CARES/CWW (Client Assistance for Reemployment and Economic Support/CARES Worker Web) - The eligibility determination system used to administer the W-2 and income maintenance programs in Wisconsin.
Cuban-Haitian entrant - An individual granted parole status as a Cuban/Haitian Entrant or granted any other special status subsequently established under the immigration laws for nationals of Cuba or Haiti.
Department of Children and Families (DCF) - The Wisconsin Department that oversees the W-2, RCA and RMA programs.
Electronic Case File (ECF) - A paperless case file system used by W-2 and income maintenance agencies in Wisconsin. The system uses document imaging (scanning) to store case file materials in an electronic format.
Employability Plan (EP) - A written agreement developed jointly by a FEP and participant that provides an outline of how the participant will achieve a specific employment goal or, if appropriate, a goal to obtain SSI and/or SSDI benefits and how the W-2 agency will assist.
English as a Second Language (ESL) - The study of the English language by non-native English speakers, traditionally focused on listening, speaking, reading and writing skills.
Family self-sufficiency plan - A plan that addresses the employment-related service needs of the employable members in a family for the purpose of enabling the family to become self-supporting through the employment of one or more family members.
Federal Poverty Level (FPL) - A minimum amount of income that is needed for food, clothing, transportation, shelter and other necessities, as determined annually by the Department of Health and Human Services.
Financial and Employment Planner (FEP) - A staff person within a W-2 agency who provides individualized case management and supportive services for a person in a W-2 employment position.
FoodShare Employment and Training (FSET) - A free and voluntary program offered to FoodShare clients to help with employment services such as job searches, job referrals, job skills assessment, career planning, job training and work experience.
Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) - The basic body of immigration law in the United States, which was created in 1952 and has been amended many times. The INA is a free-standing law, but is also contained in the U.S. Code.
Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) - The federal agency that, prior to 2003, administered immigration benefits. In 2003 the responsibilities of the INS were divided between three bureaus in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS): USCIS, which adjudicates immigration and naturalization statuses, ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), which enforces immigration and customs law, and CBP (Customs and Border Patrol), which secures the border and facilitates lawful trade and travel.
Kinship Care - A cash assistance program in Wisconsin designed to support children who reside with caretaker relatives instead of their parents.
Matching Grant - A cash assistance program administered by Volags and geared towards refugees who are capable of achieving economic self-sufficiency four to six months after arrival in the United States. Matching Grant participants receive cash assistance from the Volag and are ineligible for public cash assistance. A participant can receive benefits for up to 120 days (4 months), though in certain cases this can be extended up to 180 days (6 months).
Medical Assistance - Also known as Medicaid, Title 19 or MA, a state-federal program that provides health care coverage to low-income elderly, blind, and disabled individuals. In Wisconsin, low-income individuals who do not qualify for Medical Assistance may qualify for BadgerCare Plus.
Reception & Placement (R&P) assistance payments - “One-time” payments made to refugees during their first thirty days in the U.S. The purpose of the payment is to help refugees with the expenses of settling into a new home. Payments can be made by the Volag on the refugee’s behalf to pay expenses (rent and household items) or can be issued directly to the refugee.
Refugee - An individual who is outside the country of his or her nationality or, in the case of an individual having no nationality, is outside the country in which he or she last resided, and who is unable or unwilling to return due to a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.
Refugee Act of 1980 - An amendment to the Immigration and Nationality Act which created the Office of Refugee Resettlement and outlined the federal Refugee Resettlement Program.
Request for Assistance (RFA) - The document that prints from CWW when the Client Registration process is complete. A signed RFA creates the applicant’s filing date.
Resource Specialist (RS) - A staff person within a W-2 agency whose role is to understand the customers’ needs and assist them in determining which programs or services are likely to support their efforts to find and maintain employment.
SAVE (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements) - A web-based service that provides immigration status verification to federal, state, and local benefit-granting agencies and institutions.
Secondary migrant - A refugee who moves from their initial reception and placement site to a different state.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) - A federal cash assistance program designed to help low-income individuals who are aged, blind and/or disabled.
TANF (Temporary Aid for Needy Families) - A federal assistance program that began in 1997 and replaced the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program. TANF provides temporary cash assistance to qualifying families. Eligibility is based, in part, on meeting work requirements.
USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Service) - The federal agency that oversees lawful immigration of foreign nationals who are temporarily or permanently settling in the U.S. See also INS.
VESL (Vocational English as a Second Language) - Like ESL, VESL focuses on developing English language listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in non-native English speakers. However, VESL places an emphasis on work-related vocabulary and communication needs.
Victim of trafficking - An individual who has been subjected to a severe form of trafficking and, in the U.S., has been certified by the Department of Health and Human Services.
Victim of trafficking HHS certification - A process by which the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services verifies that a particular individual aged 18 years or older is a victim of trafficking. Find more information and a sample letter of certification here.
Volag - A non-profit voluntary agency contracted by the federal government to provide for the initial reception and placement of refugees in the U.S. After the initial “welcoming” period, Volags continue to provide support to help refugees become socially and economically self-sufficient.
Wisconsin Works (W-2) - Wisconsin’s TANF program, which provides cash assistance to qualifying families. The program emphasizes personal responsibility and working to the best of one’s ability.
History: There are no previous versions of this policy.