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(Revised 6/1/05 ML #2971)
(NDAC 75-02-01.2-01)
Actually Received Income Income which is received on a normally occurring schedule. Incidental variations of the date of receipt of income do not change the normally received date schedule.
Applicant An individual who is seeking a benefit under this chapter.
Assets Any kind of property or property interest, whether real, personal, or mixed, which includes liquid assets (bank accounts) or non-liquid assets.
Assistance - Includes cash, payments, vouchers, and other forms of benefits designed to meet a family's ongoing basic needs, but does not include nonrecurring, short-term benefits, work subsidies, supportive services provided to family who are employed, and refundable earned income tax credits.
Base Month The month, immediately before the processing month, about which the income and circumstances of the TANF household are evaluated to determine the amount of any TANF benefits to be paid during the benefit month.
Benefit Cap Child - Means a child born after June 30, 1998, to a household member who was a recipient of assistance under this chapter during the month of probable conception.
Benefit Month The calendar month immediately following the processing month.
Benefits - Means the amount of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families assistance a family receives including the TANF benefit, essential services, and supportive services, reduced by recoupments.
Budgeting Assigning income to a payment month. Using filing unit income to compute eligibility and benefit levels. See Prospective Budgeting and Retrospective Budgeting.
Caretaker Relative The relative so designated by the TANF household who:
Lives with an eligible dependent child; or
Is a pregnant woman, caretaker relative to no dependent child, in the last trimester of her pregnancy; or
Lives with a dependent child, an SSI child, a child under age eighteen, or a child who will graduate by their 19th birthday from a secondary or equivalency of a secondary school.
Calendar Month A period that begins with the first day of the month and ends with the last day of the month.
Caretaker A person who provides care and support to a minor child. The person may or may not receive benefits.
Cash Gift Money given directly to a TANF household member which is not otherwise counted as income to the unit, or considered to be a relative contribution.
Child Support A voluntary or court-ordered payment by non-custodial parents for the support of their children.
Child Support Agency Any entity created by a state agency or any combination of state agencies, in execution of the state agencys duties.
Citizenship The status of being a native born or naturalized citizen of the United States.
Claim The result of a county agency filing an overpayment.
Collateral Contact A person outside a TANF filing household who confirms information about the households circumstances.
Countable Income Earned and unearned income that is not excluded or disregarded.
Counted Earnings The earned income that remains after applicable disregards have been subtracted from gross earned income.
County Agency The county social service board.
Custodial Parent A parent who has physical custody of his or her child.
Deduction An amount of income not counted in the computation of a persons income because its use or intended use is for certain specific expenses.
Denial The act of disapproving an application for assistance.
Department The North Dakota Department of Human Services.
Dependent Care Deduction An income deduction based on the cost of caring for a child or adult.
Dependent Child A needy child is:
Who lives in the home of a relative by birth, marriage, or adoption;
Who has been deprived of parental support or care by reason of:
The continued absence of a parent from the home, other than absence occasioned solely by reason of the performance of active duty in the uniformed services of the United States:
The death of a parent; or
The physical or mental incapacity of a parent; and
Who is:
Under the age of eighteen; or
Under the age of nineteen and a full-time student in a secondary school or the equivalent to a secondary school level such as vocational school, or technical school, if, before the end of the calendar month in which the student attains age nineteen, the student may reasonably be expected to complete the high school-curriculum of such school.
Disqualified Person A person who is ineligible for assistance due to non-cooperation with a program procedure. The length of disqualification may vary depending on which program provisions the person violated or failed to comply with.
Disregard An amount of income which is excluded in determining net income.
Dividend The amount of the profit distribution a shareholder receives, or the amount of the surplus distribution a policyholder of a participating insurance policy receives.
Documentation A written statement or verification that substantiates or validates an assertion made by a person or an action taken by a person, i.e. pay stubs, bank statements, written statement from employer, etc.
Domestic Violence Physical acts that result in or threatens to result in physical injury to a person; sexual abuse; sexual activity involving a minor child; being forced as a caregiver of a minor child to engage in non-consensual sexual acts or activities; threats of, or attempts at, physical or sexual abuse; mental abuse; or neglect or deprivation of medical care.
Earned Income Income currently received as wages, salaries, commissions, or profits from activities in which a TANF household is engaged through either employment or self-employment. There must be personal involvement and effort on the part of the TANF household for income to be considered earned.
Earned Income Credit (EIC) A federal refundable tax credit for low or moderate income working individuals and families. People may receive an EIC once a year as a refund. Working families with children can apply for advance payments with each paycheck.
Electronic Payment Card - The electronic payment card is a prepaid debit card upon which TANF benefits are electronically transferred.
Eligible Caretaker Relative A caretaker relative who:
Is related to an eligible dependent child by birth, whether by blood or half-blood, by marriage, or by adoption;
Is related to a dependent child who is deprived of parental support or care by reason of death, incapacity, aged, or disabled;
Is not a recipient of supplemental security income benefits; or
A pregnant woman, in the third trimester of her pregnancy or a caretaker relative to no other dependent child, who or whose husband is incapacitated.
Eligibility Factors Conditions and standards an applicant or recipient must satisfy to be eligible for benefits.
Emancipated Minor A person under the age of 18 who is or was married, is on active duty in the uniformed services, or has been declared emancipated by a court.
Excess Assets The amount of assets which exceeds the clients asset limit.
Face-to-Face Interview A face-to-face meeting arranged to determine initial or ongoing eligibility for assistance.
Fair Hearing The hearings conducted by the Department of Human Services Appeals Office to decide disagreements concerning eligibility determinations and benefit amount.
Fair Market Value The price an item would sell for on the open market in a local geographic area.
Family Family includes the following:
An individual or group of related individuals within a household whose needs are recognized in a grant of benefits through Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.
The parents of any dependent child and all brothers and sisters of any dependent child; whether by whole blood, half-blood, or adoption, any child, parent of an eligible dependent child, or other caretaker relative who receives supplemental security income benefits.
An alien who does not meet citizen and alienage requirements.
An individual who is ineligible for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families benefits as the result of the imposition of a sanction;
An individual who was eligible for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families benefits, but who became ineligible due to the receipt of lump sum income;
An individual who is a household member who is a legal dependent of a member of the household, but does not include roomers or boarders.
Financially Responsible Person A person legally responsible for the financial support of another person.
Fraud Obtaining, attempting to obtain, or aiding and abetting another to obtain assistance benefits to which the person is not entitled, through intentionally false statements, representations, or the withholding of material information.
Fraud Overpayment An overpayment that a court or administrative disqualification hearing determines was the result of fraudulent intent.
Full Calendar Month - Means the period that begins at midnight on the last day of the previous month and ends at midnight on the last day of the month under consideration.
Full-time Student A student who:
If in a secondary school, is enrolled in classes which, if completed, will earn the student four or more units of credits;
If in a vocational or technical school under state operation, a college, or a university, is enrolled in classes that, if completed, will earn the student twelve or more semester hours of credit during a regular term or six or more semester hours of credit during a summer term at an educational facility operating on a semester system, or twelve or more quarter hours of credit at an educational facility operating on a quarter system;
If in a private vocational or technical school, is enrolled in classes which, according to a written statement from school officials, constitutes full-time enrollment;
If enrolled in a accredited correspondence, alternative high school (GED), or adult basic education, or home schooled according to a written statement from school officials; or
Is an individual participating in Job Corps, whether an adult or a child.
Gross Earned Income The income earned from employment before payroll deductions.
Guaranteed Student Loans A federal educational loan program for post-secondary students.
Halfway House A place that provides a temporary residence for people waiting for institutional placement or a place that provides a temporary residence for people who have left an institution and who are preparing to re-enter the community.
Homeless A person who lacks a fixed and regular nighttime residence, or a person whose primary residence is: a supervised shelter designed for temporary accommodations; a halfway house or similar facility that provides temporary residence; or a place not designed for sleeping accommodations (bridge, lobby, etc.).
Household People who live together.
Ineligible Caretaker Relative A caretaker relative who is not an eligible caretaker relative.
IEVS (Income and Eligibility Verification System) A set of data exchanges with other state and federal sources that is used to verify income and assets of applicants for or participants of TANF.
Immigrant A person who leaves another country to settle permanently in another country.
In-Kind Income Payment for a service in a form other than money, or receipt of non-cash gifts or non-cash contributions such as food or clothing.
Income Earned or unearned income received by or available to an applicant or recipient that is not an asset.
Income-Producing Asset An asset, liquid or non-liquid that earns interest or produces income for the applicant or recipient.
Indian Land Held in Trust Real property held in trust for an Indian Tribe by the federal government.
Indian Reservations The geographical area recognized by the federal or a state government as being set aside for the use of Indians and governed by Indians.
Ineligible Person A person who does not meet eligibility requirements for assistance.
Initial Eligibility The determination of eligibility for an applicant.
INS The Immigration and Naturalization Service -- The federal agency responsible for immigration and citizenship.
IRA Individual Retirement Account -- A savings account recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as being for retirement purposes.
Irrevocable Trust A trust which allows neither the person originating the trust nor the beneficiary to change the provisions of the trust.
Job Corps A federally funded program providing training and employment to people ages 16 to 21.
Joint Ownership Two or more people owning the same piece of property. Each joint owner has rights to the entire property, including the right to survivorship.
Lawful Permanent Resident An immigrant legally admitted to the United States under the United States Immigration and Nationality Act on a permanent basis.
Legal Custodian A person under legal obligation to provide care for a minor.
Life Estate Ownership allowing the occupancy and use of property during a persons lifetime according to North Dakota Statutes. Life estates are real property.
Liquid Assets Cash or property (such as stocks or bonds) easily converted to cash.
Living in the Home of a Relative A circumstance that arises when a relative assumes and continues responsibility for the day-to-day care and control of a child in a place of residence maintained by the relative (whether one or more) as the relatives own home. It includes situations in which the child or the relative requires medical treatment that requires a special living arrangement. It also includes situations, provided that the child is not absent from the home for a full calendar month, when the child:
Physically resides in the home, but is under the jurisdiction of a court and is receiving probation services or protective supervision;
Receives education while in an educational boarding arrangement in another community if needed specialized services or facilities are unavailable in the home community or if transportation problems make school attendance near home difficult or impossible;
Receives physical or speech therapy at Camp Grassick during the summer months;
Receives special education at the school for the deaf or school for the blind, whether as a day student or a boarding student, except that a boarding students needs are limited to those maintenance items that are not provided by the school; or
Receives education at a federal boarding school in another community, provided that the child was not placed in that setting following removal from the childs home by court order following a determination that the child was abused, neglected, or deprived, except that the child is entitled to a clothing and personal needs allowance only if that allowance is made available for the childs use on a regular basis.
Lump Sum Cash received on a non-recurring or irregular basis that cannot reasonably be anticipated. Lump sums including winnings, insurance settlements, and inheritances, retroactive payments of Social Security benefits, VA, and Unemployment Benefits.
Mandatory Household Members People who must be included in the assistance unit.
Market Value In the case of a liquid asset such as cash, bank deposits, stocks, and commodities, one hundred percent of apparent market value. In the case of real or personal property, seventy-five percent of estimated market value. In the case of income, one hundred percent of apparent market value.
Mass Change A change brought about by a shift in federal or state policy which affects many or all assistance units.
Maternity Home Any home or institution that provides residential care for three or more pregnant women.
Migrant Worker A person who travels away from home on a regular basis, usually with a group of other laborers, to seek employment in an agriculturally related activity.
Minimum Wage The lowest wage established by law that an employer may pay an employee.
Minor Caretaker A person who is under the age of 18 years, and has applied for or receives assistance as a caretaker on behalf of himself or herself and his or her minor child.
Month of Application The calendar month in which a county agency receives a clients application for assistance.
Month of Ineligibility The month following a sanction penalty month in which the entire household is not eligible for TANF.
Monthly Income Income from any source, either earned or unearned, which is computed and reduced to monthly units for the purpose of determining eligibility and benefits. Income may be received weekly, monthly, intermittently, or annually, but is computed and considered monthly.
Monthly Reporting The requirement to complete a Month Report Form every month.
Motor Vehicle A motorized road vehicle used to transport people care, pickup, or van.
A TANF household, otherwise eligible under this chapter, whose countable income, less any applicable disregards and special items on need, is less than the income identified by the basic requirements table for a family of the size and composition of the household;
An unwed parent or pregnant woman in the third trimester of her pregnancy, resident of the Oppen Home, with an income of less than forty-five dollars per month; or
A child/teen resident of a boarding school with an income of less than forty-five dollars per month.
Non-custodial Parent A natural or adoptive mother or father who is not living in the home.
Non-legally Responsible Relative A relative who is not a childs parent by law.
Overpayment Benefits which assistance units receive that exceed the amount for which they are eligible.
Parent Means the childs mother or father, whether by birth or adoption, but does not mean:
An individual whose parental rights have been terminated with respect to that child; or
A stepparent.
Paternity Legal fatherhood, either adjudicated or established through the recognition of parentage.
Payee The person to whom a benefit is paid.
Payment Month The calendar month for which assistance is paid.
Part-time Student An individual enrolled in a secondary school, vocational school, technical school, college, or university who is not a full-time student.
Pell Grant Federal financial aid program for post-secondary students.
Pension A fixed sum paid regularly to retired people or their dependents.
Perkins Loan Federal financial aid program for post-secondary students.
Personal Property Any asset which is not real property.
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) An agreement signed into law on August 22, 1996 which eliminated the federal entitlement program of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and created a new program called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). PRWORA provides block grants to states to offer time-limited cash assistance.
Post-Secondary School A school serving students beyond the 12th grade, such as community college, university, or technical college.
Primary Individual (PI) Is the caretaker of a dependent child in the household and to whom the agency directs correspondence and notices.
Processing Month The month, immediately after the base month, in which that county agency determines eligibility for, and the amount of, any benefit to be paid during the benefit month.
Prorate An action in which initial benefits are calculated from the date of application or the date all eligibility factors are met, whichever is later.
Prospective Budgeting The determination, made only with respect to the initial month of eligibility and the month immediately after the initial month of eligibility. This is based on the county agencys best estimate of the income and circumstances of the TANF household in those months.
Prospective Eligibility Eligibility based on circumstances in the payment month for initial application or new household members.
Protective Payee People outside the TANF household who receive the TANF benefit on behalf of the household.
Prudent person concept - Means a method or program administration that relies upon individual staff members:
To exercise judgment in requesting, reviewing, and weighing information provided by an applicant, recipient, or any source of verification; and
To be attentive, vigilant, cautious, perceptive, and governed by reason and common sense.
Real Property Land, all buildings, structures, improvements, or other fixtures on it belonging or pertaining to the land and all mines, minerals, fossils, and trees on or under it.
Recipient An individual who receives a benefit under this chapter.
Recoupment Withholding part of a TANF households assistance benefit to recover an overpayment.
Refugee Cash Assistance A program that provides financial help to refugees during the first eight months in the United States.
Relative by Birth, Marriage, or Adoption An individual related to the dependent child by birth, whether by blood or half-blood, by marriage including a marriage that has been terminated by death or divorce, or by adoption, as father, mother, grandparent, sibling, great-grandparent, aunt or uncle, niece or nephew, great-great grandparent, great-aunt or uncle, first cousin, great-great-great-grandparent, great-great aunt or uncle, or a first cousin once removed.
Remainderman Interest Owner of the right to possess the property of a life estate after the death or the life tenant.
Retirement, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (RSDI) A program operated by the Social Security Administration that provides a monthly income to retired people, survivors, or dependents of insured people, and people with disabilities.
Retrospective Budgeting A determination, made by the county agency during the processing month, based on income and circumstances of the TANF household during the base month, of the amount of any grant of assistance in the benefit month.
Revocable Trust One which can be revoked, or dissolved, by the grantor. A trust that provides that the trust can be modified or terminated by a court is considered to be a revocable trust since the grantor or his/her representative, can petition the court to terminate the trust. A trust which is called irrevocable but which terminates if some action is taken by the grantor is considered to be revocable trust.
Sanctions Actions taken against households who do not cooperate with program requirements.
Sanction Penalty Month The month the sanctioned individuals needs are not included in the TANF benefit.
Secondary School An accredited school that includes grades 7 through 12 or an equivalent technical, vocational or GED program.
Self-Employment Employment where people work for themselves rather than an employer, are responsible for their own work schedule, do not have taxes or FICA withheld by an employer, and do not have coverage under an employers liability or Workers Compensation insurance.
Self-sufficient - Means having income sufficient to require closure of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
Social contract - Means the application for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families that contains the requirements for cooperation with Child Support Enforcement, Health Tracks, JOBS Program, and the goals and tasks identified in the assessment.
Standard Employment Expense Allowance - Means twenty-seven percent of earned income, or one hundred eighty dollars, whichever is greater, to be first disregarded from the earned income of any child, relative applying for benefits under this chapter, or other individual whose needs are taken into account in determining eligibility under this chapter, but whose earned income is not required to be wholly disregarded as the income of a child who is a full-time student.
Standard Work Expense Allowance The twenty-seven percent or $180, whichever is greater, that is first disregarded from earned income of each child, relative applying for benefits under this chapter. Other individuals whose needs are taken into account in determining eligibility under this chapter, but whose earned income is not required to be wholly disregarded as the income of a child who is a full-time student or a part-time student who is not a full-time employee.
Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG) A federal financial aid program for post-secondary students.
Siblings Brothers and sisters related through birth or adoption to one or both parents.
Social Security Act A federal law authorizing such programs as RSDI, TANF, SSI, and Medicaid.
Special Needs Money available to some participants for some expenses not covered by the monthly TANF benefit such as a child car seat.
Sponsor Any person, or public or private agency or organization, who signed an affidavit agreeing to support an Immigrant as a condition of the immigrants entry into the United States.
SSDI Social Security Disability Insurance.
SSI Supplemental Security Income.
State Medical Review Team (SMRT) A physician and qualified worker who determine disability, incapacity, and exemptions from program requirements.
Stepparent A person, ceremonially married to a parent of a child, but who is not also a parent of that child by either birth or adoption.
Striker An employee involved in a work stoppage, slowdown, or interruption of work, whether or not the employee voted for the strike.
Supplemental Security Income A program administered under Title XVI of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.).
Suspension A one-month interruption in eligibility for benefits. Benefits suspended one month are reinstated the next month without a new application.
Technical Eligibility Non-financial eligibility requirements dealing with criteria such as citizenship, residence, student or striker status, and eligibility for other types of assistance.
Temporarily Absent A period of time a person may be physically absent from a residence but still considered to be in the TANF household.
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) A program administered under North Dakota Century Code Chapter 50-09 and Title IV-A of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601, et seq.) during periods beginning July 1, 1997.
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Household Any dependent child, the natural or adoptive parents of any dependent child, and all brothers and sisters of any dependent child, whether by whole blood or half-blood, or adoption, but not including:
Any child, parent of any eligible dependent child, or other caretaker relative who receives supplemental security income benefits;
Roomers or boards; or
Household members who are legal dependents of a member of another household.
Ten Day Notice Notices mailed or given to recipients at least 10 days before the date of action.
The Act - Means the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 301 et seq.).
Title II Means Title II of the Social Security Act (Social Security benefits).
Title IV-A Means Title IV-A of the Social Security Act as of July 16, 1996.
Title IV-D Means Title IV-D of the Social Security Act (Child Support).
Title IV-E Means Title IV-E of the Social Security Act (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance).
Title XVI Means Title SVI of the Social Security Act (Supplemental Security Income SSI).
Tribal Member A person officially recognized by tribal authority as a member of the tribe.
Trust Any arrangement in which a grantor transfers money or property to a trustee(s) with the intention that it be held, managed, or administered by the trustee for the benefit of certain designated persons (beneficiaries). Property held by one person for the benefit of another.
Unearned Income Income that is not earned income. Income a person receives without being required to perform any labor or service.
Uniformed Services The United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. National Guard or Reserves not included unless called to active duty or full-time occupation.
Unreimbursed Public Assistance That portion of the TANF benefit paid to a family or foster care payment on behalf of a child, which has not been reimbursed.
Used Car Guide and Internet Car Guide A private publication giving standard values for motor vehicles. Use the trade-in value with no add ons for TANF purposes.
Vendor Payment A payment made directly to a provider of goods and services or by a third party to a provider of goods or services on behalf of the TANF household.
Verification The process and evidence used to establish accuracy or completeness or information from an applicant, recipient, third party, etc.
Veterans Benefits Benefits and services provided by the United States Veterans Administration (VA) to people who have served in the United States armed forces and their dependents.
VISTA Volunteers in Service to America. A public service program authorized under the Domestic Volunteer Service Act.
WIA Work Force Investment Act
Women, Infants, and Children Nutrition Program (WIC) A federal program authorized by the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to provide nutritious food and nutrition education to low-income pregnant and postpartum women and children.
Work Study Federal or non-federally funded employment arranged for students by a post-secondary school.
