The My Maine Connection portal also offers a prescreening tool that can help you find out if you may be eligible. 11 State House Station 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. All grantees must use funds to supplement, and not supplant, other federal, state, tribal, territorial, or local funds. After your application is filed, an interview will be arranged to determine your familys eligibility, either by phone or in person. 7.5 percent of funds are set aside for Tribal TANF programs and all 5 U.S. territories, to be distributed in a manner deemed appropriate by the HHS Secretary. View guidance as of January 2022. [1] The eligible territories are: the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. . The site is secure. 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. We are revising financial reporting forms, the ACF-196R, ACF-196T, and ACF-196TR, to include a column for reporting PEAF expenditures so that grantees will not have to submit a separate form to report for this fund. To apply for food assistance benefits online, you can apply via MyDHR or MyAlabama. lTg-f(*Tth4kr The amount of the shelter deduction is capped at (or limited to) $624 unless one person in the household is elderly or disabled. The cards may take several weeks to arrive due to the volume of eligible children and shipping time frames. There is no application for P-EBT; ALSDE has provided DHR with the names of children who participate in the National School Lunch Program, which makes them eligible for P-EBT. Any such unallotted funds will be reallotted, as discussed below. There are several ways to apply for food assistance. Your completed application will be sent to the DHR office in the county where you live. Learn more about the HOPE program. A community group for residents of Alabama to ask questions and share information about receiving benefits that are administered locally. This benefit clearly meets Purpose One and is pandemic-related. Augusta, Maine04333, Phone: (207) 287-3707 Those with internet access may apply online at OneAlabama the online application portal for Alabamas public assistance, including Family Assistance. TANF provides cash assistance to families while they work towards becoming self-sufficient. Nationwide Waiver to Allow Sponsors that Successfully Participated in the Summer Food Service Program in FY 2019 to Operate as Experienced Sponsors in FY 2021 Offered to All States 4/1/2021 Nationwide Waiver to Provide Flexibility for School Meal Programs Administrative Reviews of SFAs Operating Only the SSO in SY 2021-22 Office for Family Independence hbbd``b` Sc `4A@i bi~"@ $TP; As noted above, if a grantee has not expended all of its funds by that date, HHS will reallot any unused funds to other eligible states, territories, and tribes, which must expend the reallotted funds within 12 months of receipt, as specified in the legislation. management shortterm nonrecurrent benefits as discussed in 45CFR 260.31, day care, transportation and other work and training services. Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations, Seniors Farmers' Market Nutrition Program, Flexibility for States With Increasing Workloads, USDA moderniza el PlanEconmico de AlimentosThrifty actualizaciones a los beneficios del SNAP, USDA Modernizes the Thrifty Food Plan, Updates SNAP Benefits. A supplement will also be received at the end of April as part of the response to the COVID-19 virus. Option 4: Fax an application to (207) 778-8429. The law exempts PEAF funds from the spending cap in section 1108 of the Social Security Act. qb}'M tYp1$(PR/V40qD.bWs_G _ 98"8MCHO4#(9y\xAc@NNrEU\@Lnh4|4_OVDs1;rnM[I3]ry.d&DA(* >@@@,.jxKJq1!~q2Q. Option 4: Fax an application to (207) 778-8429. Major services/benefits to eligible families include: Information on eligibility requirements for the Family Assistance program. The PEAF can be a powerful tool to give poor families a much-needed boost in the face of lost wages, limited work opportunities, or housing insecurity, to name just a few obstacles exacerbated by the pandemic. An Office of the Administration for Children & Families, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Native Americans (ANA), Administration on Children, Youth, and Families (ACYF), Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE), Office of Human Services Emergency Preparedness and Response (OHSEPR), Office of Legislative Affairs and Budget (OLAB), Office of Planning, Research & Evaluation (OPRE), Public Assistance Reporting Information System (PARIS), About Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, About Health Profession Opportunity Grants. In response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Alabama issued an "Emergency Health Preparedness Allowance" of $400 a month for three months to all TANF families, nearly double the amount of the maximum benefit alone. Cash assistance for short-term basic needs to help families with mixed immigration status (e.g., citizen children with parents who are not eligible due to their immigration status) who are affected by the pandemic. $40012:g`$@g ` 0 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. (334) 242-1 950 Apply for Alabama Family Assistance U.S. Department of Health and Human Services This batch of benefits covers school meals missed from August through December 2020. 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. If after September 30, 2022, a grantee has unspent funds from its initial award i.e., any unobligated funds or any unliquidated obligations the grantee will not be eligible to receive reallotted funds. DHHS 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. Low TANF cash benefits, which disproportionately affect the benefits available to Black children, are rooted in a long history of racist ideas and policies. As of December 2019, some 711,384 Alabamians received food stamp benefits. The NRST benefits a grantee funds with PEAF need not be the same as the ones funded by TANF. Now Public Law 117-2, it establishes the Pandemic Emergency Assistance Fund (PEAF) in section 403(c) of the Social Security Act (the Act). In most cases under TANF, a NRST benefit addresses a specific episode of need, which means that the state or tribe has determined the specific need of that family; however, the regulation allows for NRSTs to address a specific crisis situation. As is evidenced by Congress creating the PEAF, the extraordinary nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and its sweeping economic impacts constitute a specific crisis situation allowing a grantee to offer a NRST benefit broadly to needy families who are financially and otherwise eligible. Option 3: E-mail an application to Farmington.DHHS@Maine.gov. Alabama's Family Assistance(FA) Program provides temporary financial assistance for needy families with children whose income must meet the eligibility thresholds. Grantees may use funds to provide certain non-recurrent, short term (NRST) benefits, described in more detail below. 2387 0 obj <>stream 92.5 percent of funds (equal to $923,150,000) will be distributed to states (including the District of Columbia), using a two-part formula, half based on child population and half based on fiscal year 2019 state expenditures on non-recurrent short term benefits, basic assistance and emergency assistance authorized solely under prior law. Susan J. GolonkaActing DirectorOffice of Family Assistance. Here are some other examples of NRST benefits that grantees might want to provide with PEAF funds. Those dates are April 25, 2021, for states and June 9, 2021 for tribes and territories. Alabama DHR Commissioner Nancy Buckner said, Alabama has successfully tackled childhood hunger throughout this pandemic thanks to the P-EBT program and an effective multi-agency partnership. For example, suppose a grantee wants to offer diversion payments to families affected by the pandemic, but it already offers diversion assistance under TANF. 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. Grantees must use funds to supplement, and not supplant, other federal, state, tribal, territorial, or local funds. %PDF-1.6 % Please direct inquiries to the TANF Program Manager in your region. A grantee will not need to amend its TANF plan to provide NRSTs with the PEAF. To be considered financially eligible, families must have a monthly income lower than the maximum benefit for their family size. The Food Assistance Division administers the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in Alabama. For example, if a grantee received its funds on May 15, 2021, it could use the PEAF funds to reimburse itself for allowable expenditures it made starting on April 1, 2021. 109 Capitol Street Some food stamp recipients in Alabama received extra funds this week amid the growing coronavirus crisis. A grantee will not need to amend its TANF plan to provide NRSTs with the PEAF. (334) 242-1 950 TANF provides families with financial assistance and support services. 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. 2023 SMG. Recipients should hold onto these cards because additional P-EBT benefits may be added in the future. The limit is higher in Alaska, Hawaii, and Guam. Voucher payments, equal to up to three months of TANF benefits, are made available to families to help them with employment related expenses and avoid the need for TANF benefits. EEF1GYo IQm-tX A benefit to cover burial expenses for needy families who have had a family member die from COVID-19. In addition, we will use the information grantees report on these forms to determine the amount of funds remaining for reallotment. The funds would go to extremely low-income families whose TANF benefits aren't adequate to meet basic needs in normal times and who face extra needs due to the pandemic. To be considered financially eligible, families must have a monthly income lower than the maximum benefit for their family size. 436 0 obj <> endobj HOPE helps Maine parents enroll in and complete training and education beyond high school by providing financial support for costs related to training and education. For the purposes of the Pandemic Emergency Assistance Fund, NRST benefits mean cash payments or other benefits that meet the regulatory definition (45 CFR 260.31(b)(1)), but are limited to those that fall into the specific expenditure reporting category mentioned in the legislation (line 15 of the ACF-196R(PDF), the state financial reporting form for the TANF program). Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. A voucher to cover the cost of utility bills in arrears due to financial issues arising from the pandemic. Under the law, a grantee must expend reallotted funds within 12 months of receipt of the reallotted funds. 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. Transitional Transportation (TT) can help working families pay for transportation related expenses for a period of time. Support specialists are available from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Emergency Assistance provides voucher payments for children and their families whom are threatened by destitution or homelessness due to an emergency situation. For a household with an elderly or disabled member, all shelter costs over half of the household's income may be deducted. 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. A payment for hotel rooms and meal delivery for people who need to quarantine away from their families. Families will receive separate EBT cards for each eligible child in their households. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure youre on a federal government site. 114 Corn Shop Lane. Maximum benefits range from $194 for a single-person household to $1,164 for a . The law specifies an allotment formula. Indeed, as we noted above, all PEAF-funded benefits must be designed to address needs arising from the pandemic. You may also fax, mail, or bring the signed application to your County DHR office for processing. 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. [4] Forty-eight percent of all Black children in the U.S. live in states with cash benefit levels below 20 percent of the poverty line, compared to 40 . Maximum benefits range from $194 for a single-person household to $1,164 for a household of eight people. Alabama Benefits - SNAP, SSI, TANF, Healthcare, Housing & More 114 Corn Shop Lane Apply for Alabama Family Assistance For more information on this program, please visit the Family Assistance page. Not affiliated with or endorsed by any government agency. 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. The PEAF represents a singular opportunity to help some of our nations neediest families struggling with the effects of the pandemic. Families already receiving the monthly maximum benefit will not receive the supplement. View guidance as of January 2022. We hope that making this determination now will enable grantees to act expeditiously in distributing PEAF benefits and be responsive to the current crisis. Failure to comply with the work requirements, without a good cause, will have their benefits reduced or revoked. You may also fax, mail, or bring the signed application to your County DHR office for . A benefit to provide extra cash to replace lost wages to all families with children eligible to receive SNAP or other means-tested benefits who are affected by the pandemic. Welcome To ACF | The Administration for Children and Families The Food Assistance Program's purpose is to end hunger and improve nutrition by providing monthly benefits to eligible low income households to help them buy the food they need for good health. Those benefits covered meals missed during the 2019-20 school year due to school closures.

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