Iowa Admin. Code r. 441-41.25

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 11, December 11, 2024

Rule 441-41.25 - Uncategorized factors of eligibility

(1)Divesting of income. Rescinded IAB 9/7/22, effective 11/1/22.

(2)Duplication of assistance. A recipient whose needs are included in a family investment program grant shall not concurrently receive a grant under any other public assistance program administered by the department, including IV-E foster care, state-funded foster care or kinship caregiver program payments.

a. A recipient shall not concurrently receive the family investment program and subsidized adoption unless exclusion of the person from the FIP grant will reduce benefits to the family.

b. When a family investment program recipient is approved for foster care or subsidized adoption assistance while remaining in the same home, family investment program assistance shall be canceled effective the first day of the next calendar month following the date approval of the foster care or subsidized adoption payment is successfully entered into the department's computer system. FIP assistance for the month for which the foster care or subsidized adoption payment is approved or any past months for which foster care or subsidized adoption payments are made retroactively shall not be subject to recoupment.

c. A recipient shall not concurrently receive a grant from a public assistance program in another state.

d. When a recipient leaves the home of a specified relative, no payment for a concurrent period shall be made for the same recipient in the home of another relative.

(3)Aid from other funds. Supplemental aid from any other agency or organization shall be limited to aid for items of need not covered by the department's standards and to the amount of the percentage reduction used in determining the payment level. Any duplicated assistance shall be considered unearned income.

(4)Contracts for support. A person entitled to total support under the terms of an enforceable contract is not eligible to receive the family investment program when the other party, obligated to provide the support, is able to fulfill that part of the contract.

(5)Participation in a strike.

a. The family of any parent with whom the child(ren) is living shall be ineligible for the family investment program for any month in which the parent is participating in a strike on the last day of the month.

b. Any individual shall be ineligible for the family investment program for any month in which the individual is participating in a strike on the last day of that month.

c. Definitions:

(1) A strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees (including a stoppage by reason of expiration of a collective bargaining agreement) and any concerted slowdown or other concerted interruption of operations by employees.

(2) An individual is not participating in a strike at the individual's place of employment when the individual is not picketing and does not intend to picket during the course of the dispute, does not draw strike pay, and provides a signed statement that the individual is willing and ready to return to work but does not want to cross the picket line solely because of the risk of personal injury or death or trauma from harassment. The service area manager shall determine whether such a risk to the individual's physical or emotional well-being exists.

(6)Graduate students. The entire assistance unit is ineligible for FIP when a member of the assistance unit is enrolled in an educational program leading to a degree beyond a bachelor's degree.

(7) and (8) Reserved.

(9)Pilot diversion programs. Rescinded IAB 9/7/22, effective 11/1/22.

(10)Fugitive felons, and probation and parole violators. Assistance shall be denied to a person who is (1) convicted of a felony under state or federal law and is fleeing to avoid prosecution, custody or confinement, or (2) violating a condition of probation or parole imposed under state or federal law. The prohibition does not apply to conduct pardoned by the President of the United States, beginning with the month after the pardon is given.

(11)Access to benefits. As a condition of eligibility, applicants and recipients must agree in writing to not use an electronic access card at prohibited locations. By signing Form 470-0462 or 470-0462(S), Food and Financial Support Application, or Form 470-2881, 470-2881(S), 470-2881(M), or 470-2881(MS), Review/Recertification Eligibility Document, the applicant, the applicant's authorized representative or, when the applicant is incompetent or incapacitated, someone acting responsibly on the applicant's behalf agrees to this condition of eligibility. When both parents, or a parent and a stepparent, are in the home and eligibility is determined on a family or household basis, one parent or stepparent may sign the application and agree to this condition for the assistance unit. Failure to sign a form agreeing to not use the electronic access card at prohibited locations creates ineligibility for the entire eligible group.

a. A recipient shall not use the recipient's electronic access card issued pursuant to 441-subrule 45.21(1) to access benefits at any of the following prohibited locations as defined by federal statute or regulation applicable to this prohibition and as further defined in rule 441-40.21 (239B):

(1) A liquor store,

(2) A casino, gambling casino, or gaming establishment, or

(3) A retail establishment which provides adult-oriented entertainment in which performers disrobe or perform in an unclothed state for entertainment.

b. When the department receives a detailed complaint or suspects that a recipient has used the recipient's electronic access card at a prohibited location, the case shall be referred to the department of inspections and appeals for further investigation.

c. When the department of inspections and appeals finds that a recipient has used the recipient's electronic access card at a prohibited location, the household that includes the recipient is:

(1) Considered to have committed a fraudulent act;

(2) Liable for any amounts accessed and any associated fees for accessing the benefits at a prohibited location and required to repay such amount in accordance with 441-Chapter 46;

(3) Ineligible for FIP for a three-month period after the first report by the department of inspections and appeals which includes a finding of misuse;

(4) Ineligible for FIP for a six-month period after each subsequent report by the department of inspections and appeals which includes a finding of misuse.

d. When parents from a two-parent family separate during an ineligibility period, if:

(1) The department of inspections and appeals investigation identifies the recipient who used the electronic access card at a prohibited location, the ineligibility period will follow that recipient.

(2) The department of inspections and appeals investigation does not identify the recipient who used the electronic access card at a prohibited location, the ineligibility period will follow the recipient who is the case name when the violation occurred.

e. A new period of ineligibility shall be established when:

(1) A recipient files an appeal either:

1. Before the effective date of the intended action on the notice of decision or notice of action establishing the beginning date of the ineligibility period, or

2. Within ten days from the date on which a notice establishing the beginning date of the ineligibility period is received. The date on which notice is received is considered to be five days after the date on the notice, unless the beneficiary shows that the beneficiary did not receive the notice within the five-day period;

(2) Assistance is continued pending the final decision of the appeal; and

(3) The department's action is affirmed.

Assistance issued pending the final decision of an appeal is not subject to recovery pursuant to rule 441-7.17 (17A).

This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code chapter 239B.

Iowa Admin. Code r. 441-41.25

Amended by IAB June 11, 2014/Volume XXXVI, Number 25, effective 8/1/2014.

Amended by IAB October 29, 2014/Volume XXXVII, Number 9, effective 1/1/2015

Amended by IAB November 9, 2016/Volume XXXIX, Number 10, effective 1/1/2017

Amended by IAB September 7, 2022/Volume XLV, Number 5, effective 11/1/2022