Narrative: a.

The Louisiana TANF programs are administered and supervised by the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services.

Needy families with, or expecting children, will be provided financial assistance and/or other services to include education, job preparation, work and support services under Louisiana’s Family Independence Temporary Assistance Program (FITAP), Kinship Care Subsidy Program (KCSP), and Strategies to Empower People (STEP) Program. A needy family is defined as a family residing in the state who meets the eligibility requirements listed below for FITAP and KCSP respectively.

For FITAP eligibility a dependent child must be: Under 18 years of age, or 18 years of age and enrolled in a secondary school or its equivalent.

For KCSP eligibility, a dependent child must be under 18 years of age.

Unborn children are not eligible for FITAP. A pregnant woman who has completed the fifth month of pregnancy may be certified if otherwise eligible (unborn is not eligible). To qualify for cash assistance, a child must reside in the home of a parent or other qualified relative who is responsible for the day-to-day care of the child. The following relatives are qualified relatives:

Grandfather or grandmother (extends to great-great-great); Brother or sister (including half-brother and half-sister); Uncle or aunt (extends to great-great);

First cousin (including first cousin once removed); Nephew or niece (extends to great-great); Stepfather or stepmother; and

Stepbrother or stepsister.

These may be biological or adoptive relatives.

Resources are assets or possessions that a household can convert to cash to meet needs. All resources are excluded when determining eligibility.

Income is any gain or benefit to a household that has monetary value and is not considered a resource. All income is counted when determining eligibility and payment amounts except income from certain sources determined not countable by the department.

Kinship Care Subsidy Program (KCSP)

Income is any gain or benefit to a household that has monetary value and is not considered a resource. All income is counted when determining pretest eligibility except income from certain sources determined not countable by the department. In order to meet this requirement, the gross countable income of the caretaker relative’s KCSP income must be less than 150% of the federal poverty threshold for the family size. For purposes of this pretest, the caretaker’s KCSP income unit is defined to include the child, the caretaker relative, and anyone residing in the home for whom the caretaker relative claims financial responsibility. Members who receive federal or state foster care payments or SSI are not counted in the family size. For purposes of this pretest, income is defined as countable income belonging to any member of the KCSP income unit.

Income After Pretest

The child is determined eligible for KCSP if the child’s countable income is less than $450. If the child’s income is $450 or more, the child is ineligible. Payment amount is $450 a month for each eligible child. A child who receives federal or state foster care payments or SSI is not eligible to receive KCSP benefits.

Strategies to Empower People (STEP) Program

To assist Louisiana families in becoming economically self-reliant so that their dependence on government benefits for basic needs is minimized, the department implemented the STEP program so that cash assistance recipients, with certain exceptions, are actively engaged in meaningful activities designed to enable their transition from cash assistance to self-reliance. It is further intended that cash assistance recipients demonstrate active and diligent personal responsibility in achieving self-reliance through employment and increased workplace literacy. All appropriate state agencies responsible for employment, training, and educating Louisiana’s citizens are expected to cooperate in the pursuit of this goal.

Once an applicant is certified for assistance, a comprehensive assessment will be conducted if needed and may include workplace literacy, basic skills and educational attainment, interests and aptitude related to employment, barriers to employment, need for education, supportive services such as child care and transportation, and other supportive services. Specialized assessments can occur for issues that arise after an initial assessment has been completed and could include substance abuse, domestic violence, mental health screening, or others as determined by the department. STEP is using a research model of case management that develops Executive Functioning in participants through coaching and goal development. The case management model assists participants to develop goals that lead to identifying barriers to employment and plans to address these barriers.

Supportive services provided to clients include but are not limited to:

A full range of case maintenance and case management services designed to lead to self- sufficiency; Transportation assistance; Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits; Child care; and TANF-funded services and other services necessary to accept or maintain employment.

Services may be provided to persons participating in the Family Assessment and to persons referred by the analyst to other activities, such as drug counseling, prior to their participation in a work activity.

Supportive services also include providing services to FITAP recipients participating in approved activities necessary to meet exemptions to the FITAP time limits. Appropriate supportive services may also be provided to allow participation in educational activities for FITAP recipients who are exempt from STEP.

Family Violence Option

Per section 402(a)(7) of the Social Security Act, Louisiana has chosen to waive, pursuant to a determination of good cause, program requirements including: STEP Program participation, time-limited benefits, child support or paternity establishment cooperation requirements, refusal to accept or termination of full-time employment, and residency when the requirement makes it more difficult for the individual to escape domestic violence or places them or their child at risk of further violence.

Effective March 1, 2023, Louisiana expanded the option to allow good cause and temporary waiver of program requirements when sexual harassment, sexual assault, and stalking make it more difficult to escape such violence or places the individual at risk of further violence.

At application for cash benefits and recertification, applicants and potential applicants for assistance are automatically notified of assistance made available by the State to victims of sexual harassment and survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.  The automated correspondence provided advises them of their right to claim good cause for domestic violence, sexual harassment, sexual assault, and stalking, and allows them to self-disclose abuse and to claim a family violence exemption.  The correspondence advises the client that any information provided is confidential, provides hotline phone numbers to report child abuse and neglect and to get help with domestic violence and sexual assault, and provides examples of violence to help educate clients.

All work-eligible clients are screened after certification through a questionnaire during a coaching session.

When instances of domestic violence, sexual harassment, sexual assault, or stalking are identified, the client is referred to other appropriate programs that specialize in safety and stabilization, counseling, and supportive services.

Louisiana ensures eligibility case workers and coaches are trained in:

• the nature and dynamics of sexual harassment and domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking;
• the state standards, policy, and procedures relating to the prevention of, and assistance for, individuals who are victims of sexual harassment or survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking; and
• the methods of ascertaining and ensuring the confidentiality of personal information and documentation related to applicants for assistance and their children who have provided notice about their experiences of sexual harassment, domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.