22VAC40-411-20. General Relief Plan.

The General Relief Program is an optional program designed to provide assistance, either maintenance or emergency, that cannot be provided through other means to minor unattached children who would be eligible for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families except for the relationship requirement.  Local departments of social services that operate a General Relief Program may offer one or more components. Each participating local department of social services must submit a plan to the Virginia Department of Social Services indicating which components are operated that outlines the details of their program.

22VAC40-411-31. Assistance Unit.

The term “assistance unit” for the General Relief Unattached Child Program refers to a child or group of children whose income is taken into consideration in determining the need.  All children, for whom assistance is requested, will make up one assistance unit.

22VAC40-411-41. Income eligibility.

A. Countable income is income received by or considered available to the assistance unit.

B. Unearned income is any income that the unattached child receives that is not a payment for work such as Social Security, child support or payments from a trust fund.

C. If the countable income of a child in a GR Assistance Unit results in ineligibility for the entire assistance unit and assistance has been requested for two or more children, the child's needs and income shall be excluded from the assistance unit.

D. Disregarded Income. Except as specified, the following types of income will be considered exempt and will be disregarded in determining financial eligibility and calculating the grant:

1. The value of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

2. Any payment received under Title II of the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970.

3. Any benefits received under Title VII, Nutrition Program for the Elderly, of the Older Americans Act of 1965, as amended.

4. Money received for educational purposes including income received from college work study programs.

5. Training allowances (transportation, books, required training expenses and motivational allowances) provided by Vocational Rehabilitation. The disregard is not applicable to the allowance provided by VR to the family of the participating individual.

6. Any portion of an SSI payment or Auxiliary Grant.

7. Payments from any AmeriCorps Program including AmeriCorps VISTA.

8. The Veterans Administration educational benefit for the caretaker 18 or older is disregarded in its entirety when it is the veteran's only source of assistance for education. No verification beyond the award letter or benefit payment check is needed. If the veteran receives additional assistance in the form of a grant, loan, or scholarship, the VA educational benefit is to be disregarded in its entirety as long as any portion of the benefit is used to pay for tuition, books, fees, equipment required by the education/training program, transportation if the education or training institution is more than one mile from the veteran's residence, or child care services necessary for school attendance. Exception: Any funds included in the benefit amount specifically for dependents are to be counted as income to the assistance unit. Any separate housing allowance, including an allowance authorized under the Post 9/11 GI Bill, is to be counted as income to the assistance unit.

9. All payments issued under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), including Job Corps payments, to a student who is younger than 18 years of age.

10. Income tax refunds (including Earned Income Tax Credit payments and refunds). These exempt tax credits include federal earned income tax credits and state earned income tax credits.

11.) Any payment made under the Fuel Assistance Program.

12. All federal, state, or local government rent and housing subsidies and utility payments.

13. Any funds distributed to, or held in trust for, members of any Indian tribe under P.L. 92‑254, 93‑134, 94‑540, 98‑64, 98‑123, 98‑124, or 97‑458. Additionally, interest and investment income accrued on such funds while held in trust, and purchases made with such interest and investment income are disregarded.

14. The following of distributions received from a Native Corporation under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (P.L. 100‑241):

a. Cash, including cash dividends on stock received from a Native Corporation, to the extent that the total received does not exceed $2,000 per individual per calendar year;

b. Stock, including stock issued or distributed by a Native Corporation as a dividend or distribution on stock;

c. A partnership interest;

d. Land or an interest in land, including land or an interest in land received from a Native Corporation as a dividend or distribution on stock; and

e. An interest in a settlement trust.

15. Income derived from certain submarginal land of the United States which is held in trust for certain Indian tribes (P.L. 94‑114).

16. Federal major disaster and emergency assistance provided under the Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Amendments of 1988 and disaster assistance provided by state and local governments and disaster assistance organizations.

17. Payments received by individuals of Japanese ancestry under the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, and by Aleuts under the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands Restitution Act (P.L. 100‑383).

18. Any payment received from the Agent Orange Settlement Fund or any other fund established in response to the Agent Orange product liability litigation. To verify whether a payment is an Agent Orange payment, use documents in the individual's possession. If the individual cannot pro-vide verification or the situation is unclear, write to the Agent Orange Veteran Payment Program, P.O. Box 110, Hartford, CT 06104, and Attention: Agent Orange Verification. Include in the request the veteran's name and social security number. If a survivor of a qualifying veteran was paid, also provide the survivor's name and social security number.

19. Payment received by individuals under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act.

20. Funds received pursuant to the Maine Indians Claims Settlement Act of 1980 (P.L. 96‑420); and the Aroostook Band of Micmac's Settlement Act (P.L. 102‑171).

21. Funds paid to an escrow account established under the Family Self Sufficiency Program of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

22. Student financial assistance received under Bureau of Indian Affairs student assistance programs.

23. Interest earned or appreciation in value on a savings or investment account for the purpose of self-sufficiency.

24. Up to $2,000 per year of income received by individual Indians, which are derived from leases or other uses of individually-owned trust or restricted lands.

25. All bona fide loans, regardless of the intended use. This includes loans obtained for any purpose, and may be from a private individual as well as from a commercial institution. A simple statement signed by both parties indicating that the payment is a loan and must be repaid is sufficient to verify that a loan is bona fide. If the customer indicates that money received was a loan but does not provide required verification, the money is to be treated as unearned income in the month received. Interest earned on the proceeds of a loan while held in a savings account, checking account, or other financial instrument will be counted as unearned income in the month received.

26. The earned income of a child younger than 18 years of age.

27. Payments received by victims of Nazi persecution under P.L. 103‑286.

28. Matching contributions deposited in an individual development account (IDA) or on the applicant or recipient's behalf in a parallel account maintained by the organization administering the IDA program.

29. Interest income of less than an average of $10 per month.

30. Any veteran benefits received by children born with spinal bifida, who are natural children of individuals who served in Vietnam during the period beginning January 9, 1962, and ending on May 7, 1975.

31. Payments received from the Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief Fund established under P.L. 105‑369.

32. Any amount received by or made available to household members for deployment or service in a combat zone will not count as income for GR purposes unless the payment was received before the deployment. This exclusion includes items such as, but not limited to, incentive pay for hazardous duty, special pay for imminent duty or hostile fire duty or certain reenlistment bonuses, or special pay for certain occupational or educational skills.

33. A one-time cash payment, identified as a Reception and Placement (R&P) Program payment, made to help a newly arrived refugee meet basic needs during the first 30 days in the country. An R&P payment is separate from any cash allowances which may be made to a refugee through the Matching Grant (MG) Program.

34. Nonrecurring monetary gifts for special occasions, such as birthdays, Christmas, graduations.

35. All other unearned income that is specifically disregarded in the calculation of TANF benefits by federal or state law or regulation.

22VAC40-411-70. Assistance for unattached children.

An agency electing to provide this component the Unattached Child Program will specify in its General Relief Plan the amount of assistance that can be received by an assistance unit in 12 consecutive months. The choices are:

1. The standard of assistance at 90% of need times three;

1. The standard of assistance times 12; or

2. The standard of assistance at 90% of need times six;

2. The maximum designated by the locality times 12, not to exceed the standard of assistance.

3. The standard of assistance at 90% of need times nine; or

4. The standard of assistance at 90% of need times 12 or the maximum for the locality times 12.

22VAC40-411-120. Entitlement date.

When an individual or family unattached child(ren) has been found by agency action to be eligible, entitlement shall begin no later than the first day of the month following the month of the application month provided the individual or family meets all eligibility conditions are met at that time. In the following situations, the date of entitlement shall be the first of the month in which the application was made:

1. Action is taken during the month of application.

2. Action is taken in a month later than the month of application:

a. For reasons beyond the control of the applicant as determined by the agency; and

b. The applicant received general relief maintenance from another locality in Virginia for the month prior to the month of application.