Example

Jason and Isabel's Story

Jason’s family was having a difficult time making ends meet. Up until a month ago, he was able to support his wife Isabel and their young daughter through his job as a cashier at a local grocery store. Then the grocery store laid some people off. Jason lost his job, but he didn't qualify for unemployment benefits.

Jason and Isabel didn’t have much money in savings. They realized that they were going to have trouble paying for rent, food, and utilities. They decided to apply for help until they could get back on their feet. Jason has a disability. He had applied for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) at his local Social Security office in the past, and had been told that his disability didn’t meet their definition of disability. So he knew he didn’t qualify to get SSI benefits.

So Jason went online to AccessNevada and applied for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), SNAP and Medicaid.

In a few days he got a phone call to set up an appointment for Isabel and Jason to meet in person with Maria, a TANF caseworker. They were also told which documents they needed to have with them.

During the appointment Maria asked them a series of questions about their family, living situation, and work history, and reviewed their valid identification, proof of the address where they lived, and other required documents.

"I see you applied for TANF, SNAP, and Medicaid, so if you qualify you'll get all three," Maria told them.

She also explained that because they are both considered "work-eligible," before they can be approved for TANF they each must go to two pre-eligibilty classes. She gave a them a pamphlet listing the dates and times of the classes on things like resume writing and interview skills.

"You can choose which ones you want to go to, but you each need to attend two classes," she told them.

Jason and Isabel studied the pamplet when they got home, and then worked out a baby-sitting schedule so they could each go to two of the classes.

Several weeks later, Jason and his family got a notice saying they were approved for TANF benefits. Since they didn’t have any income, they got the maximum TANF benefit for a family with two caretakers (parents) and one child, $386 a month.

Next, Jason and Isabel met with another TANF caseworker, Carol, to come up with Personal Responsibility Plans (PRPs) designed to get them jobs.

Isabel needed just a few more classes to complete her training as an x-ray technician, but had put those plans on hold when they had their child. Her PRP included finishing those credits, and turning in her grades to TANF to show that she successfully finished the training. Carol explained that after Isabel completed her training, the next step would be to create a new PRP listing the steps for Isabel's job search.

Jason’s PRP was a little different because of his disability. He thought that maybe he could work from home doing customer service over the phone. His PRP included a one-week customer service training program and then searching for a job. It also included a referral to Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Nevada for support services, and said that Jason would attend any medical appointments needed to care for his disability.

Jason and Isabel had two concerns about working.

“Ok, so I’d love to go back to school,” Isabel said, “but what about my little girl? I can’t afford to pay someone to watch her.”

“The Nevada Child Care and Development Program may be able to help you pay for child care," Carol told them.

“That would be great,” said Isabel. “We need the help.”

“But what happens when one of us starts working?" Jason asked. "Won’t our benefits go down? Won’t we be even poorer then?”

“Not necessarily,” Carol reassured them. “You qualify for the Earned Income Disregards, so TANF won't count any of your wages for the first three months. Then they only count 15% of your earnings for the next three months, 25% for the three months after that, and 35% for another three months. When the Earned Income Disregards end after 12 months, TANF deducts either $90 or 20% of your earnings, whichever is more. It may sound complicated, but it means your benefits won't go down right away when you work."

Jason and Isabel left the meeting with the caseworker feeling like things were looking up. With a little help, they’d be back on their feet soon enough.