Apply For Nevada TANF

This page provides the Nevada TANF eligibility requirements. Applicants must meet both state and federal guidelines for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. Individuals who apply for TANF must meet the monetary and non-monetary state guidelines, complete work-related activities, provide paternity information about the children in the household and report as required by the state.

Nevada residents who qualify for welfare are required to furnish information such as citizenship, income, resources, and age. Only household members who are eligible can receive Nevada welfare benefits. Read on for more information about applying for TANF. If you have additional questions or issues about this program, then contact TANF Nevada.

Nevada TANF Application Process

Those wishing to apply for any TANF benefit must complete an "Application for Assistance". The applicant or their representative may request an application by:

• Contacting the local DWSS district office
• Downloading an application from the Division's Web Page at http://dwss.nv.gov
• Accessing DWSS's online electronic application "ACCESS Nevada" at http://dwss.nv.gov
• Completing the application form and faxing it to the local DWSS Office for processing

An eligibility decision is generally made within 45 days from the application date.

Nevada TANF Eligibility

To be eligible for any TANF the following eligibility requirements must be met:

Assessment (Applies to TANF/NEON, Loan and Child-Only)
An assessment is required for each household member to evaluate existing skills, prior work experience and employability. It also determines the family needs including job training, child care, substance abuse treatment, mental health services, domestic violence services, or other issues which may be barriers to self-sufficiency.

Personal Responsibility Plan (PRP) (Applies to TANF-NEON and or Child-Only)
The "Personal Responsibility Plan (PRP)", is a contract between the Division and the TANF-NEON and Child-Only households outlining a jointly-developed plan to:

• Assist the TANF-NEON household to achieve their highest level of self sufficiency and
• To meet the specialized needs of Child-Only households

The plan is signed within 60 days of TANF approval and includes a date, not more than 24 months later, when it expires.

Agreement of Cooperation
Adult household member(s) must sign an Agreement of Cooperation which includes their responsibilities as a condition of receiving benefits and describes the penalties that may be imposed for failure to comply.

Children Must be Living in the Home of a Specified Relative
The child(ren) must be living with the individual applying for assistance on their behalf that provides care and supervision and is the child's (not all inclusive:

• Father, mother, sister, brother, grandfather, grandmother
• Uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, first cousin or
• Stepfather, stepmother, stepsister, stepbrother

School Requirements

• The head of household must ensure their children age 7 to 12 attend school as required by state law and take every reasonable action to ensure the child is not at risk of failing to advance to the next grade level
• A child age 18 or over, not in school full-time, is ineligible
• A child age 18 in school (high school, technical or vocational, includes GED program) full time and expected to graduate before or in the month of their 19th birthday is eligible for TANF through their graduation month
• A child who will not graduate, or complete their GED, until after the month of their 19th birthday is ineligible the month following their 18th birthday
• For minor parents to be eligible for assistance, they must be enrolled and attending high school or actively participating in a GED program and making adequate progress

Immunizations
The head of household must provide proof immediately, or within six months, that all children for whom benefits are received are appropriately immunized. Each household is advised of the availability of standard immunizations through clinics. Exemptions are provided for religious belief or medical conditions.

Residency
Applicants must be living in the state with the intention of making Nevada their home permanently, for an indefinite period, or entering Nevada with a job commitment or seeking employment.

Citizenship
All persons applying for or receiving TANF must provide satisfactory evidence of citizenship or qualified non-citizenship status.

Child Support Enforcement Program (CSEP)
The parent(s)/relative caregiver of all children must cooperate in establishing paternity or seeking child support from non-custodial parents. TANF is denied or terminated if the parent(s) caregivers fails or refuses to cooperate with CSEP or the District Attorney in establishing paternity or seeking support, unless good cause for failing to cooperate is substantiated.

New Employees of Nevada (NEON)
NEON is Nevada's employment and training program whose purpose is to reduce or eliminate dependency on public assistance by providing employment services, education, training and support services to TANF NEON recipients.

NEON participation is mandatory for most cases with a work-eligible individual in the home. Single parents with a child under a year of age may be exempt up to 3 months per child, for a maximum of 12 months in a life time. A parent who is required in the home to provide care for an ill or incapacitated family member may qualify for an exemption. Exempt parents have the option to voluntarily participate in the program.

NEON participants must develop a Personal Responsibility Plan (PRP) with their case manager. The plan will outline the work activities that will be required of the participant to maintain eligibility for the program and move toward self-sufficiency, as well as the support services the Division will provide to assist the participant in attaining this goal. Examples of activities include Job Readiness Workshops, Job Search, vocational education, community work experience and employment.

Support services available to NEON participants include: child care, transportation, work-related clothing and other work-related items necessary for training or employment. These may include tools, uniforms, shoes, work permits, heath cards, ID, physicals, etc. Participants may also receive family counseling, family planning counseling, health referrals, job placement referrals, etc.

Mandatory participants who do not cooperate with the development of their Personal Responsibility Plan (PRP), or who fail to comply with the terms of their PRP are subject to termination of benefits and a sanction sit-out period of three consecutive months.

Sanctions for Non-Cooperation
Sanctions are imposed against TANF-NEON and TANF Child-Only households who do not cooperate with the terms of their PRP. The household is given a time period (30 or 10 days) to work with their case manager to resolve the compliance issue. If the household is not in compliance with their PRP after this conciliation period, cash benefits are terminated and the household is ineligible to receive cash assistance for three consecutive months.

Furnishing Social Security Numbers
Each TANF member of the household must provide or apply for a Social Security Number (SSN) unless religious beliefs prohibit enumeration. Non-qualified non-citizens are not required to provide or apply for an SSN.

Cooperation / Reporting Obligations
TANF households are required to cooperate by providing necessary information to determine initial and ongoing eligibility, and to report changes which may affect their eligibility for TANF benefits.

Time Limits
A TANF-NEON and/or TANF Loan household in which any adult member (this includes a minor parent who is/was the head of household for their own case) received TANF cash assistance from Nevada or any other state for 60 months, regardless of whether consecutive or cumulative, is prohibited from receiving TANF-NEON and/or Loan cash benefits unless they experience a qualifying hardship.

Nevada TANF-NEON and/or Loan households may receive 24 months of cash assistance, after which time they are ineligible to receive cash benefits for 12 consecutive months, unless they experience a qualifying hardship.

The 24 months of benefits need not be consecutive but the 12 month sit-out period is consecutive. A recipient may receive a six month extension to the two-year time limit if the District Office Manager determines the recipient would achieve self-sufficiency by giving the additional time.

Sanctions for Non-Cooperation
Sanctions are imposed against TANF-NEON and Child-Only households who do not cooperate with the terms of their Personal Responsibility Plan. The household is given a time period (30 or 10 days) to work with their case manager to resolve the compliance issue. If the household is not in compliance with their PRP after this conciliation period, cash benefits are terminated and the household is disqualified for three consecutive months.

Resources/Property
Liquid and non-liquid resources are evaluated to determine whether or not they are countable. Beginning July 1, 2014 countable resources cannot exceed $6,000 per TANF household. If the resources exceed the limit, the application will be denied or the case will be terminated. The countable resources prior to July 1, 2014, was $2,000.

There are certain types of resource which are not counted when determining eligibility such as:

• One automobile
• The home, including any contiguous land, which is the usual residence of the assistance unit that the household owns or is buying
• One burial plot for each member of the household
• One Bona fide funeral agreements for each member of the TANF assistance unit
• Household goods and personal items

Need Standards and Payment Amounts
Agency need standards are used to determine eligibility and payment amounts. The need standard includes food, clothing, recreation, personal incidentals, fuel for heating, cooking and water heating, electricity for refrigeration and lights, household supplies, medical chest supplies and shelter.

The following table provides a guide to income levels and maximum payment amounts. A maximum payment is issued when there is no countable income. If all or a portion of monthly income is budgetable, the reduction in the benefit amount is dollar for dollar. However, there are specific deductions allowed for earned income and application of the earnings disregard for certain household members entitled to use them.

Income, Consideration and Budgeting
The household members must have countable income within certain limits to be eligible for any TANF benefit. The maximum allowable income is based upon the number of eligible persons in the household.

A monthly budget is completed for all households with income to determine eligibility without application of disregards. Also, some types of income are counted in this test and not counted in the cash benefit computation. If gross income is less than 130% of poverty; next a 100% Needs Standard Test is used to determine if earned income disregards can be applied.

The cash benefit is computed by subtracting allowable disregards from gross earned income to arrive at the net earned income, adding unearned income to arrive at the total countable income. The total countable income is compared to the payment standard for the household size. The income of stepparents and responsible parents are also budgeted towards the needs of the TANF household.

Nevada Employment Search

Part of the requirement, while on the TANF program, is finding a job to help sustain your financial needs. Nevada provides an online job site for you to search for employment. You can view the job site by clicking here.

Apply Online For Nevada TANF

If you have questions about applying for TANF benefits, or you want to see if you can apply for TANF Georgia online, then visit the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families website here.