FINANCIAL
ASSISTANCE / ECONOMIC SUPPORT
The Isanti County
Financial Unit provides support to low-income residents of Isanti
County. It determines eligibility for public assistance programs such as Medicaid,
MinnesotaCare, Food Support, General Assistance, Child Care Assistance and the
Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) and Diversionary Work Program (DWP).
These programs assist low-income people:
Child Care
Assistance
Minnesota
Family Investment Program (MFIP)
Diversionary
Work Program (DWP)
Emergency Programs
General
Assistance
Food
Support
Minnesota Supplemental Aid
Group Residential Housing
Health Care
(Medical
Assistance, MinnesotaCare, GAMC, TEFRA (medical for disabled children), MAEPD
(Medical Assistance for Employed Persons with Disabilities
County Burials
Call
for information - 763-689-1711.
Fraud
Prevention Investigation
Applications and additional information regarding Minnesota's Public Assistance Programs can be found through the Department
of Human Services (DHS).
Your child needs to
be well cared for while you are at work or going to school; and as a parent
or guardian it is equally important to choose quality, affordable child care.
Minnesota’s Child Care Assistance
Program (CCAP) can help to make quality child care affordable for
income-eligible families. All families will have a copayment based on their
gross income and family size.
Child Care Assistance is
available to:
• Families participating
in Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP)
• Families that had an
MFIP case close within the last 12 months
• Low-income families
that may be eligible for the Basic Sliding Fee program
The Child Care Assistance Program can help families pay child care costs for:
Children up to age 12
Children with special needs up to age 14
Child care costs may be
paid to qualifying families while they go to work, look for work or attend
school. To qualify for CCAP, families must comply with child support enforcement
if it is applicable for all children in the family. Care must be provided by a
legal child care provider over the age of 18.
Isanti County's Child Care Fund Plan for 2008-2009
To fill out an application
and find out if you qualify for any CCAP program, contact:
ATT: Erinn
The Workforce
1575 Highway 95 East #C
Cambridge, MN
Phone: 763-689-7139
Fax: 763-689-1140
TYY: 763-689-7569
For more information regarding Child Care Assistance, please refer to the Department of Human Services (DHS).
FAMILY FINANCIAL PROGRAMS
"Empowering
families of Isanti County
to achieve self-sufficiency with dignity and respect."
THE MINNESOTA FAMILY INVESTMENT PROGRAM (MFIP)
The
Minnesota Family Investment Program, or MFIP, is the state’s welfare reform
program for low-income families with children. MFIP helps families move to work
and focuses on helping families. It includes both cash and food assistance. When
most families first apply for cash assistance, they will participate in the
Diversionary Work Program, or DWP. This is a four month program that helps
parents go immediately to work rather than receive welfare.
Some
families may be referred to MFIP when they first apply for assistance or after
they finish four months of DWP. MFIP helps families transition to economic
stability. Parents are expected to work, and are supported in working. Most
families can get cash assistance for only 60 months.
The Diversionary Work
Program, or DWP, is a four-month program that helps low-income Minnesota
families find a job. The goal of DWP is to help parents immediately go to work
rather than go on welfare. Parents are expected to sign an employment plan
before their family is approved for DWP. After families have an employment plan,
they can receive financial assistance to meet their basic needs and get other
supports, such as food support and child and health care assistance.
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Emergency programs are short-term
help for qualifying people who need money during a crisis. The programs help
people who have had a fire, utility shut off, eviction, illness, theft, loss of
job or other major problem. Emergency programs include:
FAMILY CRISIS ASSISTANCE
Emergency aid to
families with children under 21 and single/married adults. Must have emergency
that threatens an individual's health or safety, and lacks resources to resolve
crisis.
EMERGENCY
GENERAL ASSISTANCE
(EGA)
EGA helps eligible persons who
cannot get help through MFIP,
EA,
DWP,
or EMSA.
EMERGENCY
GENERAL ASSISTANCE MEDICAL CARE
(EGAMC)
For persons between the ages of 21
and 65, EGAMC pays one-time emergency medical expenses for qualifying persons
with a medical emergency if they are not eligible for other medical programs.
EMERGENCY
MINNESOTA SUPPLEMENTAL AID
(EMSA)
EMSA is short-term help for persons
over 18 receiving MSA
cash benefits and who have an emergency such as eviction, utility shut-off or
major household repairs.
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The General Assistance (GA) Program serves as Minnesota’s primary safety net for single adults and childless couples. The GA program provides monthly cash grants for vulnerable persons whose income and resources are less than program limits. GA participants are also eligible for help with medical costs through the General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC) or the Medical Assistance (MA) programs and Food Support.
Eligibility
requirements
Program
participants must fit at least one of the 15 categories of eligibility specified
in state statutes. Eligibility categories are primarily defined in terms of
disability and unemployability. Most applicants and recipients are required to
apply for benefits from federally funded disability programs for which they may
qualify, such as Retirement, Survivors, and Disability Insurance or Supplemental
Security Income. In addition, the person or couple must have income and
resources less than program limits. The resource limit for all units is $1000.
After subtracting certain income disregards, a single person must have net
income less than $203 per month, and a couple must have net income less than
$260 per month.
Monthly
benefits
The
maximum benefit for a single adult is $203 per month and $260 per month for a
married couple. Special funding is available for emergency situations when a
person or family lacks basic need items, such as a lack of shelter or food, and
that lack threatens the person’s or family’s health or safety.
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Minnesota Supplemental Aid (MSA) is a state funded program that provides a monthly cash supplement to people who are aged, blind or disabled and who receive federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. Some recipients who do not receive SSI because their other income is too high may still be eligible for MSA if they meet MSA eligibility criteria and their income is below the MSA standard. MSA participants are also eligible for help with medical costs through the Medical Assistance (MA) program and for Food Support. Applications for MSA must be made through Isanti County Family Services.
GROUP RESIDENTIAL HOUSING PROGRAM
Group Residential Housing (GRH) is a state-funded income supplement program that pays for room-and-board costs for low-income adults who have been placed in a licensed or registered setting with which a county human service agency has negotiated a monthly rate.
FOOD SUPPORT AND FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS
There are many programs to help people with their food needs, such as emergency food help, Expedited Food Support, Food Support (formerly called Food Stamps) and Minnesota Food Assistance.
What is the Food Support program?
The Food Support (Food Stamps) program is a county-run, federal program that helps Minnesotans with low incomes get the food that’s needed for sound nutrition and well-balanced meals. The program issues electronic food support benefits.
Expedited Food Support is available to the following types of households:
• Those with less than $150 in monthly gross income and $100 or less in liquid assets
• Destitute migrant or seasonal farm worker units who have $100 or less in liquid assets
• Households where the combined monthly gross income and liquid assets are less than actual monthly housing and utility costs (or the standard utility allowance if the household is entitled to it).
You may receive expedited service in Minnesota if you meet the above requirements, even if you received Food Support in another state during the month of application.
Am I eligible?
Food Support eligibility depends on your household’s income and assets. Households must have income at or below 130 percent of the federal poverty guideline. As long as you receive the Domestic Violence Information Brochure, your household will have an asset limit of $7,000. The brochure is available at Isanti County Family Services. Just tell your county worker that you have received the brochure. Isanti County Family Services accepts client applications, determine eligibility, and determine benefit levels in accordance with state and federal regulations. The Food Support program is available in all 87 Minnesota counties.
What is the next step?
To apply for Food Support, contact Isanti County Family Services at 763-689-1711.
How do I get my benefits?
Most food benefits are
distributed through Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT), which is similar to a
debit card. Each month, your EBT account is credited with your benefits. During
the month, you use your card to purchase food at enrolled grocery stores. You
swipe your EBT card through a point-of-sale terminal and the purchases are
deducted from your account balance. You may authorize an additional person to
use your EBT card. Food Support benefits can be used to buy food, or plants and
seeds to grow food for you or your family. They may also be used at authorized
sites for Meals on Wheels and congregate dining.
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MEDICAL ASSISTANCE (MA) (MINNESOTA'S MEDICAID PROGRAM)
MA is the largest of the health care programs, providing health care coverage and prescription medication coverage for a monthly average of 507,000 low-income senior citizens, children and families, and people with disabilities in fiscal year (FY) 2007.
The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administers Medicaid nationwide. In Minnesota, the Department of Human Services oversees the program, and eligibility is administered by the counties.
Children, parents and pregnant women make up the largest MA group; elderly or people who have a disability make up the remaining.
GENERAL ASSISTANCE MEDICAL CARE (GAMC)
GAMC provides medical care for a monthly average of 33,000 (FY 2007) low-income Minnesotans who don’t qualify for MA or other state and federal programs, primarily low-income adults, ages 21 and 64, who do not have any dependent children.
Some GAMC applicants and clients are enrolled in Transitional MinnesotaCare instead of GAMC.
MINNESOTA CARE
MinnesotaCare is a publicly subsidized program for Minnesota residents who don't have access to affordable health care coverage.
Residents (except for some children) are not eligible if their employer offers health insurance and pays at least half of the monthly cost.
MinnesotaCare is funded by a tax on hospitals and health care providers, federal Medicaid matching funds and enrollee premiums.
MinnesotaCare has been critical to Minnesota’s welfare reform strategy, helping people leave welfare and go to work without losing health care coverage.
Enrollee premiums are determined according to a sliding-fee scale based on family size and income.
How do I apply?
You must fill out an application.
Call
Apply in person at Isanti County Family Services
If you need help filling out the application:
Call or visit Isanti County Family Services.
When will I find out if I am eligible for health care coverage?
A county worker will review your application and send you a notice telling you if you are eligible within 45 days (60 days if a disability needs to be certified).
Some health care programs may pay for medical bills going back up to three months from the time when you turn in your application.
Medical Assistance for Employed Persons with Disabilities (MAEPD): allows working people with disabilities between the ages of 16 and 64 to qualify for Medical Assistance under higher income and asset limits.
TEFRA: allows some children with disabilities who live with their families to be eligible for Medical Assistance without counting parent’s income.
Although most investigations conducted by welfare system agencies are civil, welfare fraud investigations are an exception. Generally, wrongfully receiving assistance is a crime. See Minn. Stat. §§ 256.98; 256D.14; 393.07, subd. 10 ; and 609.466 Welfare fraud investigations include investigations of clients and vendors, persons trying to receive assistance, and those already receiving assistance. Because these investigations are criminal in nature, the data collected is probably classified pursuant to Minn. Stat. § 13.82, subd. 5. The data in an active criminal investigation is classified either confidential or protected nonpublic as in civil investigations.
Violations of the welfare fraud statutes may have both
criminal and civil sanctions. Once the criminal portion is adjudicated or the
prosecuting authority decides not to pursue the action, the criminal
investigative data may revert to civil investigative data. When a civil
investigation becomes inactive, the data accumulated would become public unless
the release of the information would (a) jeopardize a current ongoing civil
investigation or (b) the data is classified as not public by the Data Practices
Act or another statute.
Minn.Stat.
§ 13.39,subd.3.
If
you suspect someone of misusing or abusing Minnesota assistance programs, call: Isanti County
Family Services Financial Assistance Unit at 763/689-1711 or the
WELFARE FRAUD HOTLINE TOLL FREE at 1-800-627-9977