Someone, or many someones, didn't check facts before posting either on that h**efilled right wing site or on OPP where at least people who like honesty can correct the lies.
This from ILC in Alabama.
http://www.visaus.com/benefits.htmlemporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
Q. What is TANF?
A. TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) is the program enacted on August 22, 1996. The new law ended the federally funded AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) program and created federal block grants to the states. The states have broad discretion to design and administer their own welfare programs. Through TANF, each state provides cash benefits to certain groups of low-income families with minor children. States determine benefit levels and can set limits on the length of time families can receive TANF assistance. States also may provide supportive services, such as child care and t***sportation.
Q. Who can receive TANF assistance?
A. Refugees can receive TANF assistance if their family meets all the requirements for eligibility in their state (such as having limited income and assets) and they are a member of one of the following groups:
Citizens: Refugees who have become naturalized citizens are eligible for TANF assistance under the same rules as native-born citizens. Citizen children of refugee parents are eligible for TANF assistance.
Refugees in the U.S. before August 22, 1996: As a result of federal- and state-level legislation, almost all refugees in the U.S. at the time the welfare law was enacted are eligible for TANF assistance to the same extent as citizens. The law requires that all refugees are eligible for TANF assistance for their first five years in the country. Almost all states have chosen to continue this eligibility past the five year period for refugees (and other qualified aliens(3)) who entered the country before August 22, 1996.
Refugees arriving in the U.S. after August 22, 1996: The law requires that all refugees are eligible for TANF assistance for their first five years in the country. Most states have chosen to continue this eligibility past the five year period for refugees (and other qualified aliens) who entered the country after August 22, 1996.
Long-term workers and certain of their family members: Legal permanent residents who have worked or can be credited with 40 quarters of work under the Social Security Act are eligible for TANF assistance to the same extent as citizens. Spouses receive credit for the quarters worked by their husbands/wives; children receive credit for the quarters worked by their parents while the children were under the age of 18 (even if the children are now over the age of 18).
Armed Forces active personnel and veterans, and certain of their family members: Refugees who are currently in the Armed Forces and those who are veterans with honorable discharges who have met minimum active-duty requirements are eligible for TANF assistance to the same extent as citizens. The unmarried dependent children and most spouses of these refugees also can be eligible for TANF assistance if they are legally residing in the United States.
Determining a non-citizen's eligibility for TANF assistance can be a complex task. You may wish to contact your local welfare office for the most current information about refugee eligibility for TANF assistance in your state. If you are told a particular refugee is not eligible for TANF assistance due to her/his immigration status, you may wish to review your state's TANF legislation and regulations to verify this information.
Some states have placed restrictions on eligibility or benefit level for TANF assistance applicants who have not resided in the state for a certain length of time, such as thirty days or twelve months. Some of these residency requirements have been declared unconstitutional by courts and are not in effect. Contact your local welfare office for information on residency requirements in your state.
Then there are the SNAP benefits, see the requirements, please.
Food Stamps
Q. What is the Food Stamp Program?
A. The Food Stamp Program provides monthly c**pons or benefits to low-income households for the purchase of food. Most of the cost of providing benefits and administering the program is paid by the federal government. State welfare offices administer the program and pay part of the administration costs.
Q. Can refugees receive federally-funded food stamps?
A. Refugees can receive federally-funded food stamps if their household meets all the requirements for eligibility (such as having limited income and resources) and they are a member of one of the following groups:
Citizens: Refugees who have become naturalized citizens are eligible for food stamps under the same rules as native-born citizens.
All refugees during their first seven years in the U.S.
Long-term workers and certain of their family members: Refugees who have worked 40 quarters or can be credited with 40 quarters of work that qualify under the Social Security Act and who have adjusted their status to legally admitted permanent resident are eligible for food stamps under the same rules as citizens. Spouses receive credit for the quarters worked by their husbands/wives; children receive credit for the quarters worked by their parents while the children were under the age of 18 (even if the children are now over the age of 18).
Armed Forces active personnel and veterans, and certain of their family members: Refugees who are currently in the Armed Forces and those who are veterans with honorable discharges who have met minimum active-duty requirements are eligible for food stamps under the same rules as citizens. The unmarried dependent children and most spouses (including unremarried surviving spouses of deceased veterans) of these refugees also can be eligible for food stamps if they are legally residing in the United States.
Hmong and Highland Laotians: Members of a Hmong or Highland Lao tribe when the tribe assisted the U.S. Armed Forces during the Vietnam era (and their spouses, unmarried widows/widowers, and unmarried dependent children) are eligible for food stamps under the same rules as citizens.
Elderly refugees living in the U.S. on August 22, 1996: Refugees living in the U.S. on August 22, 1996 who were 65 or older on that date are eligible for food stamps under the same rules as citizens.
Refugee children living in the U.S. on August 22, 1996: Refugees living in the U.S. on August 22, 1996 who are under the age of 18 are eligible for food stamps under the same rules as citizens.
Disabled refugees living in the U.S. on August 22, 1996: Refugees living in the U.S. on August 22, 1996 who are receiving benefits for disability or blindness at the time of application are eligible for food stamps under the same rules as citizens.
Q. Do states also provide food assistance?
A. Some states provide state-funded food assistance to certain refugees and immigrants who have lost federal food stamp eligibility due to the welfare reform law. Specific eligibility requirements and benefit levels vary from state to state.
Q. Does the food stamp program have work requirements?
A. The federal food stamp program has work requirements for some recipients. State food assistance programs also may have work requirements. States may require parents of children above a certain age to work or be engaged in a work-related activity, such as job searches or job readiness courses.
Refugee employability services approved, funded, or operated by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) are federally recognized training programs for purposes of food stamp eligibility. Refugees participating at least half-time in these programs are exempt from Food Stamp Program work requirements and time limits. Generally, able-bodied adults between the ages of 18 and 50 who do not have dependent children will be ineligible to continue receiving food stamps if they have received food stamps for any 3 months in a 36-month period while not working or participating in a work program at least 20 hours per week or working off their benefits in a food stamp workfare program. As noted above, this time limit does not apply to refugees participating at least half-time in employability services approved, funded, or operated by ORR.) In some circumstances, individuals who have used their first three months of benefits, gone to work, and then are laid off can receive up to three months of additional benefits. Most states have waivers of the three-month food stamp work requirement in areas of high unemployment or insufficient jobs. Able-bodied adults without dependent children who receive food stamps in these waived areas still may have to meet state work requirements, such as job search and job readiness activities, to continue receiving food stamps. States also have an option under the welfare law to exempt an additional 15% of their non-waivered caseload from the work requirements. If states accept this option, they select which groups of people will be exempted.
Q. Can refugees receive any other nutritional assistance benefits?
A. Refugees are eligible for several other nutritional assistance programs to the same extent as citizens: emergency food assistance; school breakfasts and lunches; summer food service and child care food programs; the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program; the Commodity Supplemental Food, Homeless Children Nutrition, and Special Milk Programs; and the Nutrition Program for the Elderly.
Q. How can I obtain more information about food stamps?
A. For more information about food stamp eligibility rules, contact your local welfare office. These web sites also may be helpful: the Food and Consumer Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (
http://www.usda.gov/fcs) and FRAC, the Food Research and Action Center (
http://www.frac.org); U.S. Department of Agriculture, (
http://www.usda.gov/fcs/library/nsh.htm); Summary of Nutrition Provisions in the Welfare Reform Act. Food Research and Action Center, October 16, 1996, (
http://www.frac.org/html/news/101696.html).
Endnotes:
1. This revised Fact Sheet incorporates changes to Food Stamp eligibility rules included in the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Act of 1998. These changes went into effect on November 1, 1998.
2. The Food Stamp Program defines "household" as a person or group of people living together, not necessarily related, who purchase and prepare food together.
3. Asylees, persons granted withholding of deportation, Cuban and Haitian entrants, and Amerasian immigrants from Vietnam are treated the same as refugees for the purpose of determining food stamps eligibility.
4. For qualifying quarters worked after December 31, 1996, to be credited, the refugee and anyone else whose quarters the refugee is claiming cannot have received "federal means-tested public benefits"--which include Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Food Stamps, Medicaid, and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) benefits--during the quarter.
5. Individuals who are exempt from work registration requirements under the Food Stamp Act (such as students enrolled at least half-time in a recognized training program, persons with physical or mental conditions preventing them from working, and pregnant women) are exempt from this time limit. Individuals who lose food stamp benefits because they have reached the three-month cutoff point may regain eligibility by working or participating in work programs at least 80 hours in a 30-day period or by working off a month's benefits in a workfare program, which generally requires no more than 24 hours per month.