The following sections describe the treatment of income and budgeting to determine eligibility and level of benefits.
(1) General Policy. All sources of income are to be explored and gross nonexempt income from all sources shall be verified prior to approval or continuation of benefits. The applicant/recipient has primary responsibility for providing acceptable verification of income; the worker will secure the verifications when the information is available to the agency through existing automated sources, or when it is more reasonable to the Department to secure the information.(2) Requirement To Apply For Other Benefits. As a condition of eligibility for Families First, a person who is reasonably certain to be entitled to any other cash benefit or tax credit (other than SSI) must apply for and accept such benefit or tax credit for himself/herself and/or any member of the AG. Failure to apply for or to accept the benefit renders the applicant/grantee relative ineligible to be included as a member of the AG. His/her needs may not be taken into consideration in the Families First budget, and his/her income must be considered available to the remaining AG.Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1240-01-50-.08
Original rule filed December 2, 1996; effective February 15, 1997.Authority: T.C.A. §§ 4-5-201 et seq., 71-1-105, Public Acts of 1996, Chapter 950, and 45 C.F.R. 233.20.