Hotline 9/14: Young Parent Program, clothing allowance, and car asset rule

From the Hotline
If you have any questions on this column or other policy and procedural material, please have your Hotline
designee call the Policy Hotline at 617-348-8478.

Q. 1. When an ESP client participates in a Young Parent Program (YPP) activity and the hours of
participation have been entered and updated on the Monitor Participation page, will one hour of
homework and study time automatically get added by BEACON to the actual hours of participation?
A. 1. Yes. Remember, however, that to avoid a sanction the teen must also continue to comply with all of
the TAFDC teen parent school attendance requirements, as well as any special requirements
mandated by his or her particular YPP program. In addition to YPP, other education-and trainingrelated
components where the client’s participation hours double, include:

• skills training,
• post-secondary education activities, and
• basic education.

For more information on education-related study-time hours, refer to Field Operations Memo
2008-53 A. For more information on YPP, refer to 106 CMR 207.140(C). For more information on
teen parent school attendance requirements, refer to 106 CMR 203.610.

Q. 2. My SNAP applicant is an 18-year-old teen parent with one child whose only income is a DCF
quarterly clothing allowance. Is this income considered countable unearned income for SNAP?
A. 2. Yes. As a regular payment from a government source, this income is considered countable unearned
income for SNAP. See 106 CMR 363.220(B) for more details on unearned income.
Note: This is a SNAP rule change based on a recent clarification from USDA. Please note
that the SNAP information in the original version of this FYI from November 2011
is no longer applicable.

Q. 3. I have a TAFDC applicant who owns one car with a fair market value of $9,500. She owns this car in
full and therefore her equity value in the car is also $9,500. Given the asset rule changes detailed in
Operations Memo 2014-46, can I approve this applicant for TAFDC, if otherwise eligible?
A. 3. Yes. According to the new asset rules, the first car no longer has equity value attributed to it for
purposes of TAFDC eligibility. Therefore, the comparison between the fair market value and equity
value is no longer necessary when the client owns only one vehicle. For more information on
countable assets and vehicles, refer to 106 CMR 204.120(G).
Note: Vehicles are a noncountable asset for SNAP. See 106 CMR 363.140(D) for more
information.