710-4           NATIVE  FAMILY ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS AND ELIGIBILITY FOR ALASKA TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE

A family who is eligible for assistance from a Native Family Assistance Program (NFAP) is not eligible for assistance from ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program.
   

• If an ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program applicant lives within the service area of a NFAPNative Family Assistance Program and is eligible to be served by that program, the application will be forwarded to the NFAPNative Family Assistance Program office.
• If a family becomes ineligible for ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program because they move into an area served by a NFAPNative Family Assistance Program, or because an individual who is eligible to be served by the NFAPNative Family Assistance Program  moves into the home, the case will be closed with timely notice of adverse action.
• an application is forwarded or a case closed because of eligibility for services from the NFAPNative Family Assistance Program, and the family subsequently provides proof of ineligibility for those services within 30 days of the original case action, the application for ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program will be reevaluated back to the date of original application or the case will be reinstated back to the date of closure. 

Note:  

If it is discovered that a family is receiving ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program benefits when they should be served by a NFAPNative Family Assistance Program, the ongoing ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program case should be closed with 10-day notice of adverse action. Notice W481"ATAP Closed - Refer to Native TANF" is used for this purpose. Remember to notify the Work Services case manager of the case closure.

Overpayments are not established in this situation.

Each NFAPNative Family Assistance Program defines their own service area and service population; please refer to the Native Family Assistance Guide online for the relevant region and contact information for each NFAPNative Family Assistance Program.  

See Administrative Procedures MS 116 for more information on application processing and case transfers when a family is eligible for a NFAPNative Family Assistance Program.

710-4 A.     SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES

A family who is eligible to be served by a NFAPNative Family Assistance Program may request to be served by ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program, when the family demonstrates ”special circumstances” exist.  ”Special circumstances” exist when the caretaker relative has chosen not to claim tribal affiliation, and has not previously received tribal services.  

All requests for assistance based on special circumstances and associated documentation supporting the request must be sent to the Policy and Program Development Team for review and consideration.

The NFAPNative Family Assistance Programs have great flexibility under federal and state law to establish the eligibility requirements for their programs. Special circumstances do not exist if the family is ineligible for assistance or will receive a reduced benefit under a NFAPNative Family Assistance Program because the eligibility requirements of that program differ from the ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program eligibility requirements.

Example:

A Native family is penalized under a NFAPNative Family Assistance Program because of non-compliance with their FSSPFamily Self-Sufficiency Plan. The NFAPNative Family Assistance Program requires an adult family member to participate in parent-teacher conferences. ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program has no similar provision. Although the family could receive a higher benefit payment if they were to be served by the State’s program, they are still part of the NFAPNative Family Assistance Program’s service population, and must be served by that program. The family’s failure to comply with the FSSPFamily Self-Sufficiency Plan requirement does not constitute a special circumstance.

710-4 B.     TRANSFER TO ALASKA TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE

Families served by NFAPNative Family Assistance Programs may become eligible for ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program benefit payments when the family moves out of the area served by the NFAPNative Family Assistance Program , or when the individual who is eligible for services from the NFAPNative Family Assistance Program leaves the home.  When this occurs, the family must apply for ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program.  This application is treated as if the family has moved from another state’s TANFTemporary Assistance to Needy Families (Federal) program.  The NFAPNative Family Assistance Program case must be closed before the family can qualify for ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program.  

Following is a list of policy implications when a family becomes eligible for ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program after receiving benefits from a NFAPNative Family Assistance Program (see the manual section for each topic for more information):

• FSSPs do not transfer between ATAP and the NFAP.
• Diversion payments issued by an NFAPNative Family Assistance Program are disregarded for ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program purposes, unless the Diversion income is received in the month of application.
• Diversion payments received in that month will count as income for Alaska Temporary Assistance, and will not be prorated over the period the diversion       payment was intended to cover.
• Work activity, FSSPFamily Self-Sufficiency Plan and child support penalties imposed by ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program or an NFAPNative Family Assistance Program do not transfer between organizations.
• Intentional program violations or fraud disqualifications imposed by either an NFAPNative Family Assistance Program or ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program continue through the disqualification period set by the program, regardless of which program is serving the family.
• Job refusal or job quit disqualifications do not transfer between ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program and the NFAPNative Family Assistance Program, but a disqualification may still be imposed if the job quit or refusal occurs within 60 days of application for ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program.Countable months of assistance received from an NFAPNative Family Assistance Program also count as months of assistance for the ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program 60-month time limit.