780-1           DEFINITIONS

 

780-1 A.     TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FAMILY

 

TATemporary Assistance family means the assistance unit.

 

780-1 B.     BENEFIT MONTH OR PAYMENT MONTH

 

The benefit month, or payment month, is the month for which eligibility and payment are being determined.  When a family meets all factors of eligibility, the ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program benefit payment is based on the family’s anticipated income and expenses for the benefit month.

 

780-1 C.     BUDGET MONTH

 

The budget month is the month for which shelter costs, income, and income-related factors, such as work incentive deductions, are used to calculate the ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program benefit payment.  In prospective budgeting, the budget month and the payment month are the same.

 

780-1 D.     ADJUSTED NEED

 

Adjusted need is determined by reducing the assistance unit’s Need Standard by the difference between the family’s allowable shelter costs and the maximum shelter allowance.

 

780-1 E.     NEED

 

Need is the difference between the TATemporary Assistance family's net countable income and the family’s adjusted need

 

780-1 F.     NET COUNTABLE INCOME

 

Net countable income means gross income less all exempt income and deductions from income (work incentive deductions and deductions for child support payments made).

 

780-1 G.     RATABLE REDUCTION

 

A ratable reduction is a percentage reduction in a benefit amount to less than 100% of need. Once a TATemporary Assistance family's amount of need is determined, the payment amount is calculated by multiplying the amount of need by the percentage of need payable.

 

Effective January 2024, ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program benefit payments are 54.62% of need, a ratable reduction of 45.38%.

 

Note:

The ratable reduction is defined as the "After Max Pay Deduction" on the TAPDTemporary Assistance Payment Determination screen.

 

The following chart shows the percentage of need payable for each calendar year, beginning in October 1993 when ratable reductions became effective under AFDCAid to Families with Dependent Children :

 

Effective

Date

Percentage of Need Payable

Ratable

Reduction

October 1993

( AFDC )

 97.16%

 2.84%

January 1994

94.70%

5.30%

January 1995

92.15%

7.85%

January 1996

89.87%

10.13%

January 1997

87.43%

12.57%

July 1997

 (Temporary Assistance)

87.43%

12.57%

January 1998

85.77%

14.23%

January 1999

84.81%

15.19%

January 2000

82.94%

17.06%

January 2001

80.15%

19.85%

January 2002

78.07%

21.93%

January 2003

77.10%

22.90%

January 2004

75.46%

24.54%

January 2005

73.50%

26.50%

January 2006

70.63%

29.37%

January 2007

68.39%

31.61%

January 2008

66.87%

33.13%

January 2009

63.22%

36.78%

January 2012

61.09%

38.91%

January 2013

60.17%

39.83%

January 2014

59.24%

40.76%

January 2015

58.32%

41.68%

January 2016

58.32%

41.68%

January 2017

58.10%

41.90%

January 2018

57.00%

43.00%

January 2019

55.46%

44.54%

January 2020

54.58%

45.42%

January 2021

 54.40%

    45.60%

January 2022 54.50% 45.50%
January 2023 53.17% 46.83%
January 2024 54.62% 45.38%

    

780-1 H.     PROSPECTIVE BUDGETING

 

Prospective budgeting means the ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program benefit payment is based on the TATemporary Assistance family's anticipated income and expenses for the payment month.

 

780-1 I.     SHELTER COSTS

 

Shelter costs are the monthly expenses incurred by the TATemporary Assistance family for the family’s home, as defined in ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program MSManual Section 711-6.  Refer to ATAPAlaska Temporary Assistance Program MSManual Section 780-19 below for policy on shelter costs included in calculating the shelter allowance portion of the family’s need standard and benefit payment.

 

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MC #76 (12/23)