Washington Administrative Code

The Washington Basic Food program (Basic Food) is a federally funded nutrition program to help low-income individuals and families buy food and obtain employment. This rule is a summary of the rules for Basic Food.(1) When you apply for Basic Food, we decide who is in your assist…

WAC 388-400-0047(1) What is the heat and eat program?(a) The heat and eat program is an energy assistance program for certain assistance units (AUs) that receive basic food, Washington combined application project (WASHCAP), or the food assistance program for legal immigrants (FA…

(1) If you are not eligible for federally funded Basic Food benefits solely because you do not meet the alien status requirements under WAC 388-424-0020, you may be eligible for the state-funded food assistance program (FAP) if you meet both of the following requirements:(a) You …

(1) The pregnant women assistance (PWA) program provides a state-funded cash stipend and a referral to the housing and essential needs (HEN) program under WAC 388-400-0065 to eligible low-income individuals. A referral to the HEN program is valid for twenty-four consecutive month…

(1) The aged, blind, or disabled (ABD) cash assistance program provides a state-funded cash stipend and a referral to the housing and essential needs (HEN) program under WAC 388-400-0065 to eligible low-income individuals.(2) You are eligible for ABD if you:(a) Are:(i) At least 6…

(1) For the purposes of this chapter:(a) "Commerce" means the Washington state department of commerce.(b) "Department" means the department of social and health services (DSHS).(c) "Housing support" means assistance provided to maintain existing housing or to obtain housing or ut…

(1) You are eligible for referral to the housing and essential needs (HEN) program if you:(a) Apply for cash assistance as detailed in WAC 388-406-0010;(b) Complete an interview with the department;(c) Are incapacitated as defined in WAC 388-447-0001 through 388-447-0100;(d) Are …

(1) To be eligible for temporary assistance for needy families (TANF) or state family assistance (SFA), a child must be:(a) Under age eighteen; or (b) Under age nineteen, and participating full-time in a secondary school program or the same level of vocational or technical traini…

For food and cash assistance, "elderly person" means a person sixty years of age or older.[Statutory Authority: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057 and 74.08.090. WSR 98-16-044, § 388-404-0015, filed 7/31/98, effective 9/1/98.]

(1) You can apply for any benefit the department offers, including cash assistance or Basic Food.(2) You must meet certain eligibility requirements in order to receive a program benefit.(3) You can apply for someone else if you are:(a) A legal guardian, caretaker, or authorized r…

(1) You can apply for cash assistance or basic food by giving us an application form in person, by mail, by fax, or by completing an online application.(2) You can file an application for basic food at the local Social Security Administration district office (SSADO) if your entir…

The date of your application affects when your benefits start. The date of your application is the date any field office receives your application unless: (1) Your entire assistance unit gets or applies for supplemental security income (SSI) and applies for Basic Food at the loca…

(1) When the department gets your basic food application, we look at your circumstances at the time you applied to see if you may get basic food benefits within seven calendar days. This is called "expedited service."(2) To get expedited service, you must provide proof of who you…

The rules in this section apply to Basic Food assistance.(1) A migrant farmworker is a person who travels away from home on a regular basis, usually with a group of other workers, to seek employment in an agriculturally related activity. A migrant assistance unit is an assistance…

(1) When we get your application for benefits, we decide if other information is needed to determine your eligibility for benefits. If so, we give you:(a) A written request for what is needed and for proof if required under WAC 388-490-0005; and(b) At least ten calendar days to g…

(1) We must process your application as quickly as possible. We must respond promptly to your application and to any information you give us. We cannot delay processing your request by using the time limits stated in this section as a waiting period for determining eligibility.(2…

(1) We process your application for benefits as soon as possible. We do not intentionally delay processing your application for benefits for any reason. If we have enough information to decide eligibility for Basic Food, we promptly process your request for benefits even if we ne…

If your application for cash assistance is not processed within the time limits under WAC 388-406-0035, the department must decide if there is a good reason for the delay. This good reason is also called "good cause."(1) We do not have a good reason for not processing your applic…

(1) You're application is processed when:(a) We approve or deny benefits; and(b) We give or send you a letter telling you if you are eligible to get benefits.(2) Any letters we send you must meet the requirements under chapter 388-458 WAC.(3) We send you a letter of withdrawal un…

The date we approve your application affects the amount of benefits you get. If you are eligible for:(1) TANF or SFA cash assistance, your benefits start:(a) The date we have enough information to make an eligibility decision; or(b) No later than the thirtieth day from the date o…

This section applies to referrals to the housing and essential needs (HEN) program.(1) If you meet the eligibility requirements in WAC 388-400-0070, HEN referral eligibility begins:(a) The date we have enough information to make an eligibility decision; or(b) No later than the fo…

(1) We (the department) deny your application for cash or Basic Food benefits if:(a) You do not show for your interview appointment for cash or Basic Food if required under WAC 388-452-0005, you have not rescheduled, and your application is over thirty days old; or(b) We do not h…

(1) If we (the department) deny your application for benefits, we can redetermine your eligibility for benefits without a new application if:(a) For cash, you give us the information we need within thirty days from the date we denied your application;(b) You stop participating as…

(1) For all sections of this chapter:(a) "We" means the department of social and health services.(b) "You" means a person that is applying for or getting benefits from the department.(c) "Assistance unit" or "AU" is the group of people who live together and whose income or resour…

If you live with any of the following people, we must include them in your TANF, SFA, or combination TANF/SFA AU:(1) The child you are applying for and:(a) The child's full, half or adoptive sibling(s);(b) The child's natural or adoptive parent(s) or stepparent(s); and(c) If you …

Some people cannot be in an AU for TANF or SFA. This section describes who cannot be in your TANF or SFA AU and how this will affect your benefits.(1) We do not include the following people in your TANF or SFA AU:(a) A minor parent or child who has been placed in Title IV-E, stat…

If you are a child's parent or other caretaker relative (a relative who cares for the child's basic needs as defined in WAC 388-454-0010), use the table below to find who you may choose to include or exclude in your TANF or SFA AU. If you include a child in your AU, it could caus…

A child who applies for or gets TANF or SFA must be in the same AU as other children who get TANF or SFA and live with the same:(1) Caretaker relative;(2) Court-ordered guardian or court-ordered custodian; or(3) Adult acting in loco parentis.[Statutory Authority: RCW 74.04.050, 7…

For all sections of this chapter:"We" means the department of social and health services;"You" means any person applying for or receiving benefits from the department including minor children;"Assistance unit" or "AU" is the group of people who live together and whose income and …

(1) A person must be in your assistance unit if they live in the same home as you and regularly buy food or prepare meals with you.(2) If the following people live with you, they must be in your assistance unit even if you do not usually buy or prepare food together:(a) Your spou…

(1) For basic food, an "institution" means a place where people live that provides residents more than half of three meals daily as a part of their normal services.(2) Most residents of institutions are not eligible for basic food.(3) If you live in one of the following instituti…

(1) You may be eligible for basic food benefits if you live in a shelter for battered women and children.(2) If you live in a shelter for battered women and children and you left an assistance unit (AU) that included the abuser, as a separate AU for basic food:(a) You may get add…

The department considers you as homeless if you do not have or will imminently lose your nighttime residence, or when you stay primarily in a:(1) Supervised shelter that provides temporary living or sleeping quarters;(2) Halfway house that provides a temporary residence for perso…

(1) If you are an adult that is aged, blind, or likely to be disabled as defined in WAC 388-400-0060 and 388-449-0001, you can be in a ABD cash assistance unit (AU);(2) If you are married and live with your spouse, we decide who to include in the AU based on who is aged, blind, o…

(1) If you are an adult who is incapacitated as defined in WAC 388-447-0001, you are included in the housing and essential needs (HEN) referral assistance unit (AU).(2) If you are married and live with your spouse, we decide who to include in the AU based on who is incapacitated:…

(1) An overpayment is any cash assistance paid that is more than the assistance unit was eligible to receive.(2) There are two types of cash overpayments:(a) Intentional overpayments, presumed to exist if you willfully or knowingly:(i) Fail to report a change you must tell us abo…

(1) The amount of overpayment for cash assistance households is determined by the amount of assistance received to which the assistance unit was not entitled.(2) Cash overpayments are recovered from:(a) Any adult member of an overpaid assistance unit, whether or not the member is…

(1) An assistance unit will not be held liable for an overpayment occurring prior to April 3, 1982, which was caused by departmental error, until the department determines recovery would not be inequitable. Recovery is considered inequitable if:(a) The department informed the rec…

(1) All overpayments of cash assistance are recovered by means of a mandatory deduction from future continuing assistance grants except: (a) When a nonneedy caretaker relative or guardian was assessed an overpayment for a child who is not currently part of the assistance unit or,…

(1) If you receive more basic food, FAP, or WASHCAP benefits than you were supposed to receive, your assistance unit (AU) has an overpayment. There are three types of overpayments:(a) Administrative error overpayment: When you received too many benefits because the department mad…

If your assistance unit (AU) received more basic food, FAP, or WASHCAP benefits than it was supposed to receive, your AU has an overpayment. If you have an overpayment, we determine the amount you were overpaid and set up a claim to recover this overpayment.(1) We set up an overp…

(1) We calculate the amount of your basic food, Washington combined application project (WASHCAP), or food assistance program for legal immigrants (FAP) overpayment by counting:(a) The difference between the benefits your assistance unit (AU) received and the benefits your AU sho…

(1) After we set up a basic food, Washington combined application project (WASHCAP), or food assistance program for legal immigrants (FAP) overpayment under WAC 388-410-0030, we collect the amount you were overpaid even when the total is less than those in WAC 388-410-0030 (4)(b)…

(1) The following applies to cash assistance overpayments:(a) When a cash overpayment to a sponsored alien results from incorrect information provided by the alien's sponsor, both the alien and their sponsor are jointly and individually liable for the cash assistance overpayment …

(1) All cash assistance underpayments not credited against an overpayment are repaid upon discovery to any current or former recipient.(2) All food assistance benefits underpaid are restored when:(a) An underpayment was caused by department error;(b) An administrative disqualific…

(1) Each separate cash assistance unit (AU) gets a separate benefit amount. If several AUs live in the same house, each AU gets a separate benefit amount.(2) You cannot receive the same type of benefits in:(a) Two states in the same month; or(b) Two AUs in the same month; unless(…

(1) Clients must endorse their warrants unless they have executed a power of attorney. If a client has given someone else a power of attorney, the client must give the department a copy.(2) If a client is unable to sign the warrant, it must be endorsed by the client's mark or thu…