P OVERTY L AW 1, A DJUNCT P ROFESSOR M ONICA B OGUCKI, MFIP-S I NCOME L ECTURE C OPYRIGHT 2013 M ONICA B OGUCKI

I S THE INCOME INCLUDED OR EXCLUDED ? General Rule is that the income is counted unless it is specifically excluded.

T HREE B ASIC T YPES OF I NCOME ⋆ Earned Income, Minn. Stat. 256J.08, subd. 26 ⋆ Unearned Income, Minn. Stat. 256J.08, subd. 86 ⋆ In-kind income, Minn. Stat. 256J.08, subd. 49

I NCOME E XCLUSIONS AND I NCOME D EDUCTIONS ⋆ End result is the same

W HAT IS PROSPECTIVE BUDGETING ? ⋆ When a person applies for assistance, you estimate his/her income for the next two months. Assistance is based on that estimate. ⋆ Minn. Stat. 256J.33, subd. 2

W HAT IS RETROSPECTIVE BUDGETING ? ⋆ What you earn in one month affects your grant two months later. ⋆ If someone earns $2,000 bonus from January. ⋆ If the family’s grant is usually $ ⋆ The family will not get a MFIP grant in March. ⋆ Minn. Stat. 256J.33 subd. 3

D EEMING OF INCOME, M INN. S TAT. 256J.37, SUBD 1, SUBD 1 B, SUBD. 2 ⋆ Count income of someone who is financially responsible but may not be living in the household ⋆ Examples: Affidavit of support for immigration purposes

D EDUCTIONS FROM UNEARNED INCOME ⋆ Minn. Stat. 256J.37, subd. 9 ⋆ You can deduct costs for securing unearned income such as : legal fees to collect child support, medical fees to get disability income ⋆ $ in child support, minus $ in legal costs = $ ⋆ The $ is a dollar for dollar decrease in the MFIP grant.

E ARNED I NCOME D ISREGARDS ⋆ How much money do recipients keep when they go to work? ⋆ Approximately 39% disregard of the unit’s gross income ⋆ See also DHS bulletin “Work Will Always Pay… With MFIP”

E XIT L EVEL FROM MFIP ⋆ Exit level from MFIP is slightly above115% for family of three but varies for others Minn. Stat. 256J.37

C LIENT ’ S D UTY TO R EPORT I NCOME AND OTHER CHANGES ⋆ The client must report any employment changes to his/her job counselor within 3 days. Minn. Stat. 256J.55 subd. 2 ⋆ Must report changes within 10 days Minn. Stat. 256J.30 subd. 9 ⋆ Household Report Forms, Recertification forms ⋆ See State of Minnesota Department of Human Services website for forms-available in multiple languages.

E LLIE IS A FOSTER PARENT OF TWO CHILDREN. S HE RECEIVES $ PER MONTH FOR THE CARE OF THESE TWO FOSTER CHILDREN. E LLIE IS ALSO THE SINGLE PARENT OF TWO MINOR CHILDREN. S HE WANTS TO KNOW IF THE FOSTER PAYMENTS WILL REDUCE HER MFIP BENEFITS ?

S ALLIE STARTED WORKING FOR A COMPANY THAT PAYS HER FOR MILEAGE AND PARKING EXPENSES INCURRED AS PART OF HER WORK. S ALLY IS WORRIED THIS WILL REDUCE HER MFIP BENEFITS. W ILL THIS REDUCE HER MFIP BENEFITS ?

S AM HAS A 10 YEAR - OLD - SON WHO IS RECEIVING SSI BENEFITS $ PER MONTH. S AM ALSO HAS A 12- YEAR - OLD SON. S AM WILL BE APPLYING FOR MFIP BENEFITS. S AM WANTS TO KNOW HOW THE SSI BENEFITS WILL IMPACT HIS MFIP APPLICATION ?

M OLLY IS ON MFIP BENEFITS. M OLLY NEEDED EXTRA MONEY THIS MONTH TO GO TO HER FATHER ’ S FUNERAL IN I NDIANA. S HE SOLD HER STEREO SYSTEM FOR $ S HE WANTS TO KNOW IF THIS WILL REDUCE HER MFIP BENEFITS.

A MERI C ORPS INCOME Amy is a single parent of one child. She just finished college. She is participating in the AmeriCorps program. She will be teaching in an inner city high school in Minneapolis. She is worried about finances. She will get cash payments from AmeriCorps is $ 12,000 per year. Can she get MFIP benefits?

J ENNY JUST RECEIVED A FAVORABLE DECISION IN A HOUSING DISCRIMINATION CASE. H ER AWARD IS $20,000. S HE IS DEBATING ON WHETHER TO GET THIS IN CASH OR HAVE THE LANDLORD BUY HER A $ 20,000 MANUFACTURED HOME. W HAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF EACH OPTION ? H OW WOULD THIS IMPACT HER GRANT ?

J OHN AND B ETSY FILED A RENT ESCROW ACTION AGAINST THEIR LANDLORD AND HAVE RECEIVED THE FOLLOWING DAMAGES FROM THE LANDLORD. T HEY WANT TO KNOW HOW THIS WILL AFFECT THEIR MFIP GRANT. $ PUNITIVE DAMAGES $ RENT REBATE $ MOVING EXPENSES - LANDLORD WILL PAY THE MOVING COMPANY DIRECTLY

LEGAL AVAILABILITY ⋆ Minn. Stat. 256J.21 subd. 1 ⋆ What happens if the income is legally unavailable? ⋆ What are some examples of legally unavailable income ?

S IGNIFICANT CHANGE ⋆ In some circumstances county will issue supplemental payment if family experiences significant change in circumstances see Stat. 256J.34 subd. 4 ⋆ Limit of 2 per 12 month time period

E ARNED I NCOME T AX C REDIT ⋆ Laquisha receives $ per month in EITC ⋆ How will this impact her MFIP grant?

MICHELLE’S PARENTS ARE WILLING TO LOAN HER $ TO HELP HER FINISH SCHOOL. MICHELLE IS WORRIED THIS WILL REDUCE HER MFIP GRANT. PLEASE ADVISE HER?

J AMES IS A SELF - EMPLOYED CARPENTER. H E EARNS $ PER MONTH IN GROSS INCOME. H E IS ENTITLED TO SOME DEDUCTIONS FOR EXPENSES. H E WANTS ADVICE FROM YOU ABOUT WHAT HE IS ABLE TO DEDUCT FROM HIS GROSS INCOME. W HAT ARE SOME QUESTIONS YOU WANT TO ASK J AMES ? W HAT CAN HE DEDUCT ? M INN. S TAT. 256J.37 SUBD.5