JOBS Support Service Payments from DHS
by: Oregon Law Center and Legal Aid Services of Oregon
1. What Are Jobs Support Service Payments?
The Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS) can provide supplemental payments to help families to become self-sufficient. These special payments are used to cover expenses such as child care, housing, transportation, union dues, tools, work clothing, etc., that will help families find or retain a job. Even families who have just applied for welfare, but are not yet receiving a cash grant, and working families who don’t receive welfare may be eligible for these benefits.
2. What Is a Case Plan?
In order to receive JOBS support service payments, you must agree to participate in the activities that are made part of a written case plan. A case plan is a written plan that lists activities you must participate in to become or stay employed.
If you are disabled, the case plan will have activities that take your disabilities into account and might not include employment related activities. It will also list the JOBS support services that will be given to help you participate in the activities listed in the case plan.
If you do not already have a case plan, your case manager will write a case plan for you. The JOBS support service payments must be listed in your case plan.
JOBS support service payments must be used for costs that are directly related to participating in your case plan.
Before issuing a JOBS support service payment, your case manager will ask you if you have other resources available to meet your needs. The case manager will also consider whether there are other lower-cost alternatives available in the community to help you meet your needs. You and your case manager will work together on this.
OAR 461-190-0211
3. Who is Eligible for JOBS Support Service Payments?
A parent may qualify for a JOBS support service payment if the parent is:
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Applying for TANF or receiving TANF
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In the Pre-TANF, TANF, Post-TANF or SFPSS (pre-SSI) Program
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A minor parent who has returned to their parent’s home in the last 40 days and is no longer eligible for TANF
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A TANF client participating in diagnosis, counseling, or treatment programs for substance abuse or mental health
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A non-citizen who is ineligible for TANF, has a child receiving TANF, and is legally able to work
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A person disqualified from TANF for failure to cooperate with the child support requirements
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A person who becomes ineligible for TANF or the Assessment Program because of an increase in wages is eligible for transition benefits, including JOBS support service payments
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A domestic violence survivor who is eligible for the TA-DVS program
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A non-custodial parent who lives in Oregon and who has a child who receives TANF in Oregon
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A caretaker relative who is not on TANF but is caring for a child on TANF, may volunteer for the JOBS program and receive support service payments
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A recipient of SSI with a child on TANF may volunteer for the JOBS program and receive support service payments.
OAR 461-190-0211
4. How Do I Apply for a JOBS Support Service Payment?
Ask your case worker about how to apply for JOBS support service payments. A written request is not required, but it is a good idea to write the request so you and your case manager have a record of what you asked for and when.
You should explain what you need the money for and how much you need. Be specific. If possible, include copies of the bills you are asking to be paid. Your case manager may ask you to provide proof you need the payment and also proof of the amount you will need.
If you are not receiving TANF or you are in the Pre-TANF Program, when you ask for a JOBS support service payment you will be assigned a case manager who will work with you on your request for benefits and case plan.
OAR 461-190-0211
5. After I Request a JOBS Support Service Payment, How Quickly Must DHS Respond to My Request?
Your case manager must process your request for a JOBS support service payment on time to meet your need for the payment. For example, if you need to pay your union dues in three days in order to keep your job, your case manager must process your request within three days. But, if you have to provide verification for your request, the case manager will not be able to make the payment until you provide the verification.
In the TANF program, your case manager has 30 days to process your request for a JOBS support service payment. You will have “good cause” for not cooperating with your case plan if the delay in processing your request for a JOBS support service payment prevents you from complying with your case plan.
OAR 461-115-0190
6. How Can I Receive JOBS Support Service Payments in the Pre-TANF Program?
If you are applying for TANF you will most likely be placed in the Pre-TANF Program. The purpose of the Pre-TANF Program is to help you find work before being put on a monthly cash grant. The Pre-TANF Program lasts for up to, but not more than, 45 days.
While you are in the Pre-TANF Program, you can get cash to help you and your family pay basic, current living expenses you cannot afford to pay with other available resources.
These expenses include: rent, utilities, household supplies, diapers, toiletries, etc. There is a limit to how much money you can receive for basic living expenses while you are in the Pre-TANF Program. It is equal to twice the monthly grant amount you would receive if you were on a cash grant.
You can receive payments for your past expenses, but only if your needs cannot be adequately met by a less expensive alternative.
You can also get support service payments. This is extra money that you need for your job search and other activities listed in your case plan. It includes money for childcare and transportation. There is no limit to the amount of money you can receive as a support service payment.
OAR 461-135-0475; 461-190-0211
If you need help with JOBS Support Service Payments or have questions, contact your local legal aid office for possible advice or representation. Click here for a directory of legal aid programs.
7. Can I Get JOBS Support Payments if I Am on TANF?
Once you are selected to participate in the JOBS program, you are eligible to receive support payments to enable you to find work and keep your job. If you have disabilities that prevent you from working, you may still be eligible for JOBS support service payments as long as they relate to the activities in your case plan.
Payments may be made for:
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Housing
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Child care
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Transportation
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Tools
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Fees
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Clothing
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Telephone or message system
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Purchase of a vehicle
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Eyeglasses
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Dental work
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Counseling
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Anything else you need in order to work
The payments must be reasonable and necessary for you to comply with your case plan. Also, your case manager will look at whether there are lower cost alternatives available to you.
When you receive a TANF grant, DHS expects you to meet your housing and utility expenses out of your grant, so it will be difficult to get a JOBS support service payment to cover those expenses. However, DHS may issue payments for housing or utilities on a case-by-case basis. Also, if you are short on money, you may be able to ask for help with other bills so that you can use your grant for rent and utilities.
OAR 461-190-0211
8. Can I Get JOBS Support Service Payments if I Am Not Applying for or Receiving Welfare?
Yes. Parents do not have to qualify for welfare in order to get help with financial emergencies.
DHS can provide payments to help some parents and caretaker relatives who arenot on TANF. This help is open to:
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A minor parent who has returned to their parent’s home in the last 40 days and is no longer eligible for TANF
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A parent disqualified from TANF for failure to cooperate with the child support requirements
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A parent who becomes ineligible for TANF or the Pre-TANF Program because of an increase in wages is eligible for “transition benefits”, including JOBS support service payments
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A parent who is on SSI and volunteers to participate in the JOBS program
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A caretaker relative who volunteers to participate in the JOBS program
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A non-custodial parent who lives in Oregon and who has a child who receives TANF in Oregon
DHS wants to help parents who are at risk of losing employment. Therefore, if a parent cannot pay the rent this month and is facing homelessness, DHS can help them pay the rent.
If a parent needs a car to get to work, but cannot pay the car insurance this month, DHS can help with the insurance payment.
If the employed member of the household is on-call, but cannot pay the telephone bill, DHS can help. These are just a few examples.
OAR 461-190-0211
9. Can I Get JOBS Support Service Payments if I Have Medical Problems that Prevent Me from Working or Looking for Work?
Yes. If you are disabled, your case plan will have activities that take your disabilities into account which might not include employment related activities. It might include other activities that do not apply only to work such as going for medical treatment.
It will also list the JOBS support services that will be given to you to help you participate in the activities listed in the case plan. For example, if your case plan activity is to go to your medical appointments and you need child care while you go to the doctor, you can ask for a JOBS support service payment for child care.
10. How Do I Apply for JOBS Support Service Payments if I Am not Applying for or Receiving Welfare?
To apply for a JOBS support service payment, go to a DHS office and ask specifically for JOBS support service payments or transition benefits or non-custodial benefits, depending on which of the categories listed above you fit into.
OAR 461-190-0211(3)
11. What Are the Income Limits and Eligibility Requirements for Parents Who are not Applying for or Receiving Welfare?
There are no income limits for these payments, but the parent must meet other eligibility requirements:
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For minor parents who are no longer on TANF, the grant must have ended because the minor parent moved back to their parent’s home. Eligibility will continue for 40 days
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For transition benefits, the parent must have become ineligible for TANF or the Assessment Program due to an increase in income from working. Eligibility for transition benefits continues for 12 months
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For a parent who doesn’t have custody of his or her child to be eligible for JOBS support service payments, the child must be on TANF and both the child and the non-custodial parent must live in Oregon
Remember, in all of these situations, the JOBS support service payment must be included in a case plan and it must be related to obtaining or keeping a job. In addition, DHS will not help if the family has access to other resources. DHS will expect the family to explore available community resources such as social service agencies and faith-based groups.
OAR 461-190-0211; 461-190-0241
12. What if DHS Says I Can’t Request a JOBS Support Service Payment if I Am not Applying for or Receiving Welfare Aid?
If you are told that there is no cash assistance available to families who have income above the TANF income limit or who are not on TANF or in the Pre-TANF program, ask to speak to an operations manager. Tell them that you are asking for a JOBS support service payment and that you fit into one of the categories of people who may be eligible under OAR 461-190-0211(3). It is very helpful to tell DHS which rule you are relying on.
If this fails, request a hearing and contact your local legal aid office or the Public Benefits Hotline (800) 520-5292, for advice or representation. Click here for a directory of legal aid programs. Instructions for requesting a hearing are found in Section 17.
13. What Kind of Support Service Payments Can I Get?
You can ask for JOBS support service payments for anything you need to be able to successfully follow your case plan, look for work or maintain your job. These services/ payments can include but are not limited to:
Expenses to stabilize your housing
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Childcare
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Transportation
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Drug and alcohol treatment
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Mental health treatment
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Other counseling/ treatment
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Teen parent counseling
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Clothing (reasonably priced)
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Vehicle or professional license fees
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Telephone deposits
Some of these payments have special eligibility requirements:
Childcare – The amount paid will be based on a formula set by DHS rules. It may not cover the entire childcare cost. DHS will only pay for childcare during work hours including your lunch break and travel time to and from work
Housing and Utilities – In the Pre-TANF Program, DHS will pay the current month’s bills unless there are other resources available to pay for housing and utilities. For other parents, DHS will make housing and utility payments to prevent an eviction or shut-off or to get housing if the parent doesn’t have adequate housing. The parent must show that he or she doesn’t have the money to pay for housing or utilities, and that the lack of money was not due to:
(a) a TANF disqualification or overpayment recovery (unless DHS was at fault in causing the overpayment) or
(b) the failure to pay the bills when money was available.
You and your case manager will write a case plan that will address how you will be able to meet future housing and utility payments.
NOTE 1:For people in the Pre-TANF program , the housing and utility payment cannot be more than 200% of the TANF grant for that family.In the Pre-TANF Program, these payments are considered to be “basic living expense” payments. In some cases, for people in the Pre-TANF Program, housing costs can also be paid with support services if doing so will prevent job loss or help you find or secure employment. The JOBS support service payment is not limited to 200% of the TANF grant for that family.
NOTE 2: If the housing need results from domestic violence, if the parent qualifies for TA-DVS, then those funds will be used to meet the need. The parent must be ineligible for TA-DVS to receive JOBS payments for housing.
NOTE 3: The parent must be able to pay subsequent housing costs and the case plan must address how future housing costs will be met
Transportation – DHS will either pay for public transportation or for car insurance, repairs or fuel for a car
(a) The car must be owned by someone in the TANF or Pre-TANF family or by the parent requesting help, or by their immediate family living in the household if the family is not on TANF
(b) If public transportation is available and the parent is medically able to use it, DHS will normally pay for public transportation rather than for car related expenses, unless it is more cost effective to pay the car expenses
(c) In order to pay car expenses, the person must have a valid license
OAR 461-190-0211
14. Are There Special Rules for Students?
For students who receive financial aid, DHS will not consider student loans as an available resource to meet the need for which a JOBS support service payment request was made.
However, if financial aid other than loans specifically covers a service, DHS won’t issue a JOBS support service payment to meet the need.
If the financial aid is a combination of grants and loans, the student will be expected to use the financial aid to meet the need if there is money left over after paying tuition, fees, books, and supplies and the financial aid award permits it.
OAR 461-190-0211
15. What Should I Do if I Am Denied a JOBS Support Service Payment?
Unless you need the payment in order to cooperate with your case plan, DHS may deny or end your JOBS support service payment if it is not related to your case plan or if you are disqualified for not complying with your case plan.
A decision on your request for a JOBS support service payment must be made on time to meet the need that led you to request the payment.
In the TANF program, the decision must be made within 30 days.
If you are denied a support service payment, your case manager is required to send you a written notice.
You may request a hearing if you are denied a payment or if you are given something different from what you asked for. For example, if you need a rent payment of $400, but your case manager only gives you $300, you can ask for a hearing because you were denied $100.
16. What Do I Do if My JOBS Support Service Payments are Ending?
If you receive recurring payments, such as child care payments, your case manager may approve the payment, but give you a notice saying that your benefits will end on the same day as your case plan activities end. Don’t be confused by this notice – even though your benefits will be paid, it is a denial notice for future payments.
You must request a hearing within 45 days of receiving this notice. If you do not request a hearing, you will lose your right to challenge the termination of your benefits. This is important because your case manager may not be able to write a new case plan before your old plan ends even though your support service payments will end.
17. How Do I Ask for a Hearing?
In order to have a hearing, you must fill out a hearing request form. To obtain this form go to your local DHS office and ask the receptionist for a DHS Form 443 (Administrative Hearing Request) or get it on the Internet. (Go to http://dhsforms.hr.state.or.us/Forms/Served/DE0443.pdf)
Immediately fill out the form and turn it back into the receptionist. Ask the receptionist for a receipt to prove you turned in the form.
To find out about your hearing rights, call the Public Benefits Hotline (1-800-520-5292) or your local Legal Aid office for possible advice or representation. Click here for a directory of legal aid programs.
You are entitled to an expedited hearing. That means the hearing must be held within five days of the day you request a hearing.
OAR 461-025-0310; 461-025-0315; 461-115-0190
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