Assistance Programs

Section 101 Section 101.30  Assistance Programs a)         The types of assistance programs administered by DHS include:  financial assistance and SNAP benefits. The types of assistance programs administered by HFS include: medical assistance and child support services. b)         Financial Assistance Programs – consist primarily of direct cash payments to recipients.  The various financial assistance programs are: 1)         Aid to the Aged, Blind or Disabled – State Supplemental Payment For aged, blind or disabled persons. 2)         Temporary Assistance for Needy Families For families with one or more children. 3)         Refugee Resettlement Program (RRP) For refugees from any country. 4)         Repatriate Program For United States citizens and their dependents returned from a foreign country by the U.S. Department of State. c)         Medical Assistance – under which payments are made to medical providers for services provided to recipients. 1)         Medicaid For persons eligible for financial assistance under the AABD-SSP and TANF programs and for individuals not eligible for financial assistance but who meet the requirements of 89 Ill. Adm. Code 120 for medical assistance.  This includes pregnant women of any age with no other children who would be eligible for TANF or MANG (CR) if the child had already been born.  Medicaid is provided under the AFDC-F program for children under DCFS guardianship who have been placed in licensed foster care or in the home of a relative. 2)         Healthy Kids A preventative health program for all clients who are under 21 years of age and who are receiving AFDC, AABD, RRA, MANG or TANF. Through Healthy Kids, persons are given periodic screening examinations at certain ages from birth through age 20.  The screening is to diagnose and treat health problems at an early stage. d)         SNAP – provides increased food purchasing benefits to recipients.  SNAP benefits are available to individuals who meet the eligibility requirements of the Food and Nutrition Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in accordance with the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 USC 2013 et seq.). e)         Title IV-D – attempts to collect child support payments from absent parents on behalf of children receiving assistance.  HFS enlists the cooperation of the caretaker relative in identifying, locating and securing support from an absent parent or parents or putative father. The support received is subsequently paid directly to HFS.