Financial standard of need.

A. The secretary shall adopt a financial standard of need based upon the availability of state funds. B. The following income sources are exempt from the gross income test, the net income test and the cash payment calculation: (1) medicaid; (2) food stamps; (3) government-subsidized foster care payments if the child for whom the payment is received is also excluded from the benefit group; (4) supplemental security income; (5) government-subsidized housing or housing payments; (6) federally excluded income; (7) educational payments made directly to an educational institution; (8) government-subsidized child care; (9) earned income that belongs to a person seventeen years of age or younger who is not the head of household; (10) child support passed through to the participant by the child support enforcement division of the department in the following amounts: (a) fifty dollars ($50.00) per month through December 31, 2008; and (b) no later than January 1, 2009, a minimum of one hundred dollars ($100) for one child and two hundred dollars ($200) for two or more children as based on availability of state and federal funds; and (11) other income sources as determined by the department. C. The total countable gross earned and unearned income of the benefit group shall not exceed eighty-five percent of the federal poverty guidelines for the size of the benefit group. D. For a benefit group to be eligible to participate: (1) earned and unearned income that belongs to the benefit group shall not exceed eighty-five percent of the federal poverty guidelines for the size of the benefit group; and (2) earned and unearned income that belongs to the benefit group shall not equal or exceed the financial standard of need after applying the disregards set out in Paragraphs (1) through (4) of Subsection E of this section. E. Subject to the availability of state funds, the department shall determine the cash payment of the benefit group by applying the following disregards to the benefit group's earned income and then subtracting that amount from the benefit group's financial standard of need: (1) one hundred twenty-five dollars ($125) of monthly earned income and one-half of the remainder, or for a two-parent family, two hundred twenty-five dollars ($225) of monthly earned income and one-half of the remainder for each parent; (2) monthly payments made for child care at a maximum of two hundred dollars ($200) for a child under two years of age and a maximum of one hundred seventy-five dollars ($175) for a child two years of age or older; (3) costs of self-employment income; and (4) business expenses. F. In addition to the disregards specified in Subsection E of this section, and between June 28, 2007 and June 30, 2008, or until implementation of the employment retention and advancement bonus program in the New Mexico Works Act [27-2B-1 NMSA 1978], the department shall apply the following income disregards to the benefit group's earned income and then subtract that amount from the benefit group's financial standard of need: (1) for the first two years of receiving cash assistance or services, if a participant works over the work requirement rate set by the department pursuant to the New Mexico Works Act, one hundred percent of the income earned by the participant beyond that rate; and (2) for the first two years of receiving cash assistance or services, for a two- parent benefit group in which one parent works more than thirty-five hours per week and the other works more than twenty-four hours per week, one hundred percent of income earned by each participant beyond the work requirement rate set by the department. G. The department may recover overpayments of cash assistance on a monthly basis not to exceed fifteen percent of the financial standard of need applicable to the benefit group. H. Subject to the availability of state and federal funds, the department may limit the eligibility of benefit groups that are eligible because a legal guardian is not included in the benefit group.