The New Hampshire Employment Program and the Family Assistance Program are both cash assistance programs under TANF – the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program.  The New Hampshire Employment Program provides cash assistance to families with able-bodied parent(s) and assists those parents to become self-sufficient by providing employment and training services so parents will be able to care for their families and become independent of cash assistance through work.

FAP provides cash assistance to families with children when:

• a child lives with a non-parent relative.
• a parent  is age 60 or older;
• a parent cannot work due to a permanent physical or mental disability and receives:
  •  Social Security Insurance (SSI);
  •  Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI);
  •  Aid to the Totally & Permanently Disabled (APTD);
  •  Aid to the Needy Blind (ANB);
  •  Old Age Assistance (OAA); or
  •  Veteran's Administration (VA) disability (> 80%).

Financial eligibility is determined by comparing your monthly income to established Payment Standards for your family size.  See the DFA Net Monthly Income Limits for more detailed information on how your benefit amount is determined.

Counting for the lifetime limit for receipt of TANF financial assistance began in NH on October 1, 1996.  October was counted as month 1 of the 60 months allowed if you received financial assistance from NHEP or FAP or received TANF in another state beginning in October 1996.  Any months you received financial assistance before October 1996 do not count toward your 60 month limit.  There is no limit on receipt of assistance for the children in families headed by a relative who does not receive TANF assistance for him/herself.   

There is no work requirement for FAP.

There is a work requirement for the New Hampshire Employment Program.  NHEP participants are expected to look for work and/or prepare for work while receiving cash assistance.  NHEP Employment  Counselor  Specialists (ECS) will help participants prepare for and find work and provide additional supportive services to help families transition into employment and become self-sufficient.

Employment Counselor Specialists (ECS) will ask you about your work and education history and about anything that might keep you from being employed.  You will meet with an ECS regularly to help you develop a good job search plan or offer you other activities to help you prepare for work.  You and your ECS will work together to develop an employability plan; find the right activity or activities for you; and determine any community or other support services you may need.  Once you and your ECS have developed your employability plan, we will ask that you follow your plan by taking part in activities you agreed to; go to all appointments, interviews and workshops; follow through with any other activities; accept suitable employment and find the job that is right for you.

There are many support services you may be eligible to receive.

• As an NHEP Applicant you can receive transportation and child care reimbursement while looking for a job. 
• As an NHEP Recipient, in approved activities, you can receive transportation and child care reimbursement.  In other NHEP approved activities like employment or other work experience, you can receive car repairs, tools, fees and uniforms. In approved education and training activities, you can receive tuition and reimbursement for books.  There can also be other payments to help remove obstacles to employment.

You and your NHEP Employment Counselor Specialist work together to get the support services you need to get and keep a job! 

Your employability plan is like a contract.  It states what you will do to reach your employment goals and what we will do to help you.  We expect you to make your best effort to cooperate with NHEP requirements and meet your employment goals.  If you do not, you will get a "Notice of Failure to Meet Work Requirements".  It will tell you what may happen for not keeping appointments or following your employability plan and, if necessary, how to indicate you had "good cause" for not following your plan.

NHEP and FAP cash assistance supports you getting a job and becoming self-sufficient.  For each dollar that you earn, your cash assistance benefit will only decrease by 50 cents.  You will always have more money when you work and receive cash assistance at the same time.  If your wages from employment make you ineligible for cash assistance, you can still get other benefits like medical assistance and child care reimbursement.

Yes.  If you become ineligible for cash assistance because of earnings, you will qualify for up to 12 months of Extended Medical Assistance (EMA) and child care reimbursement at Step 1 – the highest amount of child care reimbursement you can receive.  After that period, you may still be eligible for medical coverage, child care, and food stamp benefits if you meet program requirements.

You may have up to $1000 in countable resources when you apply for cash assistance and still be found eligible.  Once you are receiving cash assistance, you can save up to $2000 in countable resources.

When you apply for TANF cash assistance, you automatically assign your rights to child support payments to DHHS.  This means that you give DHHS the right to collect and receive any child support money payments made on behalf of anyone in your household who receives TANF cash assistance.

If you are eligible for NHEP or FAP cash assistance you will automatically receive medical assistance cards.  Keep these cards in a secure place.  You do not have to accept cash assistance in order to still receive the medical assistance.

Visit the DFA online library to view and print brochures about NHEP, FAP, and the 60 month TANF time limit.