As was mentioned in last week’s blog on food stamps, the lifting of Maryland’s state of emergency will mean that the temporary increases in allotments will soon be going away. That is also the case for another needs based program that’s been operating under the title of Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA) since 1996. From July the extra $100 each family member received will be no more.
TCA provides cash payments to low income Maryland families who have children in the house under the age of 18, or 19 if the kid is still in school. As the name would suggest there an expectation that the assistance will not be a permanent situation, and indeed a family is only allowed TCA for 60 months in a lifetime. Additionally, as part of the eligibility requirements there is an obligation for the adults in the house to be engaged in either looking for work or to be actively employed. There are exemptions to the case for those who are disabled but if that is the case then those with disabilities need to apply for SSI and/or SSDI.
Unlike SSI there’s no resource limit in Maryland, but as with SSI, unearned income is counted almost in full while earned income is not. In this case the state will only count 40% of your gross monthly earned income. That figure is then deducted from your TCA amount. When you bear in mind that a family of three gets $727 a month at the most you understand and hope that the situation is very much a temporary one.
For more information on this and how to apply you can go to the DHR website here: https://mymdthink.maryland.gov/home/#/