Diversion Cash Assistance.

The Diversion Cash Assistance program (DCA) is designed to provide brief, emergency assistance for families in crisis whose income and assets would otherwise qualify them for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).  The DCA is an alternative to the TANF program.

To be eligible for DCA benefits, families must meet the income and resource requirements for TANF and must demonstrate that they expect to have income and resources to meet their long-term needs.  Families who receive this assistance are expected to not need TANF assistance for the next 12 months.  The monthly income limit for a family of four is $771, and applicants can have up to $12,000 in liquid resources.

A family receiving DCA benefits:

• is only eligible for only one thirty-day period per year;
• must repay a pro-rated portion of the grant if it receives TANF benefits before one year; and
• will not use any of its sixty-month lifetime limit for TANF benefits.

The DCA may include cash or vouchers in payment for:

• child care;
• housing;
• transportation;
• food;
• medical costs for the recipient's immediate family; or
• employment-related expenses which are needed to keep or obtain paid unsubsidized employment.

The DCA is available once in each 12-month period and may not exceed $1,500.

The maximum amount of DCA benefits that eligible individuals can receive is increased from $1,500 to $2,000.