PDFWAC 388-489-0005

Who is eligible for transitional food assistance?

You are eligible for transitional food assistance for up to five months if you meet the following eligibility criteria:
(1) Your family stops receiving cash assistance to include temporary assistance for needy families, tribal TANF, or state family assistance, or:
(2) Your family receives transitional cash assistance;
(3) Your family was receiving basic food at the time we determined you were no longer eligible for cash assistance described in subsection (1) of this section, or when you received transitional cash assistance;
(4) After your family stops receiving cash assistance described in subsection (1) of this section, or receives transitional cash assistance, no other member of your basic food assistance unit receives temporary assistance for needy families, tribal TANF, or state family assistance;
(5) Your family did not move out of the state of Washington as described in WAC 388-468-0005;
(6) At the time your family's cash assistance ended, your family was not in sanction status. Sanction status means:
(a) We reduced or stopped your family's temporary assistance for needy families grant payment because a family member is not:
(i) Meeting WorkFirst program requirements (WAC 388-310-1600); or
(ii) Cooperating with the division of child support (WAC 388-422-0100); or
(b) We decided that a member of your family was not eligible for temporary assistance for needy families because the member:
(i) Failed to meet teen parent living arrangement (WAC 388-486-0005) or teen parent school attendance requirements (WAC 388-410-0010); or
(ii) Was convicted of unlawful practices (WAC 388-446-0005) or for receiving temporary assistance for needy families in two or more states at the same time (WAC 388-446-0010); or
(c) If you are receiving temporary assistance for needy families benefits from a tribal program, your family's grant is reduced or stopped for a reason that is the same as one of the reasons listed in (6)(a) or (6)(b) of this section.
(7) At the time your family's temporary assistance for needy families grant ended, your basic food assistance unit did not become ineligible because:
(a) You were applying for recertification of your basic food benefits and refused to cooperate with the application process; or
(b) All members of your assistance unit are ineligible for basic food for the reasons stated in WAC 388-489-0025(3).
(8) There is no limit to the number of times your family can receive transitional food assistance.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057, 74.04.510, 74.04.680, and 74.08.090. WSR 22-12-017, § 388-489-0005, filed 5/20/22, effective 7/1/22. Statutory Authority: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057, 74.04.510, 74.08.090, and 74.08A.010. WSR 05-19-060, § 388-489-0005, filed 9/16/05, effective 11/1/05.]