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6.6.3 New Spouse Income Policy

ISSUE DATE: 07/2024

If an MFIP or DWP Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) applicant or participant marries, the new spouse’s earned and unearned income, does not count towards the family’s CCAP benefits when both of the following conditions are met:

· They are eligible for the New Spouse Income policy for their MFIP or DWP case. See Combined Manual Chapter 22.11 (New Spouse Income) for more information about eligibility for the New Spouse Income policy for MFIP or DWP, AND

· Their new household’s total annualized income, including the new spouse’s income, does not exceed 67% of the State Median Income (SMI) for their new household size.

Once a household is determined eligible for the New Spouse Income policy:

· The CCAP household size will increase, if the new spouse was not already part of the household.

· The new spouse’s earned and unearned income is not counted for up to 26 consecutive biweekly periods.

· Due to potentially increasing the household size and not counting the new spouse’s income, the copayment may decrease. Copayment decreases are allowed during the 12-month eligibility period.

· Other requirements at application, during the 12-month eligibility period, and at redetermination continue to apply.

Who is eligible?

This policy is only available to families receiving MFIP or DWP CCAP. A CCAP applicant or participant must first be eligible for this policy on their MFIP or DWP case before they can be eligible for the policy on their CCAP case. See Combined Manual Chapter 22.11 (New Spouse Income) for more information about eligibility for the New Spouse Income policy for MFIP or DWP.

For CCAP, this policy is available when:

· Applicants who marry while their MFIP or DWP CCAP application is pending and are determined eligible for CCAP.

· Applicants who marry while their MFIP or DWP cash assistance application is pending and are determined eligible for cash assistance as part of their initial approval when they apply for CCAP at a later date. If found eligible for CCAP, they are eligible for the remainder of the 26 biweekly periods.

· Existing MFIP or DWP CCAP households where:

· A newly-married member is added to an existing MFIP or DWP CCAP household.

· The newly-married members are part of the same household.

· The newly-married members are part of different MFIP or DWP CCAP households.

Who is not eligible?

The New Spouse Income policy is not available to families receiving Transition Year, Transition Year Extension, Basic Sliding Fee, Portability Pool, or “Student Parent” MFIP or DWP child care.

Families whose total annualized income is greater than 67% of SMI are not eligible for the New Spouse Income policy.

Who is the Designated Spouse in a CCAP family?

The Designated Spouse is the person whose income will not be counted when the policy is applied.* See CCAP Policy Manual Chapter 2 (Glossary).

*Exception: Income must continue to be counted if a Designated Spouse meets any of the following criteria for their MFIP or DWP case:

· Fails to provide Social Security Number.

· Has a fraud disqualification.

· Is a fleeing felon.

· Is a parole violator.

The MFIP or DWP worker enters the Designated Spouse determination in MAXIS. See Combined Manual Chapter 22.11 (New Spouse Income) for more information about how the Designated Spouse is determined for the New Spouse Income policy. This determination carries through to the CCAP case in MEC². The Designated Spouse is not determined by CCAP.

How are the 26 biweekly periods counted?

The 26 consecutive biweekly periods during which the Designated Spouse’s income is eligible to not count are a set period of time which begins two biweekly periods after the biweekly period with the marriage date. This time period is identified as the “New Spouse Income Exemption Period.”

The New Spouse Exemption Period:

· May include periods of ineligibility.

· Is not cancelled or altered by a change in CCAP subprograms. However, if a change in CCAP subprograms occurs, the income of the Designated Spouse counts.

· May have different start and end dates between CCAP and MFIP or DWP.

What are the verification requirements?

Verify the marriage date before determining the CCAP household eligible for the New Spouse Income policy. Contact the MFIP or DWP worker to confirm the verification has been turned in or to request a copy of the verification for the CCAP file BEFORE requesting the verification from the family.

· If verification of the marriage date is received within the same biweekly period of the marriage, the family will be eligible for 26 biweekly periods where the Designated Spouse’s income is not counted.

· If verification of the marriage date is received AFTER the biweekly period of marriage, stop counting the income of the Designated Spouse two biweekly periods AFTER verification of the marriage date is received. The Designated Spouse’s income will not count for fewer than 26 biweekly periods.

· If verification of the marriage date is not received, count all included earned and unearned income from both spouses. CCAP income verification requirements may apply. See CCAP Policy Manual Chapter 7 (Verification).

See Chapter 7.3 (Verification – Initial Application) and Chapter 7.4 (Verification – 12-Month Eligibility Period) for more information about verification requirements.

What happens when there is a subprogram switch during the New Spouse Income Exemption Period?

If the child care assistance subprogram changes, the Designated Spouse’s income will start counting for the new subprogram after the subprogram switch. Copays can only increase at redetermination.

What happens when the New Spouse Income Exemption Period ends?

When the 26 consecutive biweekly periods end, the Designated Spouse’s income is counted starting the following biweekly period.

· If the following biweekly period is also the redetermination biweekly period, the copayment may increase as part of processing the redetermination.

· If the following biweekly period is not the redetermination biweekly period, the family is in their 12- month eligibility period and the copayment is not allowed to increase. The copayment may increase when the family’s next redetermination is processed.

Where can I find more information about how to implement the New Spouse Income policy?

The CCAP New Spouse Income Worker Guide (SIR login required) is available at DHS-SIR > MEC2 > Worker Resources > CCAP Guides. The guide provides information about how to implement the policy including:

· System functionality to support the policy in MEC2

· Information about applying the policy

· System limitations related to the policy.

Legal authority

Minnesota Statutes 256P.06
Minnesota Rules 3400.0170, subp. 4a

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Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) Policy Manual