Minnesota Minnesota

Combined Manual

Combined Manual


HOW TO CALC. BENEFIT LEVEL - MFIP/GA

ISSUE DATE: 03/2026

For sanction procedures, see 0012.21 (Responsible Relatives Not in the Home), 0028.30 (Sanctions for Failure to Comply - Cash).

MFIP:
MFIP is composed of both federal block grant money and state money. MFIP covers some people who cannot be funded by federal money:

●

Some non-citizens. See 0031 (Non-Citizen Guidance).

●

Legal custodians. See LEGAL CUSTODIAN in 0002.37 (Glossary: Learning...). Also see 0014.03.03 (Determining the Cash Assistance Unit).


The procedure to determine the grant amount differs based upon the types of income the unit receives.

●

If the unit receives NO INCOME (other than MFIP), the Transitional Standard is the total MFIP grant. See 0020.09 (MFIP Assistance Standards).

●

If the unit receives UNEARNED INCOME ONLY, subtract the amount of unearned income in the budget month from the Transitional Standard for the corresponding payment month to determine the total MFIP grant.



If the unit has EARNED INCOME ONLY:

1.

Subtract the net earned income in the budget month from the Family Wage Level for the corresponding payment month. See 0020.09 (MFIP Assistance Standards).

For APPLICANT cases, use the Family Wage Level when budgeting income to determine whether the unit meets the initial month’s eligibility test.

2.

If the difference you computed in Step 1 is MORE THAN OR EQUAL TO the Transitional Standard, the Transitional Standard is the total MFIP grant.

If the difference is LESS THAN the Transitional Standard, the amount of the difference is the total MFIP grant.



If the unit has both EARNED AND UNEARNED INCOME:

1.

Subtract the net earned income in the budget month from the Family Wage Level for the corresponding payment month.

2.

If the difference you computed in Step 1 is MORE THAN the Transitional Standard, subtract the unit's unearned income in the budget month from the Transitional Standard. The difference is the total MFIP grant.

If the difference you computed in Step 1 is LESS THAN the Transitional Standard, subtract the unit's unearned income in the budget month from the amount of the difference. The remaining amount is the total MFIP grant.


For applicant cases, prorate the benefit. See 0022.12.03 (Proration). For addendum cases, do not prorate the benefit. See 0008.06.06 (Adding a Person to the Unit - Cash).

Subtract the recoupment if applicable. See 0025.21.15 (Recoupment).

Issue the food portion of the grant as EBT. Issue any remaining amount in cash. For the food portion amount, see 0020.09 (MFIP Assistance Standards).

Use the amount of the MFIP food portion when you report SNAP benefits to other agencies. Also use the food portion of MFIP when issuing expedited food assistance. See 0004 (Emergencies).

When there are people in the MFIP unit who are not eligible for the food portion, subtract a prorated share of the food portion for that person. To calculate the amount:

1.

Calculate the food portion for this assistance unit. See 0022 (Budgeting and Benefit Determination).

2.

Divide the food portion by number of people in the MFIP unit.

3.

Multiply the result of Step 2 by the number of unit members eligible for the food portion.

EXAMPLE: The food portion for a household of 4 is $601. Two unit members already received SNAP this month. $601 food portion divided by 4 unit members x 2 eligible members = $300. Truncate if necessary.



SNAP, MSA, HSP:
See 0022.12.01 (How to Calculate Benefit Level - SNAP/MSA/HSP).


GA:
Determine the benefit level as follows:

1.

Subtract net income in the budget month from the assistance standard for the corresponding payment month. See 0018 (Determining Net Income), 0020.18 (GA Assistance Standards), 0022.03 (How and When to Use Prospective Budgeting), 0022.06 (How and When to Use Retrospective Budgeting).

2.

For applicants, or units with late HRFs, prorate the benefit. See 0007 (Reporting), 0022.12.03 (Proration).

3.

Determine if there is a recoupable amount. If there is, subtract the recoupment. See 0025.21.15 (Recoupment).

4.

Issue benefits of $10 or more. Issue benefits which are less than $10 because of recoupment or because part of the benefit is vendor paid. See 0024.09 (Protective and Vendor Payments).


In addition, see 0011.27.03 (Drug Felons) for special provisions for units containing a member convicted of a drug felony.imageimageimage

PREVIOUS REVISIONS

DateNotes
05/2024 Deletes links to 0011.03, 0011.03.03, and 0011.03.06 and replaces it with link to Chapter 31.
11/2020 in MFIP adds do not vendor pay telephone expenses. Deletes previous instructions that vendor payment of telephone services is a county option.
01/2015 deletes Family Cap and Shared Household Standard language because they were repealed effective 01/2015
12/2014 Removed WB.  This program was suspended 12/1/14.
10/2014 MFIP changes to use FWL when budgeting income to determine if unit meets initial month?s eligibility test. DWP deletes to use MFIP Transitional Standard and adds to use FWL to determine if the unit will receive $10.00 minimum monthly grant.
06/2014 in DWP in the 2nd paragraph adds clarifying language that the $35 telephone rate is a per month amount and allowed if verified.

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