Countable Income

Q1: How does the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 affect a family's access to TANF benefits?

A: Section 234 of the above-cited Act, regarding the Crime Victims Fund, amends section 1403 of the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10602) to read:

(c) Exclusion From Income for Purposes of Means Tests.--Notwithstanding any other law, for the purpose of any maximum allowed income eligibility requirement in any Federal, State, or local government program using Federal funds that provides medical or other assistance (or payment or reimbursement of the cost of such assistance) that becomes necessary to an applicant for such assistance in full or in part because of the commission of a crime against the applicant, as determined by the Director, any amount of crime victim compensation that the applicant receives through a crime victim compensation program under this section shall not be included in the income of the applicant until the total amount of assistance that the applicant receives from all such programs is sufficient to fully compensate the applicant for losses suffered as a result of the crime.

For TANF, this provision means that, in most cases, States will need to exclude the full amount received under the crime victims compensation program from income in determining the family's eligibility for benefits. TANF agencies should consult with their State victim compensation offices as well as the Office of Victims of Crime in the Department of Justice when implementing this provision.