General Referrals
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NA and CA applications are referred to FAA by authorized public and private agencies, or other partners.
Policy
As a result of legislation or an inter-agency agreement, potentially eligible participant applications may be referred to FAA from any of the following sources:
●Behavioral Health Services
●Division of Employment and Rehabilitation Services (DERS) Re-entry Program (REP) (For information on the re-entry program, see Inmate Pre-Release NA Applications.)
●Department of Child Safety (DCS) or a DCS licensed agency for all of the following CA programs:
Kinship Foster Care
Kinship Foster Care – Child Only
Legal Permanent Guardian (LPG)
NOTE See DCS Fast Pass for additional information regarding DCS referrals.
●FAA Authorized Pilot Programs
●Health-e-Arizona Plus
●KidsCare
●Arizona Nutrition Assistance Outreach Program NA Referrals
NOTE NA applications may be referred from agencies, organizations, and other partners in the Arizona Nutrition Assistance Outreach Program.
●Social Security Administration (SSA) (For information on joint applications with SSA, see NA Joint Applications with SSA.)
●Volunteer Agency(g) and the Welcome Corp (WC) sponsorship program for qualified noncitizens with any of the following immigration categories:
Afghani Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) holder (includes Afghan Humanitarian Parolee)
Amerasian
Asylee
Cuban or Haitian entrant (CHE)
Refugee
Ukrainian refugees
Unaccompanied Refugee minor (URM)
Victim of severe trafficking
For more information about Voluntary Agencies (VOLAGs) or WC, see Refugee Resettlement Program (RRP).)
Interview and processing time frames are the same as applications accepted by FAA, except for any of the following referred applications:
●Applications for Disaster Nutrition Assistance Program. For more information, see NA Disaster Relief Program.
●Applications referred by the Department of Child Safety (DCS). For more information on applications referred to FAA by DCS, see DCS Fast Pass.
For other application timeframes, see Time Frames and When Must an Interview Be Completed under Interview Requirements.
NOTE Applications referred for CA may include participants who are required to cooperate with the Department of Child Support Services (DCSS). For more information, see Cooperation with Child Support Services.
Confidential information relating to the eligibility for public assistance programs can be released without the PI’s permission to specified agencies. For a list of agencies, see Confidential Case Information – No Permission Needed.
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NA Referred Applications
Applications for participants who may be potentially eligible for NA may be referred to FAA by authorized public or private agencies.
NA Referred Applications include and are not limited to all of the following:
●NA Joint Applications
●Disaster Relief Referred Applications
●Nutrition Assistance Outreach Program Referred Applications
Applications for NA may be referred to FAA using the Health‑e‑Arizona Plus online application.
NA Joint Applications with SSA
A participant who applies or reapplies for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits with the Social Security Administration (SSA) may also apply for NA during the SSA interview. Joint applications are accepted by SSA and referred to FAA for an eligibility determination. SSA staff accepts the application and helps complete the application when a participant requests NA at the same time they apply for SSI.
A joint application (NA and SSI) can only be made with SSA when all participants in a case are applying for or are receiving SSI benefits, unless the applicant is applying from an institution. Participants living in an institution may apply for both NA and SSI when not all participants are applying for or receiving SSI benefits.
NOTE A participant may appear to be eligible for expedited NA benefits. SSA informs them that they may receive their NA earlier when they apply at FAA.
SSA staff conducts the interview and sends the NA application, and all original verification provided by the participant, to FAA. The application is sent within one workday(g) after the NA application is completed.
FAA completes the eligibility determination on NA joint applications taken at SSA.
NOTE Eligibility determination on NA joint applications for participants age 65 years or older are processed by the Arizona Simplified Nutrition Assistance Program (AZSNAP) unit. For more information, see AZSNAP.
CA Referred Applications
Applications for CA may be referred to FAA by authorized public or licensed private agencies using the Health-e-Arizona Plus online application or the FAA-0001A paper application.
The referring agency specialist assists the applicant in completing the FAA application.
Kinship Foster Care (KF) applications are given special considerations in all of the following:
●Application process
●Verification process
●NA and CA eligibility requirements
A KF application may be emailed from DCS or a DCS licensed agency, a Tribal Court, or a Tribal Child Welfare Agency in Arizona, or turned in to FAA by the caretaker relative.
NOTE Not all children placed by DCS are in the legal custody of the State of Arizona. In emergencies, DCS may step in and find placement with a relative or non-related adult for a child who is not in DCS custody. This is done to keep the child from becoming a ward of the state. For treatment of these applications, see Kinship Care (KS) Child Only.
CA Applications Referred by DCS
The Department of Child Safety (DCS), a DCS licensed agency, a Tribal Court, or a Tribal Child Welfare Agency in Arizona may refer any of the following applications:
●Kinship Foster Care (KF) Application
●Kinship Foster Care (KF) - Child Only Application
●Legal Permanent Guardian (LPG)
The DCS Guardianship Subsidy Program provides a subsidy payment for children who are placed in the care of an LPG. The subsidy payment is considered as income of the child. All of the following apply:
●For CA, guardian subsidy payments are not countable as income.
●For NA, guardian subsidy payments are not countable as income when the child is not included in the NA budgetary unit.
Kinship Foster Care CA Referrals
Kinship Foster Care (KF) is the legal name of the foster care specified relative placement program administered by the Department of Child Safety (DCS). The KF program encourages the placement of children with caretaker relatives who meet all state child protection standards. For more information on the referral process, see DCS Fast Pass.
NOTE When a child under the jurisdiction of one of the following is placed with an unrelated adult, the unrelated adult becomes the child's caretaker relative:
●DCS
●Tribal Court in Arizona
●Tribal Welfare agency in Arizona
DCS staff or a DCS licensed agency is required to inform KF families of the other services for which they may be potentially eligible.
A KF child only case is a CA case in which the eligible dependent child is in the legal custody of DCS, a Tribal Court, or a Tribal Child Welfare Agency in Arizona. The child is placed in foster care with an unrelated adult or a nonparent relative, who is not requesting CA for themself. State Benefit Limit (STBL) and needy family criteria does not apply to a KF child only case.
When the KF child is placed in a home of a related or unrelated adult, the caretaker (specified) relative requirement is met. It is not required that the adult be a blood relative. This also applies to Legal Permanent Guardians.
NOTE When a child who is not in the custody of DCS, a Tribal court, or a Tribal child welfare agency is placed with a relative in unlicensed foster care, the child only case is considered a Kinship Care case. For more information on unlicensed foster care relative placements, see Kinship Care (KS) Child Only.
When the dependent child's parent or siblings are also living in the home, they are not considered part of the budgetary unit.
When the nonparent caretaker relative(g) does not have eligible minor children and chooses to be included in the child only CA case, the case is no longer a child only case. The case is processed in accordance with regular CA time frames and requirements, including the Personal Responsibility Agreement (PRA) eligibility requirements.
Verification
Program specific factors that affect the eligibility or benefit level of the budgetary unit are required to be verified before an eligibility determination can be completed.
An official FAA application with the KF/KS/LP stamp received from DCS, Tribal Court, or a Tribal Child Welfare Agency can be used as proof of relationship in a Foster Care Child Only case.
A court order or minute entry can be used as proof of relationship.
Legal Authorities
7 CFR 273.2(k)(1)
AAC R6-12-102
AAC R6-12-203
AAC R6-12-306(A)(4)
AAC R6-12-309 - 310
A.R.S. § 35-148
TANF State Plan
PL 21-04 U.S.
last revised 04/15/2024