Benefit and Assistance Programs
Dateline: 12/12/97
Old Joke: What are the two biggest lies ever told?
1. The check's in the mail.
2. I'm from the government, and I'm here to help.
Well, the checks probably not in the mail, but the U.S. Government really is here to help. At some point in our lives, almost all Americans are eligible for some type of federal benefit or assistance. From low-income, single-parent families utilizing food stamps, to billion-dollar corporations receiving tax breaks for hiring welfare recipients, government assistance programs are there to help when we need it.
This feature is designed to introduce you to government benefit programs and to provide you with timely links to pertinent online information from the funding agencies involved.
Index to Featured Benefit Programs
Administration for Children and Families
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
Employment and Training Administration
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Food and Nutrition Services
Health Care Financing Administration
Social Security Administration
Veteran's Administration
Administration for Children and Families
(ACF)
The ACF operates within the
Department of Health
and Human Services. ACF programs are designed to benefit families, children,
and individuals by helping them achieve economic independence.
Major assistance programs of ACF include:
Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
Temporary Assistance
for Needy Families - Tribal Guidance
TANF replaced the old Aid for Dependent Children (AFDC), and JOBS
programs under the 1996, "Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
Reconciliation Act." This bipartisan law represents a major shift in America's
welfare system by requiring work in return for assistance. States, territories
and tribes have the option to run their own TANF programs. The overall TANF
program is funded by a federal block grant at the rate of $16.5 billion per
year through 2002.
Work Not
Welfare: Welfare to Work Challenge
This is a $3 billion dollar fund included in the balanced budget signed
by President Clinton in August, 1997. It is intended to assist local communities
remove individuals from welfare and move them into long-term, non-subsidised
jobs. Under the program, private employers can receive Welfare to Work Tax
Credits for hiring individuals who have been receiving welfare for extended
periods.
Other Pertinent Links at
ACF:
Administration for Children and Families Home
Page
Summary of ACF
Programs
Department of Health and Human Services Home Page
Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance
Descriptions of all (1,327) federal assistance programs are contained in
this huge, searchable database maintained by the General Services Administration
(GSA) and updated in June and December. In theory, the catalog, "...assists
users in identifying programs that meet specific objectives of the applicant
and obtaining general information on Federal assistance programs." In reality,
the catalog is a useful tool for anyone who already knows how the government
grant application process works. It is NOT (as it is sometimes touted) a
resource for finding "free money from the government."
Before using the CFDA to run searches, please read this Introductory Overview from the Department of Health and Human Services. Pay particular attention to the Types of Assistance and Explanation of Program Descriptions sections.
Then, once you have a better idea of the work involved in actually applying for and getting the money, go look for it!
A Useful Index
to the CFDA
The Department of Health and Human Services provides a nicely structured
index of the CFDA. I think you'll find this service much easier to use than
the GSA's "official" search of the CFDA listed below.
Search the Catalog
of Federal Domestic Assistance
This WAIS search runs on the GSA server. It's very fast and since WAIS searches
the entire text for the keyword, almost anything will produce some hits.
For example, the word "beans" turned up this
crop
insurance program. As you can see, finding the money via the CFDA is
easy. Applying for it and getting it is another story.
Employment and Training Administration
(ETA)
A part of the Department
of Labor, the ETA works to implement provisions of President Clinton's
"Welfare to Work Challenge." The ETA programs differ from similar ones in
the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in that they challenge
Federal agencies themselves to provide jobs to persons currently on welfare.
ETA provides extensive training to potential employees, as well as to Federal
human resource managers.
ETA
Links:
Welfare to Work Program Home
Page
Where to Go For Assistance (Clickable
Map)
Welfare to Work Example
Projects
How Workplace Laws Apply to Welfare Recipients
Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA)
FEMA provides assistance to victims of natural disasters like floods, fires,
earthquakes, storms, and many more. Assistance ranges from cash and low interest
loans for reconstruction to food and shelter necessary to meet the immediate
needs of victims. Here's a feature story I did on FEMA in September, 1997:
FEMA
to The Rescue!
Food and Nutrition Services
Food Stamps, plain and simple. Administered by the
Department of Agriculture,
the modern Food Stamp program began in 1964 and now puts food on the tables
of 9 million families and 22 million individuals every day. It is unquestionably
the most important program of the government's food assistance effort, providing
a total benefit of over $60 million per day.
Food and Nutrition Services
Links:
USDA's Food and Consumer Service Home
Page
Food Stamp Home
Page
Introduction to Food
Stamps
Food Stamp Eligibility and Benefits
Health Care Financing Administration
(HCFA)
HCFA
administers:
Medicare
America's health insurance program for persons 65 or over and for
anyone with permanent kidney failure, or certain other disabilities.
Medicade
Funded jointly by state and Federal government, provides health care
for over 36 million low-income and needy persons.
Social Security Administration
It started in 1935. How long will it last? Nobody knows, but for right now,
Social Security pays out $36 billion a year in four main categories:
Retirement
Benefits
The whole package. Qualifications, how to estimate your monthly benefit,
early and deferred retirement, tax considerations, family member benefits,
and more. Anyone who works should read this information. (Entire booklet
in html format.)
Survivor's
Benefits
Funds paid to eligible surviving members of your immediate family
when you die, if you worked, paid Social Security taxes and earned enough
"credits." Called "Life Insurance" form Social Security, "...the value of
the survivors insurance you have under Social Security is probably more than
the value of your commercial life insurance." -- Social Security Administration.
(Entire booklet in html format.)
Disability
Benefits
Funds paid to you should you become physically unable to work for
at least a year, and meet qualification requirements. You can get disability
benefits at any age, but you should read this booklet to find out exactly
what Social Security means by "disabled." (Entire booklet in html
format.)
Supplemental
Security Income
An additional benefit paid monthly to persons "65 or older, or blind,
or have a disability and don't own much or have a lot of income." -- Social
Security Administration publication. In other words, even children who are
blind or disabled can get SSI. Many people who get SSI also get food stamps
and Medicaid. This booklet defines terms and explains benefits. (Entire booklet
in html format.)
Other Important Social Security
Links:
Social Security Benefits Publications Index
All SSA publications are available via mail or downloadable in PDF
format. This is the index to them.
Social Security Benefit Forms
Indexed and available for download in PDF format.
Social Security Administration
Home Page
Veteran's Administration
Probably best know for home loans and educational benefits, the VA also provides
disability compensation, survivors benefits and VA insurance programs. All
Veteran's benefits are now administered by the
Veterans Benefits
Administration.
VA Home Loan
Program
Quick Guide to VA Home Mortgage Loans
Good overview of the entire qualification and approval
process.
VA Acquired Homes For Sale
Listings by regions of VA Loan Homes and properties for sale.
VA Educational
Benefits
Montgomery Bill - Active
Duty
Montgomery Bill - Selected
Reserves
Veterans Educational Assistance Program
(VEAP)
Dependents Educational Assistance Program
Other VA Benefits Programs and
Resources
Disability
Compensation
Survivors
Benefits
VA
Insurance
VA Benefits Forms
Conclusion
As a permanent feature of U.S. Government Info/Resources, this page will
be updated regularly as new resources become available. Please check back
often.
If you are looking for specific information, or a benefit program not shown, please email me about your needs. Send email to: usgovinfo.guide@miningco.com
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