2006 New Mexico Statutes - Section 27-2D-5 — Financial standard of need.

27-2D-5. Financial standard of need.

A.     The secretary shall adopt a financial standard of need based upon the availability of state funds.   

B.     The following income sources are exempt from the gross income test, the net income test and the cash payment calculation:   

(1)     medicaid;   

(2)     food stamps;   

(3)     government-subsidized foster care payments if the child for whom the payment is received is also excluded from the benefit group;   

(4)     supplemental security income;   

(5)     government-subsidized housing or housing payments;   

(6)     federally excluded income;   

(7)     educational payments made directly to an educational institution;   

(8)     government-subsidized child care;   

(9)     earned income that belongs to a person seventeen years of age or younger who is not the head of household;   

(10)     fifty dollars ($50.00) of collected child support passed through to the recipient by the child support enforcement division of the department; and   

(11)     other income sources as determined by the department.   

C.     The total countable gross earned and unearned income of the benefit group shall not exceed eighty-five percent of the federal poverty guidelines for the size of the benefit group.   

D.     For a benefit group to be eligible to participate:   

(1)     earned and unearned income that belongs to the benefit group shall not exceed eighty-five percent of the federal poverty guidelines for the size of the benefit group; and   

(2)     earned and unearned income that belongs to the benefit group shall not equal or exceed the financial standard of need after applying the disregards set out in Paragraphs (1) through (4) of Subsection E of this section.   

E.     Subject to the availability of state funds, the department shall determine the cash payment of the benefit group by applying the following disregards to the benefit group's earned income and then subtracting that amount from the benefit group's financial standard of need:   

(1)     for the first two years of receiving cash assistance or services, if a recipient works over the work requirement rate set by the department pursuant to the Education Works Act [ 27-2D-1 to 27-2D-9 NMSA 1978], one hundred percent of the income earned by the recipient beyond that rate;   

(2)     for the first two years of receiving cash assistance or services, for a two-parent benefit group, one hundred percent of income earned by each recipient beyond the work requirement rate set by the department;   

(3)     one hundred twenty-five dollars ($125) of monthly earned income and one-half of the remainder, or for a two-parent family, two hundred twenty-five dollars ($225) of monthly earned income and one-half of the remainder for each parent;   

(4)     monthly payments made for child care at a maximum of two hundred dollars ($200) for a child under two years of age and a maximum of one hundred seventy-five dollars ($175) for a child two years of age or older;   

(5)     costs of self-employment income; and   

(6)     business expenses.   

F.     The department may recover overpayments of cash assistance on a monthly basis not to exceed fifteen percent of the financial standard of need applicable to the benefit group.