|
Financial Assistance - Division of Financial, Health and Work Supports
Family Investment Program (FIP)
Financial Assistance - Division of Financial, Health and Work Supports
The Family Investment Program (FIP) is Iowa's Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program. FIP provides cash assistance to needy families, as they become self-supporting so children may be cared for in their own homes or in the homes of relatives. Click here to view the Family Investment Program (FIP) Pamphlet.
Diversion (FIP Diversion and Family Self-Sufficiency Grants)
These programs provide immediate, short-term assistance to enable families to become or remain self-sufficient by removing barriers to accepting or retaining employment. They include FIP Diversion and Family Self-Sufficiency Grants. These programs are designed to divert families only from cash assistance under FIP; they are not designed to divert families from other types of benefits such as Medicaid and food stamps.
Individual Development Accounts (IDA) Program
Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) are savings accounts matched by public and private funds that encourage low-income families to own and accumulate assets for long-term goals and become economically self-sufficient. IDAs are restricted to high-return investments such as college education, job?training for higher-skill/higher-wage jobs, starting a business, or buying a first home. IDAs recognize that people escape poverty and achieve wealth by saving and acquiring assets, not by spending and consuming.
Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA) program
Refugee Cash Assistance provides cash assistance for up to eight months to needy families, including single adults, who enter the United States as refugees who are not eligible for the Family Investment Program. Unless determined exempt, refugees must cooperate with work and training requirements of the RCA programs.
Who Can Get Help?
To get help from most of our programs, you must:
- Be a U.S. citizen or legal qualified alien.
- Live in Iowa.
- Provide a social security number or proof of application for a number.
- Meet income and resource limits (these vary from program to program).
- Provide all information needed to determine eligibility and benefit level.
Exceptions:
- The Family Investment Program requires that you have a minor child (under age 18 or 19 and still in high school) in the home.
How do I apply?
To get most of our services, you must fill out an application form. If you have access to a printer, you can print an application from this website (see links below). Complete the application by hand then return it to the DHS office serving the county where you live.
You can also get an application form from any county Department of Human Services (DHS) office. Click on County DHS Office Locations to find the location of the county DHS office nearest you.
Links to Program Applications
What if I Have Questions?
Any county DHS office can answer questions about the programs and services described here. Contact the county DHS office serving the county where you live (County DHS Office Locations).
The county DHS office serving your county is also listed in the State or County Government section of your local phone book, under "Department of Human Services" or just "Human Services".
You may also contact the Department's Field Office Support Unit by calling (515) 281-6899 or 1-800- 972-2017.
Related Links
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
A brief summary of a report by Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. that describes how Iowa families who left FIP in the spring of 1999 were doing two years later, with a link to the full report on Mathematica's website.
|
