Q & A: General Data Questions

General Data Questions

Q1: Does a State that pays new applicants back to date of application need to include the case in its data collection (and in the participation rates) retroactively for months prior to the month the State issue the initial assistance?

A1: No. In forming the frame for data collection, we require that States include all families that receive assistance for the month through the end of the month. We do this because States have only 45 days after the close of the quarter to report the data. Assume a family applies for assistance on March 25th and is approved. The State issues the family's check on April 25^th to cover assistance for March and April. In this case, the State must include the family on the April report because it received assistance for April before the end of April. However, the State would not be required to include it on the March report.

Q2: During the course of the review, if the State finds a case that is obviously ineligible (e.g., no child or pregnancy) but received TANF assistance for the report month, should the State complete the review or drop this case?

A2: The State must complete the data collection and reporting for all families that received assistance.