State assistance questions for those in the know...

[EmilyVorpe]

We just got booted off the cash assistance program for our state because we get WAY over the income limits.... a whopping $1200 a month in unemployment for a family of 6... We were told we would have half the income counted so that we could stay on the program and secure childcare to be able to work...but...before we could even get the childcare started, its gone because of the income isn't earned. So that leaves 1 parent without the ability to work or go to school and that leaves us with NO money for anything other than rent and foodstamps... no diapers, no electric, no gas money to get a job. The idea of the state's job program is to help you while you find employment but apparently, the $1200 makes us too rich.

My separate problem right now would be the medical insurance. Once you are accepted onto the cash and medical program, you are supposed to have it automatically for 1 year. We had it for 1 month and because of us being on the cash program and then they have cut it. Again, our $1200 a month is way too much for them to help us. My husband just started on antidepressants and I am 4 months pregnant. They are telling us we have a deductable to meet before they will help us... the way they explained to my husband was that we had to pay out of pocked $459 each adult per month before they would help us. With my pregnancy, thats 1/3 of our income every single month going to that! And they said if we dont meet the deductable, it gets canceled??? I just dont understand all of this.

How can they expect us to pay that much out of pocket??? We are SO far under the poverty level it isnt even funny!

[Jyotsna]

I can't answer your questions, and I have questions of my own.  If anyone knows, what is the highest amount of food stamps one can get (family of four).  Normally I have about 10 days that are not covered by f/s, but now it's turning into the $400 monthly is not not enough to cover even a half a month.  I have a very hungry teen, who is eating so much I'm not getting to eat that much.

[VisionaryMom]

Have you read this document?

http://www.dhhs.nh.gov/dfa/documents/guide.pdf

According to what's written, they have a special program for pregnant women that covers pregnancy and 60 days post-partum.

Also, this has a lot of expenses that you can verify that will count against your income, which may help you.

http://www.dhhs.nh.gov/dfa/documents/verification.pdf

Then there's this one: 

http://www.dhhs.nh.gov/dfa/documents/incomelimits.pdf

It looks like NH has an incredibly low ceiling for support, but you still should qualify for the Medicaid & Healthy Kids Program (basically ages 1-9 and pg women). The income for the "no premium" plan is  $4,553/month for a family of 6. They also have a premium-paying program, so maybe there was just a mistake there. Perhaps it's because you're trying to include your husband.

Mental health providers are really savvy at helping their patients because so many people who need psych meds are unable to hold a full-time job. Your husband needs to talk to the person he's seeing and explain the situation. It looks like you and your kids can get insurance for free, but he may have to do without for a while.

Have you tried for heat assistance from your utility company? I know that in our state, the companies themselves provide most of the support for low-income families. Also, check for a crisis hotline or homeless shelter in your area; they should know of some resources that you may be able to tap into.

Have you all considered moving? Obviously you don't have the money to make a full move, but it seems NH had to cut social services drastically a few years ago. Could your husband look for jobs in another location with the idea that the family would move to be with him as soon as possible?

I suppose in the end, not that you want to hear this, but he wasn't making enough money to support 4 (going on 5) kids. At 100%, he'd still only make $2,000 a month. Can he look into learning a trade? Can you work? His unemployment is not affected if you work, yes? That seems like it would make the most sense short-term. You find a job. He stays with the kids. When he finds something, then you can quit. 

[EmilyVorpe]

My husband tried explaining them about me being pregnant and thinking there was a mistake. They said there was no mistake. But, Im going to reapply through the health kids program instead of the state's. It used to be no big deal to apply through the state, but .... I guess there are just too many people needing help to deal with them all now.

Thankfully, we do receive heat assistance. Its a good amount of money put towards our heat.

We JUST moved the day before my husband was let go. There is no way to move again. Not only do we have a lease, but we have bad credit, an eviction from 5 years ago that prevents us from renting at most apartments here (because they screen), and no employment.

There is no way for me to work. I am 4 months pregnant with a highrisk pregnancy on light to medium bedrest. I will be okay to take care of the kids on my own, but thats about it. Besides, there arent really jobs here. We had been looking as part of the cash assistance program and applied to over 40 jobs in 2 weeks and didnt even get a call back to one of them. Hubby has a few trades but there isn't really anything out there right now.  He was hired to do a job that will pay enough to support us but its a job that cant be done during snow days, many of which nh has been slammed with recently. He is just waiting on a monday to not be snowy and below zero and they will be calling him to come start.

Relocating is also not an option. With 4 kids and our family lives here. NH isnt big enough to move around and change our luck, so relocating would be relocating away from our only support network. No way to leave NH, even if we had the funds to leave.

And hubby WAS making enough to support us. He made almost 30,000 per year for the last 4 years. We are thrifty and have done without and made things work without the big extras. We have done just fine until this point. The economy killed most jobs here. He has done manual labor and odd jobs, but without an education and serious background, there isn't ANYTHING here. And fast food jobs only pay minimum wage here.

Originally Posted by VisionaryMom 

Have you read this document?

http://www.dhhs.nh.gov/dfa/documents/guide.pdf

According to what's written, they have a special program for pregnant women that covers pregnancy and 60 days post-partum.

Also, this has a lot of expenses that you can verify that will count against your income, which may help you.

http://www.dhhs.nh.gov/dfa/documents/verification.pdf

Then there's this one: 

http://www.dhhs.nh.gov/dfa/documents/incomelimits.pdf

It looks like NH has an incredibly low ceiling for support, but you still should qualify for the Medicaid & Healthy Kids Program (basically ages 1-9 and pg women). The income for the "no premium" plan is  $4,553/month for a family of 6. They also have a premium-paying program, so maybe there was just a mistake there. Perhaps it's because you're trying to include your husband.

Mental health providers are really savvy at helping their patients because so many people who need psych meds are unable to hold a full-time job. Your husband needs to talk to the person he's seeing and explain the situation. It looks like you and your kids can get insurance for free, but he may have to do without for a while.

Have you tried for heat assistance from your utility company? I know that in our state, the companies themselves provide most of the support for low-income families. Also, check for a crisis hotline or homeless shelter in your area; they should know of some resources that you may be able to tap into.

Have you all considered moving? Obviously you don't have the money to make a full move, but it seems NH had to cut social services drastically a few years ago. Could your husband look for jobs in another location with the idea that the family would move to be with him as soon as possible?

I suppose in the end, not that you want to hear this, but he wasn't making enough money to support 4 (going on 5) kids. At 100%, he'd still only make $2,000 a month. Can he look into learning a trade? Can you work? His unemployment is not affected if you work, yes? That seems like it would make the most sense short-term. You find a job. He stays with the kids. When he finds something, then you can quit. 

[EmilyVorpe]

im not sure... I know it changes with income and family size.... I think this is the link to the calculator for nH

http://www.snap-step1.usda.gov/fns/

It takes about 10 minutes or less to fill it out and it will tell you approx. how much food stamps you can qualify for. When your income changes by more than $10, Id send the verification in and maybe get more fs.

Originally Posted by Jyotsna 

I can't answer your questions, and I have questions of my own.  If anyone knows, what is the highest amount of food stamps one can get (family of four).  Normally I have about 10 days that are not covered by f/s, but now it's turning into the $400 monthly is not not enough to cover even a half a month.  I have a very hungry teen, who is eating so much I'm not getting to eat that much.

[VisionaryMom]

If you still haven't gotten an answer re: insurance, I would do 2 things. First call the office where you go to the doctor/midwife. Ask for someone in billing and explain the situation. They're likely to know of indigent services or can point you somewhere. Even mid-sized hospitals often have social services nurses whose entire job is helping low-income people get coverage. Second, take in the chart from the NH Dept of Health & Human Services and ask them why they're saying you don't qualify when according to their documentation, you should. There may be a legitimate reason, but you need to know what that is so that you'll know if there's anything you can do.

I don't know what to say about you working. I've known a number of women (myself included) who worked through high-risk pregnancies, some of them on directed bed rest. They did it a variety of ways - flex scheduling, working from home, part-time. Without knowing what your skill set is, I can't offer anything concrete.

I know I'm coming from a different place, but really $30K isn't much to raise 5 kids. Is it possible? Sure, it's possible. Clearly, though you guys are 3-4 weeks from your husband losing his job, and you're destitute. I think it's only reasonable to consider looking at other solutions besides staying where you are and trying to get work in the same industry. You say that you have family there. Are they paying your bills? Are they going to let you move in if you lose your apartment? Will they keep your children while you deliver the current baby? I live nowhere near my family, and while there are times that I'd like to have them close, it's doable not to be with them. More than that, we couldn't survive where I grew up because there are no jobs there - ever. It's just a small town without any real economy. Staying somewhere like that just because family lives by when your children are going without doesn't make sense to me. At the very least, your husband could go elsewhere to work for a while. Families have to make those sacrifices all the time, and since the cut-off for cash assistance in NH is only $859 a month for a family your size, I think it's probably your best bet at this point.

[GirlBoyGirl]

I'm not sure why you wouldn't get medicaid, that seems crazy to me. Also, you should be able to get WIC. As a pregnant women, they would give you checks for food.