Revised 01/01/2024
The Supports-Overview section includes:
A person receiving WorkFirst/SFA gets cash assistance to help meet the basic needs of the family. WorkFirst offers a variety of supports to help families become and remain employed.
As wages increase, these supports gradually drop away, until the family can sustain themselves without any further help. This brings independence and a better life.
It is very important that we explain to everyone that the supports listed below do not carry time limits and do not affect the family's WorkFirst cash assistance time limit. We also want to make sure people understand what supports are available, so they can start planning for their future independence.
WorkFirst support services and the Working Connections Child Care (WCCC) program are described in the following sections of the chapter. Other supports available to low-income families include:
There are some critical stages parents go through as they move from welfare to self-sufficiency. As shown on the chart below, the types of necessary supports may change as they make this transition, and should be reviewed regularly.
| Stage | Likely necessary supports |
|---|---|
| Before Cash Assistance approval | Look at what support services and child care the family may need to attend the WorkFirst Orientation |
| WorkFirst Cash Assistance approval |
The family will have a cash grant, and likely food assistance and Washington Apple Health. Child support will be pursued. Look at what support services and child care the family needs to look for work, prepare for work. |
| Gets a Job | Support service needs will likely change. Review with the participant:
|
| Exits WorkFirst Cash Assistance | Family can continue to get food assistance, with no impact on their WorkFirst cash assistance time limit. Review with the parent how they might qualify for:
|
| First year off WorkFirst Cash Assistance | We continue to help families, using the supports listed above, during their first year off WorkFirst cash assistance (like help with financial emergencies |
There are some common themes you will see whenever we talk about supports for WorkFirst parents.
Support is available to help parents become and stay employed, for example health care coverage and child care that parents can access and afford. These supports can help lift low-income working families out of poverty and reduce their chance of going back on welfare.
Parents have the primary responsibility for supporting their children. Parents and the state share responsibility for helping families leave welfare. Parents are responsible for moving quickly into jobs. The state is responsible for helping parents find and keep a job, and for collecting child support.
WorkFirst gets involved with people's lives in ways that the old welfare system never could. Whether it is getting quality child care, child support, stable housing, reliable transportation, new clothes, a new hairdo or glasses. All these things are offered to help people become more employable, but they also improve people's lives in general. Increased self-esteem. Better role models. Healthier kids.
The types of support needed change as a person gets a job, then transitions off assistance. Continued supports once off WorkFirst cash assistance, like health care coverage, food assistance or wage progression services, can make all the difference in a family staying independent.
Remind parents on a regular basis what supports are available and what supports they can receive after they leave WorkFirst cash assistance (without affecting their time limit for WorkFirst cash assistance benefit receipt).
If receiving a low WorkFirst grant, parents might choose to "bank" months of WorkFirst for times of greater need.
Providing the appropriate supports, while encouraging employment, can help us increase WorkFirst exits, reduce WorkFirst returns, and keep caseloads down.
Revised June 30, 2025
Legal References:
The Support Services section includes:
Support services are goods and services purchased to help participants to engage in their WorkFirst activities, to attend WorkFirst Orientation, or meet their needs during emergency situations. We offer support services when there is no other way to meet a family's essential needs. This may require using non-traditional or alternative means to meet the family’s goals or needs. For example, a participant starting work may need alternative transportation to work if their work schedule starts before the morning bus line, making the purchase of a bicycle and helmet appropriate to approve.
We offer the temporary and targeted supports a participant needs to work, look for work, prepare for work, or to participate in their WorkFirst activities. Support services are available, as needed, throughout a participant's time on WorkFirst cash assistance.
Support services are available to:
See Social Services Manual (Pregnant and Participating Minors) for more information.
CSD WorkFirst staff, ESD Career Coaches, Community Colleges, and Community Jobs (CJ) contractors can authorize support services.
Some WorkFirst participants may not be best served by support services but need assistance to continue to live independently, Case Managers should consider Ongoing Additional Requirements for these families. See the Social Service Manual (OAR) for more information.
The purpose of WorkFirst support services is to offer a resource for participants who are engaged in activities. Support services should be provided based on the immediate needs of the participant. As shown on the chart below, the types of services you can authorize also vary depending on the person's WorkFirst status.
|
Authorizing Support Services |
|
|---|---|
|
WorkFirst Applicants |
Supports that enable the participant who may be in pending eligibility status but appear to be eligible for WorkFirst to:
|
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WorkFirst Recipients |
Support the participant needs to help them:
Examples include meeting the initial costs of employment, transportation, barrier removal, or skills training |
|
Post-TANF Employment Transportation Support Services (PETSS) |
Transportation-related supports the participant needs to help maintain employment of at least 15 hours/week (available for up to 3 months after TANF benefits close). |
There is a $5,000 yearly limit for each WorkFirst participant in the family. Some services don't count towards the yearly limit, such as childcare and accommodations. The eJAS system is designed to not allow support service payments to exceed this limit.
The Support Services Directory lists "suggested limit" for specific types of supports as guidance for starting a discussion with a participant. All support service issuances should be based on the individual needs of the participant.
When necessary, WorkFirst staff can request an exception to rule (ETR) to exceed the support service annual limit or when a need is outside of written policy. This is a formal exception request process where headquarter staff determine whether the support should be authorized. These exceptions may be approved when the participant's situation differs from the majority and has a significant impairment or limitation that isn’t addressed by current limits.
To request an ETR, WorkFirst staff must complete the Barcode ETR request process. For complete instructions on processing an ETR, see EA-Z Manual Section – Exception to Rule.
PETSS provides transportation-related support services for participants who are exiting TANF/SFA and have verified unsubsidized employment of 15+ hours per week. This benefit is available for up to three months after their TANF benefits close. The purpose is to help mitigate the cliff effect that often happens for families when they start new employment and are over-income for TANF/SFA. Households that closed for Non-Compliance Sanction are not eligible for PETSS.
Some items can never be purchased with support services. They include:
Support services can be a teaching tool for WorkFirst staff to help participants understand what they need to transition off WorkFirst. The following questions can be leveraged by WorkFirst staff to support participants with budgeting and planning skills, when using support services:
WorkFirst staff should consider the participant's resources with what the program can provide when engaging in this conversation. For example, if a participant has a car repair need that costs $700, so they can keep their job, the participant and the worker may find out from the vendor how much of the cost could be paid in installments if the program paid for a large portion of the repair up front.
In the same way, WorkFirst can supplement the participant's clothing, hygiene items, transportation costs and so on, but shouldn’t be the only source to cover the costs. WorkFirst is there to help when the participant has needs, and should encourage the participant to become increasingly self-reliant with a goal of economic stability.
Services provided after the participant is working should be transitional in nature, to assist the participants when they need it. Again, the goal is to provide temporary help that meets their need, adds to their coping skills, and fosters the participant's growing sense of independence.
It is important to talk to the participant about the purposes of support services when they have a request. The intent of support services is to meet temporary, targeted needs and get participants started towards independence.
As WorkFirst staff talk to participants about support services, the following case elements are to be reviewed before approving these supports:
Support services are not intended to be an ongoing solution. Assisting participants in exploring ways to meet their ongoing needs and identifying other resources is fundamental to every support services conversation. It may be appropriate to deny requests, authorize less than originally requested, or find another way to meet the need or part of the need. That said, when evaluating whether the participant can utilize alternative resources to meet their needs, WorkFirst staff are not to delay authorizing necessary support services while all available resources are explored.
Requests for support services may be denied when they aren't needed to meet an appropriate purpose, the request exceeds the annual limit, or the participant can meet the need in another way. When requests are denied, WorkFirst staff:
WorkFirst staff and Partners who issue supports:
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What resources are currently available or quickly obtained? |
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How much needs to reserve to cover on-going needs? |
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What lower cost alternatives are available, if any? |
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How do they plan to take over ongoing costs in the future? |
This may be subjective, and each case must be reviewed individually to determine if their plan is reasonable with clear documentation to indicate the plan. |
Revised October 1, 2021
Legal References:
The Working Connections Child Care section includes:
Working Connections Child Care, or WCCC, is the child care subsidy program that helps families with children pay for child care to find jobs, keep their jobs, and get better jobs. The WCCC program is administered by the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF).
A family can get WCCC as long as they meet all of the program's eligibility requirements within 14 days of application (receipt of WCCC doesn't count toward the WorkFirst cash assistance five year time limit). The two main categories of WCCC-eligible families are:
A WorkFirst Program Specialist or Social Service Specialist can give families who have questions and need WCCC coverage a copy of the flyer called General Information for WorkFirst Participants Needing Child Care Subsidy Assistance. For example, you may want to use the flyer when you complete or update the participants Individual Responsibility Plan (IRP). The flyer gives basic information about how to apply for childcare.
Tribal families are unique because they may participate in either a DSHS WorkFirst or a Tribal WorkFirst program and may require child care in order to participate.
Tribal families have the benefit of "dual eligibility" for child care. This allows families to receive child care coverage from either the WCCC program or through their tribal organization. The WCCC program doesn't require the Tribal family be denied child care by the tribe before applying for WCCC. If a tribal family finds they aren't eligible through the WCCC program, they can still apply through the tribe.
Tribal families may receive their WorkFirst cash assistance from a Tribal TANF Program or from DSHS TANF program (Please see Worker Responsibilities - WAC 388-400-0005 for budgeting Tribal TANF). The Tribal program needs to contact WCCC to verify participation within 14 days of application. Tribal families who receive only food and/or medical benefits can be considered a Non-WorkFirst cash assistance recipient for WCCC purposes.
WCCC can subsidize child care needed during the hours a participant is working, in an approved training plan or engaged in other types of approved WorkFirst activities, or waiting to enter an approved activity such as completing WorkFirst Orientation as a requirement of WorkFirst cash eligibility.
A WorkFirst participant can be authorized for WCCC when they apply for TANF and/or begin participating in an approved WorkFirst activity as outlined in their Individual Responsibility Plan (IRP). Child care is terminated if the participant isn't placed in an approved WorkFirst activity within 14 days of application.
WCCC consumers can choose to use licensed/certified family child care homes and child care centers. Consumers may also use what we call "in-home/relative" providers. An in-home/relative provider must be:
It is very important to ensure that WorkFirst participants have safe and affordable child care (for their children under 13 years old) while they participate in work or other IRP activities. If a participant does not have adequate child care, we refer them to the WCCC worker for help.
We never require WorkFirst participants to engage in WorkFirst activities until they locate child care (for their children under 13 years) that is:
Participants who have children (0-18 years old) with special needs may have additional difficulties finding safe and affordable care. WCCC offers these families additional resources in the form of:
Participants applying to use an in-home/relative care provider may need to wait to receive required background check results. The WCCC program starts authorization for payment for child care based on the date the provider is approved. The WCCC program doesn't pay for in-home/relative child care provided before the provider is approved. This policy is designed to protect the health and safety of children.
When establishing participation requirements for participant who are waiting for in-home child care approval, DSHS staff has the following options:
Refer the participant to your local Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) agency to get help finding licensed child care. The CCR&R can be reached at 1 (800)-446-1114.
Document the circumstances in the participant's case notes if they won't be required to seek child care while an in-home/relative care request is pending. Refer to Participation While Resolving Issues section for the procedures to monitor the case while no child care is available.
A participant's monthly contribution toward the cost of child care is called a copayment. The copayment is based on family size and countable income in relation to 60% of the state median income (SMI) guidelines.
There are five copayment "levels" based on the family's countable income:
| If household income is: | Then the household's maximum monthly copayment is: |
|---|---|
| 0 to 20% SMI | No copay |
| More than 20% to 36% SMI | $65 Copay |
| More that 36% to 50% SMI | $90 Copay |
| More than 50% to 60% SMI | $165 Copay. Families over 60% SMI at application are not eligible. |
| More than 60% to 65% SMI | $215 Copay. Second tier eligibility is for families reapplying and under 65% SMI. |
For additional information about copayments, refer to the Child Care Subsidy Programs Manual.
The applicant or participant needs to provide information when applying for WCCC as follows:
Note: There may be cases where the participant has already applied for WCCC at application. WCCC is approved initially for the applicant to complete all TANF eligibility requirements and must be in an approved WorkFirst activity within 14 days of application to continue receiving WCCC without breaking the continuity of care.
The WCCC authorizing worker:
Note: More detailed information about the WCCC Program can be found in the resource section below.