Assistance Units (AU)

Created on: 
Nov 07 2019

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See ACES Screens and Online Pages for an example of pages or screens used in this chapter.

What is an Assistance Unit (AU)?

An AU is a person or group of people who apply for or receive assistance together for a particular program. A household receiving TANF, Basic Food and medical will have three AUs, one for each program.

Who is the Head of Household (HOH) in an Assistance Unit (AU)?

The HOH is the first person entered during the screening process. Each household member entered after the head of household has a relationship code assigned to them based on their relationship to the HOH. A household with multiple AUs may have a different HOH for each AU or they may be the same person.

For more information, see the Head of Household (HOH) chapter.

What is a relationship code?

The relationship code indicates how each household member in an Assistance Unit (AU) is related to the Head of Household and is listed next to the client name. 

Who must be included in an Assistance Unit (AU)?

For cash assistance programs – see EAZ Manual – WAC 388-408-0005 What is a Cash Assistance Unit? and WAC 388-408-0060 Who is in my assistance unit for Aged, Blind, or Disabled cash assistance?

For Basic Food – see EAZ Manual – WAC 388-408-0034 What is an assistance unit for Basic Food? and WAC 388-408-0035 Who is in my assistance unit for Basic Food?

For medical – see Apple Health eligibility manual WAC 182-506-0010 Medical assistance units (MAU) for MAGI-based Washington Apple Health programs.

When can a household member be excluded from an Assistance Unit (AU)?

See EAZ Manual – WAC 388-408-0025 When can I choose who is in my TANF or SFA assistance unit? and WAC 388-408-0035 Who is in my assistance unit for Basic Food?

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How do I code an Assistance Unit (AU) that includes a Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipient?

On a new application, code the applicants and the SSI recipient as Applicant (PN).

See EAZ Manual – WAC 388-408-0020 When am I not allowed to be in a TANF or SFA assistance unit?

When the only child on a TANF AU is the SSI recipient, code the SSI approval information on the Client Details page in the Disability section. At finalize, Aces 3G  will change the child’s financial responsibility code to Child-SSI/Of SSI-related Parent/Used for HH Size (SC) and approve the adult.

For more information, see Financial Responsibility Codes.

How do I code an Assistance Unit (AU) when a minor parent is living with his/her parents?

See Income Eligibility and Budgeting - How is income allocated when a minor parent is living with a parent?

How do I code an Assistance Unit (AU) with a three-parent household?

When a household contains two parents, their common children, an (ex) spouse and his/her separate children, code the AU as follows:

AU consists of:

  • Woman 1 has one child from a former relationship
  • Man has two children with Woman 1
  • Woman 2 has two children with Man (man’s ex-wife)

Name

Relationship

Finl Resp Code

Man

SE

PN

Woman 1

OP*

PN

Woman 2

OP*

PN

Woman 1 - Separate Child

CH

PN

Man & Woman 1 - First Child

CH

PN

Man & Woman 1 - Second Child

CH

PN

Man & Woman 2 - First Child

CH

PN

Man & Woman 2 - Second Child

CH

PN

*In this situation, the half sibling relationship links all of the children so the AU must include all the children plus the three adults.

AUs are displayed in ACES.online when a client ID is entered. Case actions can be performed at the client level or at the AU level if a particular AU is chosen.

The AUs are displayed on the navigation tree in Aces 3G. If a particular AU is chosen, the members of that AU are listed with their relationship codes in that AU.

 

See ACES Screens and Online Pages for an example of pages or screens used in this chapter.