Are there ways to package transitional benefits for families leaving TANF?
Yes, but there are important differences between Transitional Medical Assistance and transitional food stamp benefits. There are three main types of transitional benefits states provide to families leaving TANF cash assistance programs Transitional Medical Assistance (TMA), transitional food stamp benefits (known as the Transitional Benefit Alternative or TBA), and transitional child care benefits. Both TMA and TBA have federal rules that govern them. States that choose to provide transitional child care benefits have full discretion to set policies and procedures for those programs. There are ways these benefits can be packaged, though there are challenges to alignment as well. • There is overlap between who is eligible for TMA and TBA, but differences as well. Families that become ineligible for family-based Medicaid coverage (under Section 1931 of the Social Security Act) based on an increase in earnings or child support income are eligible for TMA. While many of the families eligib
