Resource List for Families
www.healthandwelfare.idaho.gov - Links to many services, including food stamps, telephone service costs and heating costs.
Financial Assistance:
To meet the needs of families in crisis situations, Health and Welfare provides food, cash, and assistance programs to help them get back on the road to self-reliance, includling:
Food Stamps:
http://www.healthandwelfare.idaho.gov/portal/alias__Rainbow/lang__en-US/tabID__3413/DesktopDefault.aspx
The Food Stamp Program helps people buy the food they need for good health.
The food stamps site has Frequently Asked Questions, printable application (English and Spanish) and a change report form.
Do you need help with your heating costs? Depending on your income and the number of people in your family, you may be eligible to receive assistance with home heating costs for the winter months.
To apply, you must complete an application at your local Community Action Agency. For more information, contact your local Community Action http://www.idahocommunityaction.org
Telephone Service Assistance:
http://www.healthandwelfare.idaho.gov/DesktopModules/ArticlesSortable/ArticlesSrtView.aspx?tabID=0&ItemID=1157&mid=10264&wversion=Staging
Would you like to have telephone service in your home or receive assistance with your monthly telephone service costs? Based on your income, the Telephone Service Assistance program can help you with:
To apply, either complete the application, print it, and take it to your local Health and Welfare office or Community Action Agency, or get an application at the nearest office. To find out which telecommunication companies are participating in the Idaho Telephone Assistance Program,go to the web site. For more information, contact your local:
Community Action Agencies:
http://www.healthandwelfare.idaho.gov/DesktopModules/ArticlesSortable/ArticlesSrtView.aspx?tabID=0&ItemID=523&mid=10593&wversion=Staging
Child Care:
http://www.healthandwelfare.idaho.gov/site/3374/default.aspx
Health and Welfare provides child care assistance to low-income, working families. The Department also licenses child care providers and is working with community partners on a professional development system to improve child care services in Idaho
Temporary Assistance for Families:
http://www.healthandwelfare.idaho.gov/DesktopModules/ArticlesSortable/ArticlesSrtView.aspx?tabID=0&ItemID=356&mid=10489&wversion=Staging
On August 22, 1996, “The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996” (PRWORA) became Law.
This comprehensive, bipartisan legislation changed the nation’s welfare system into one requiring work in exchange for time-limited assistance. It created the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, which replaced the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC).
The law marked the end of federal entitlement to assistance. In TANF, states were required to develop a cash assistance program that was time limited, included a skills assessment, work requirements, a definition of eligible work activities, and educational requirements for teens.
In Idaho, the TANF cash assistance program is known as Temporary Assistance for Families in Idaho (TAFI). The goals of TAFI are jobs for participants and support for both personal and family responsibility. This focus requires more than government alone can or should provide.
This program requires relationships where participants, families, local communities and employers work together to help participants obtain employment and achieve self-reliance.
TAFI:
Apply for TAFI cash assistance at your local Health and Welfare office.
Women, Infants and Children (WIC):
http://www.healthandwelfare.idaho.gov/site/3453/default.aspx
WIC stands for Women, Infants and Children, the people the program serves. WIC helps Idaho families stay healthy by providing:
If I am eligible, what benefits can I expect from WIC?
Nutrition Education: At each WIC visit, information about nutrition, like feeding families, saving money on food, or ideas for healthy snacks is made available to participants.
WIC services are provided by the seven Idaho public health districts and two Native American health agencies. There are more than 50 clinics located across the state.
WIC is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Medicaid:
http://www.healthandwelfare.idaho.gov/site/3629/default.aspx
Prevention, Wellness, and Responsibility
Idaho is modernizing the Medicaid program by connecting health needs with different benefit plans and by improving program management.
Medicaid has two plans to meet different health needs:
Also, coming early next year, the Medicare-Medicaid Coordinated Plan is for participants who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid and are enrolled in certain Medicare Advantage Plans.
Health Insurance Premium Assistance:
http://www.healthandwelfare.idaho.gov/site/3580/default.aspx
The State of Idaho offers two "premium assistance" programs to support the purchase of private health insurance: Access to Health Insurance (AHI) and the Access Card.
Children’s Access Card:
The Access Card helps families buy health insurance for qualifying children. The Access Card is a premium assistance program administered in partnership with Idaho insurance carriers.
An eligible child qualifies for up to $100 per month in premium assistance. Families with 3 or more eligible children may receive up to $300 per month. Children in families whose income is between 133% and 185% of federal poverty guidelines may be eligible. Parents are responsible for premium payments, co-pays and deductibles.
For more information please contact: Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, Family Medicaid, toll-free at 1-866-326-2485.
Children’s Health Insurance Program:
http://www.phd5.idaho.gov/children/chip.html
The Department of Health and Welfare offers the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Applications are available at all South Central District Health offices.
Emergency Food Assistance:
http://www.idahofoodbank.org/
The Foodbank site has lists of all food pantries, by region. They include hours of operation.