BENEFIT PROGRAMS
The Buchanan County Department of Social Services administers the following benefit programs:
Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)
- Provides temporary financial assistance to families
with children deprived of the support of one or both parents. Temporary Assistance to Needy Families(TANF-UP)
provides temporary assistance to unemployed or underemployed families with
children.
The TANF program is the cornerstone of Virginia's sweeping welfare reform initiative (VIEW) signed into law by Governor George Allen on March 20,1995. The TANF program initiative has time-limited benefits, a strong work requirement and a social contract that sets out the responsibilities of and expectations for recipients of public assistance and the government. VIEW began in Buchanan County in October, 1998.
For more information about the Virginia Initiative for Employment not Welfare (VIEW) - Click here.
Aid To Dependent Children - Foster Care (AFDC - FC) - Financial aid is provided for children that are deemed to be eligible for AFDC prior to being removed from their home who are subsequently removed from their homes and placed in the custody of the Buchanan County Board of Social Services. AFDC-FS does not relate to TANF requirements.
Emergency Assistance (EA) - Provides short term, limited financial assistance to families with children when a fire or other natural disaster has destroyed those things necessary for taking care of the family.
Auxiliary Grants Program - Financial assistance is available for certain needy, aged, blind or disabled persons who reside in adult care residences or adult family care homes. The money received, plus other income, is used by the person to pay for care provided by the home. Individuals who get money from the Auxiliary Grants Program also get a Medicaid card to use for medical bills.
General Relief (GR) - This state/local financed program provides limited assistance through vendor payments for burial of the indigent only.
Food Stamp Program - This federal program supplements the food budgets of low-income households to help assure needy persons a nutritionally adequate diet. Financial need, household size and non-financial criteria such as student status and work registration determine eligibility. On July 1, 2002 Buchanan County implemented the Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) which replaces paper Food Stamps with a plastic card similar to a debit card.
Medical Assistance (MEDICAID) - This federal/state financed program provides medical care for specified needy persons. Eligibility for Medicaid is determined by the Social Services Department according to criteria established by the state Department of Medical Assistance Services, which administers the program.
Medicaid makes direct payments to health care
service providers for eligible individuals and families who are unable to pay
for needed medical services. Medicaid pays for a variety of medical services,
including prescription drugs, doctor visits, nursing facility care and hospital
care.
The Balanced Budget Act of 1977 created the State Children’s Health Insurance Program to provide funds to states to enable them to initiate the provision of children health insurance to uninsured low income children. FAMIS(Family Access to Medical Insurance Security Plan) covers uninsured low income children under age 19.
Refugee Resettlement Program - This federal program provides medical and cash assistance through the Department of Social Services to eligible refugees who settle in Buchanan County, Virginia. Very few refugees have settled in Southwest Virginia. Most refugees in the Commonwealth of Virginia reside in Tidewater and Northern Virginia.
Fuel Assistance Program - Eligible low-income households receive federal assistance with their home heating bills. Faulty or hazardous heating systems may also be repaired in households eligible for fuel assistance.
State and Local Hospitalization (SLH) - State and Local Hospitalization provides direct payment to hospitals for eligible individuals who do not qualify for Medicaid and who are unable to pay for required medical services. This program will pay for limited hospitalization, outpatient surgery and emergency room visits. Inpatient and outpatient doctor visits are not covered.