Unless otherwise apparent or defined, all words in this chapter
will have their common meaning.
As used in this chapter, the following words and terms shall
have the meanings indicated:
A person who has submitted, either directly or through an
authorized representative, an application for general assistance or
who has, in an emergency, requested assistance without first completing
an application. In addition, all persons on whose behalf an application
has been submitted or on whose behalf benefits have been granted shall
be considered applicants.
A standardized form used by the General Assistance Administrator
for the purpose of allowing a person to apply for general assistance
and confirming the fact that a person has made an application. The
application form must be signed by the applicant to be considered
complete.
Food, clothing, shelter, fuel, electricity, nonelective medical
services as recommended by a physician, nonprescription drugs, telephone
where it is necessary for medical reasons and any other commodity
or service determined essential by the City. Basic necessities do
not include security deposits for rental property, except for those
situations where no other permanent lodging is available unless a
security deposit is paid, and a waiver, deferral or installment arrangement
cannot be made between the landlord and tenant to satisfy the need
for the immediate payment of the security deposit or payment in full
[22 M.R.S.A. § 4301(1)].
An official file containing application forms, correspondence,
narrative records and all other communications pertaining to an applicant
or recipient, determinations of initial or subsequent eligibility,
written decisions, including reasons for those decisions, as well
as types and amounts of assistance provided each recipient and all
records concerning an applicant's request for fair hearing and
those fair hearing decisions.
All state and federal income maintenance programs.
A person who has requested a fair hearing.
An applicant's deficit is the appropriate overall maximum level of assistance for the household as provided in § 157-30 of this chapter less the household income as calculated pursuant to § 157-31 of this chapter, provided such a calculation yields a positive number. If the household income is greater than the appropriate overall maximum level of assistance, the household has no deficit.
A person who is presently unable to work or maintain a home
due to a physical or mental disability that is verified by a physician.
A building or part thereof used for separate living quarters
for one or more persons living as a single housekeeping unit [22 M.R.S.A.
§ 4301(2)].
A person who is qualified to receive general assistance from
the City according to the standards of eligibility set forth in this
chapter [22 M.R.S.A. § 4301(3)].
Any life-threatening situation or a situation beyond the
control of the individual which, if not alleviated immediately, could
reasonably be expected to pose a threat to the health or safety of
a person [22 M.R.S.A. §§ 4301(4), 4308(2), 4310].
A municipal official designated to administer the general
assistance program. He/She will receive applications, make decisions
concerning an applicant's right to receive assistance, and prepare
records and communications concerning assistance. He/She may be an
overseer or an authorized agent such as a town manager, welfare director,
or caseworker [22 M.R.S.A. § 4301(12)].
A service administered by a municipality for the immediate
aid of persons who are unable to provide the basic necessities essential
to maintain themselves or their families. A general assistance program
provides a specific amount and type of aid for defined needs during
a limited period of time and is not intended to be a continuing "grant-in-aid"
or "categorical" welfare program. This definition shall not in any
way lessen the responsibility of each municipality to provide general
assistance to a person each time that the person has need and is found
to be otherwise eligible to receive general assistance [22 M.R.S.A.
§ 4301(5)].
An individual or two or more individuals who share a dwelling
unit. When an applicant shares a dwelling unit with one or more individuals,
even when a landlord-tenant relationship may exist between individuals
residing in the dwelling unit, eligible applicants may receive assistance
for no more than their pro-rata share of the actual costs of the shared
basic needs of that household according to the maximum levels of assistance
established in the municipal ordinance. The income of household members
not legally liable or otherwise responsible for supporting the household
shall be considered as available to the applicant only when there
is a pooling of income [22 M.R.S.A. § 4301(6)].
Any form of income in cash or in kind received by the household,
including net remuneration for services performed, cash received on
either secured or unsecured credit, any payments received as an annuity,
retirement or disability benefits, veterans' pensions, workers'
compensation, unemployment benefits, benefits under any state or federal
categorical assistance program, supplemental security income, social
security and any other payments from governmental sources unless specifically
prohibited by any law or regulations, court-ordered support payments,
income from pension or trust funds and household income from any other
source, including relatives or unrelated household members.
The following items shall not be considered as income or assets
which must be liquidated for the purposes of deriving income:
Real or personal income-producing property, tools of trade,
governmental entitlement specifically treated as exempt assets by
state or federal law;
Actual work-related expenses, whether itemized or by standard
deduction, such as taxes, retirement fund contributions, union dues,
transportation costs to and from work, special equipment costs and
child-care expenses; or
Earned income of children below the age of 18 years who are
full-time students and who are not working full-time.
In determining need, the period of time used as a basis for
the calculation shall be a thirty-day period commencing on the date
of the application. This prospective calculation shall not disqualify
an applicant who has exhausted income to purchase basic necessities,
provided that the income does not exceed the income standards established
by the City [22 M.R.S.A. § 4301(7)].
A valid, verifiable reason that hinders an individual from
complying with one or more conditions of eligibility [22 M.R.S.A.
§ 4301(8), § 4316-A(5)].
A one-time or typically nonrecurring sum of money issued
to an applicant or recipient after an initial application. Lump-sum
payment includes, but is not limited to, retroactive or settlement
portions of social security benefits, worker's compensation payments,
unemployment benefits, disability income, veterans' benefits,
severance pay benefits, or money received from inheritances, lottery
winnings, personal injury awards, property damage claims or divorce
settlements. A lump-sum payment includes only the amount of money
available to the applicant after payment of required deductions has
been made from the gross lump-sum payment. A lump-sum payment does
not include conversion of a nonliquid resource to a liquid resource
if the liquid resource has been used or is intended to be used to
replace the converted resource or for other necessary expenses. The
term "conversion of a nonliquid resource to a liquid resource" refers,
in general, to a settlement of an insurance claim filed as a result
of damaged or destroyed property [22 M.R.S.A. § 4301(8-A)].
A fact that necessarily has some bearing on the determination
of an applicant's general assistance eligibility, and which would,
if disclosed to the Administrator, have some determinable effect on
the calculation of eligibility or the issuance of a grant of assistance.
The amount of assistance as established in § 157-32 or the actual cost of any basic necessity, whichever is less.
Conduct evincing such willful or wanton disregard of an employer's
interest as is found in deliberate violations or disregard of standards
of behavior which the employer has a right to expect of his employee,
or in carelessness or negligence of such degree or recurrence as to
manifest equal culpability, wrongful intent or evil design, or to
show an intentional and substantial disregard of the employer's
interests or of the employee's duties and obligations to his/her
employer [26 M.R.S.A. § 1043(23)].
Any city, town or plantation administering a general assistance
program.
The municipality which is liable for the support of an eligible
person at the time of application [22 M.R.S.A. §§ 4301(9),
4307].
The condition whereby a person's income, money, property,
credit, assets or other resources available to provide basic necessities
for the individual and the individual's family are less than
the maximum levels of assistance [22 M.R.S.A. §§ 4301(10),
4308].
Those direct costs incurred by a municipality in providing
assistance to eligible persons according to standards established
by the municipal officers. These do not include the administrative
expenses of the general assistance program [22 M.R.S.A. §§ 4301(11),
4311].
The time for which a person has been granted assistance.
The period of eligibility may vary depending on the type of assistance
provided; however, in no event shall this period extend beyond one
month [22 M.R.S.A. § 4309(1)].
The financial relationship among household members who are
not legally liable for mutual support in which there occurs any commingling
of funds or sharing of income or expenses. Municipalities may, by
ordinance, establish as a rebuttable presumption that persons sharing
the same dwelling unit are pooling their income. Applicants who are
requesting that the determination of eligibility be calculated as
though one or more household members are not pooling their income
have the burden of rebutting the presumption of pooling income [22
M.R.S.A. § 4301(12-A)].
Any land, buildings, homes, mobile homes and any other things
affixed to the land [22 M.R.S.A. § 4301(13)].
A person who has applied for and is currently receiving general
assistance.
A person who is physically present in a municipality with the intention of remaining in that municipality in order to maintain or establish a home and who has no other residence. A person who applies for assistance in a municipality who is not a resident of that municipality or any other municipality is the responsibility of the municipality where the person first applies. That municipality must take an application and grant assistance to the applicant if he/she is eligible, until he/she establishes a new residence in another municipality (see § 157-16) (22 M.R.S.A. § 4307).
Include any program, service, or other sources of support
which are an alternative to or supplement for general assistance.
There are two kinds of resources: available and potential.
Potential resources are programs, services, nonliquid assets,
or trusts which typically require people to apply in writing and/or
wait a period of time before eligibility is determined or the potential
income is released. Potential resources include but are not limited
to any state or federal assistance program, employment benefits, governmental
or private pension program, available trust funds, support from legally
liable relatives, child support payments, and jointly held resources
where the applicants' or recipients' share may be available
to the individual (22 M.R.S.A. § 4317). Potential resources
include TANF/AFDC, food stamps, fuel assistance (HEAP), subsidized
housing, and similar programs.
Available resources include resources which are immediately
available to the applicant or which can be conveniently secured by
the applicant without delay, such as cash on hand or in bank accounts,
assets for which there is an immediate and available market, or support
from relatives which is being made available at the time of application
and for which the applicant does not have to take any unreasonable
steps to secure (e.g., relocation beyond the immediate region). Available
resources also include the services, commodities or facilities made
available by private organizations when:
The applicant voluntarily agrees to utilize such services;
The City has established a contractual relationship with the
private organization to provide services or commodities when requested;
The City is able to secure the services or commodities needed
by an applicant from the private organization for any consideration
acceptable to both the organization and the City; or
The service is available and offered at no cost to the applicant
and deemed necessary by a physician, psychologist or other professional
retraining or rehabilitation specialist.
Charities may be considered private organizations which are
available resources only if the charity places no unreasonable requirements
on the applicant which are violative of the applicant's fundamental
rights (Fjeld v. Lewiston, Andro. Sup. Ct. #CV 87-4; Bolduc v. Lewiston,
Andro., Sup. Ct. #CV 87-248).
An applicant's thirty-day need is the sum of the household's
prospective thirty-day costs, from the date of application, for the
various basic necessities. For the purpose of this calculation, the
thirty-day cost for any basic need shall be the household's actual
thirty-day cost for the basic necessity or the maximum thirty-day
cost for the basic necessity as established by this chapter, whichever
is less.
An applicant's unmet need is the household's thirty-day need as established by § 157-30 of this chapter less the household income as calculated pursuant to § 157-30 of this chapter, provided such a calculation yields a positive number. If the household income is greater than the household's thirty-day need, the household does not have an unmet need.
Those obligations the municipal administrator places on applicants
for general assistance as directed or authorized by 22 M.R.S.A. § 4316-A
to the extent such obligations ensure a continuing potential eligibility
for general assistance when complied with, result in disqualification
when violated, and are not merely optional, discretionary, or advisory.
Work requirements include registering for work, looking for work in
good faith, accepting all suitable job offers, performing workfare,
and participating in training, educational, or rehabilitation programs
that will assist the participant in securing employment.
