MFIP looks at your gross income (earned and unearned), citizenship/immigration status, assets, household size, ages of children and length of residency in determining your eligibility. Other questions below in this section will address these areas in more detail.

Earned income is income you and other household members earn from work (includes wages and tips).

Unearned income is income from sources other than work such as: unemployment, pensions, annuities, dividends or other taxable interest, alimony received, rent or royalties, social security, SSI, SSDI, RSDI, child support, worker’s compensation, disability payments, veteran’s benefits, tribal payments and/or retirement income.

Income from children under age 6 or older children if enrolled in school full time is not counted in household income calculations.

Gross income is calculated by adding all earned and unearned income together before any taxes or deductions are taken.

Net income is calculated after subtracting allowable deductions and income disregards. For MFIP, these may include some child support disregards, earned income disregards and a new spouse income disregard as well as some standard deductions.

You and the household members for which you’re applying must be a U.S. citizen or have an acceptable immigration status. Non-citizens must provide proof of immigration status. Non-citizens who are qualified non-citizens or residing lawfully in Minnesota are eligible for either state or federally-funded MFIP if they meet all other eligibility factors. Non-immigrants (except for citizens of Micronesia, Palau, or the Marshall Islands) and people who are undocumented are ineligible.  

It depends on many factors. Refugees, asylees, victims of torture and some other immigrant groups are not subject to public charge testing. If you have questions about how receiving MFIP could make you a public charge, you should seek legal assistance.

Yes. When applying for MFIP and while on the program you can have up to $10,000 in assets.

Assets include money in a bank account or other things of value that you or your family own. You do not have to count the home you live in or vehicles that you drive to work as an asset (one vehicle per person over the age of 16 is not counted as an asset). Personal items such as clothes, furniture, jewelry and appliances are not counted. You do not have to count tax refunds that you have received in the past 12 months. Some examples of assets that are counted are cash, money in a checking or savings account at a bank, debit cards such as Reliacards and Direct Express (not EBT cards). Retirement accounts are counted if they can be accessed without a financial penalty. Recreational vehicles like 4-wheelers, property that you own but do not live on, and stocks and bonds that can be accessed without a financial penalty are counted. To determine your eligibility for MFIP, your county will ask about the value of your assets to determine if you’re over the asset limit.

Yes, a lien can be placed on your home if you enroll in MFIP or DWP. Contact your county human services office for more information. A lien will not be put on your home if you enroll in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Energy Assistance, Basic-Sliding fee Child Care Assistance, School Meal Program, WIC, Medical Assistance or MinnesotaCare.

To be eligible for MFIP you must live in Minnesota for 30 days and intend to stay here. Exceptions to this 30-day requirement can be made for people experiencing unusual hardship because they are without shelter or resources for food, migrant workers, members of the armed services and people who returned to Minnesota after recently leaving to attend higher education in another state.

DWP is a four-month program that helps parents/caregivers find employment before going on MFIP. Families determined eligible for MFIP will first be assessed for enrollment in DWP. The goal of DWP is to get parents/caregivers employed instead of receiving cash assistance. The first step for a parent/caregiver enrolled in DWP is to create an Employment Plan.  Parents/Caregivers on MFIP must create and follow an Employment Plan in conjunction with a job counselor, otherwise benefits can be terminated. While on DWP, all cash assistance will first be paid directly to vendors (landlords, utility company, etc.) for your housing and utility costs. 

Parents/Caregivers on MFIP must create and follow an Employment Plan in conjunction with a job counselor, otherwise benefits can be terminated. An Employment Plan outlines the steps a caregiver will take toward unsubsidized employment. All MFIP caregivers must create and comply with the Employment Plan unless they have a child under 12 months old. If there is a child under 12 months of age in the household and the caregiver has remaining months on the 5-year MFIP lifetime limit (see question 22), the caregiver can apply to the county for an Employment Plan exemption.

If you don’t meet the work requirements for MFIP you risk getting sanctioned, which means your cash grant will be reduced and/or paid directly to vendors to cover your shelter costs. If you receive 7 sanctions your case will be closed for one full month before you would be able to reapply. The first time you don’t meet the work requirements in your employment plan your grant will be reduced by 10 percent. If you return to compliance your grant will be reinstated to the full amount the following month. For the second through sixth time you are not in compliance, your total grant will be reduced by 30 percent and the cash portion of your grant will be paid directly to the vendors for your shelter costs (typically to landlords and/or utility companies). If you return to full compliance after two to six sanctions your grant will be reinstated to the full amount; however, your cash portion will continue to be paid directly toward your shelter costs for six months after the month you return to compliance. For families with two parents receiving MFIP, both parents must be fully compliant before removing sanctions. You can also be sanctioned in these ways for not complying with child support.

The amount of the grant varies by family size and income. The table below shows the maximum cash and food portion of the grants as of 2021. The Bridge to Benefit screening tool can estimate MFIP eligibility plus the amount of the cash and food grants. However, these are only estimates. The Bridge to Benefits screening tool does not ask all the questions needed to determine accurate eligibility and benefits.

MFIP benefits are distributed on a plastic card that looks like a credit or debit card. It is called your EBT card. Every month, the card will be filled up with the amount of the cash grant and food grant for which you’re determined eligible.

You can only use your EBT card at participating vendors. The food portion of the grant can only be used to purchase food or seeds to plant food at stores or farmer markets that accept EBT cards. The cash portion of the grant can be used to buy food, non-food items and to get cash from an ATM. It is illegal to use the cash on the card to purchase tobacco or alcoholic beverages. If you do, you will be removed from the program. When you get to the check-out line or ATM, you swipe your card and then enter a code number that you have picked (called a PIN or Personal Identification Number).  The PIN helps keep your benefits safe if you lose your card. The cost of the food or cash that you spend will be subtracted from the amount of money on your card. You can also have your cash benefits directly deposited into your bank account each month so you can withdraw the money at your bank or write checks. Contact your county human services office to sign up for direct deposit. For more information about using your EBT card refer to the How to Use your EBT Card brochure.

You will be eligible for free or reduced priced childcare assistance while receiving MFIP as long as you are compliant with your Employment Plan. There is no wait list to receive childcare assistance while on MFIP. The amount of hours and activities you are authorized for should be outlined in your Employment Plan. Childcare can be authorized for the following activities outside of your Employment Plan:

• Job search up to 240 hours per calendar year.
• Employment of at least 20 hours per week or 10 hours per week for full-time students.
• Financial and employment services orientations and assessments.
• Appeals and hearings for cash assistance.

Yes. Families receiving MFIP who meet the income, asset and other requirements can enroll in Medical Assistance (MA), which is a free health care program. Adult caregivers with household incomes higher than the MA requirements for adults and some immigrant children who are not eligible for Medical Assistance may be able to apply for MinnesotaCare.

Parents/Caregivers can receive assistance for 60-months in their lifetime. The months do not have to be consecutive, and they are only counted while the parent/caregiver is receiving the cash portion of their MFIP grant (which includes the MFIP housing allotment, see the question below). While the parent/caregiver is receiving only the food portion of their MFIP grant, those months are not counted toward the 60-month lifetime limit. There are no time limits for child-only cases. For a complete list of what is exempt or counted toward the 60-month time limit, click here.

If you are not currently enrolled in a public housing or subsidized housing program that helps you pay for housing costs, you could be eligible for the MFIP Housing Assistance Grant of $110/month. You will be asked about your housing situation when you apply and will receive the additional housing allotment if eligible. Even as your income increases, you will receive the same amount in the housing assistance grant until you exit the MFIP program . The months during which you receive the MFIP housing assistance grant will count toward your 60-month lifetime limit for MFIP. 

Yes, when you exit MFIP you may still be eligible for assistance paying for food, health care, energy bills and child care. For one year after receiving MFIP you may be eligible for Transition Year Child Care despite increased earnings. You may also remain enrolled in health care and SNAP depending on your income. To find out what you may be eligible for when exiting MFIP, use the Bridge to Benefits screening tool or contact your county human services office.

Some of the other public work support programs may count the cash portion of your MIFP grant as income in determining your eligibility for that program. However, your MFIP food portion and your MFIP housing allotment should not be counted as income.

The application is called the Combined Application Form (CAF). You can get one at your county social services office. You can also get an application on Bridge to Benefits by clicking here. Or you can apply online using MNBenefits.