All income both earned and unearned (with the exception of those listed below) is counted as monthly income.  Earned income is defined as any legal income that is taxable under the United States Tax.

In order to encourage adult family members to work, earn income and improve the lives of their children, the Spokane Tribe will disregard the first $200 of earned income and 50% of each dollar earned up to twice the grant amount each month in order to calculate the TANF grant amount.

We assist all tribal members and individuals who may not be eligible for cash assistance, but may need to use the computer lab to update a resume, fill out an application, or pay to use the licensed childcare. Individuals can also participate in on-site activities even if they are not eligible for incentives.

How the Tribe operates differently from the Washington State.

The Tribe sets our own approved participation rates and what activities are appropriate for participation. The required participation rates are 20 hours/week for single parents and 30 hours/week for two member households. Participation can include: work search activities; work search preparation (such as GED and college classes); attendance at a variety of on-site staff run workshops (such as culture classes); dependable strengths; financial literacy; anger management and travel time to get to and from legitimate activities.

Washington State has very stringent participation activities known as core and non-core activities and a single parent must participate in core activities for at least 32 hours/week. An example of a non-core activity would be GED and college classes. This, with the required participation hours, is a huge difference between the Tribal TANF and the Washington State TANF.