Pandemic Emergency Assistance Fund

On March 11, 2021, The President signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. This Act established the Pandemic Emergency Assistance Fund (PEAF) to provide funding to states (which includes the District of Columbia), tribes administering a TANF program, and five U.S. territories to assist needy families impacted by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The Mississippi Department of Human Services (MDHS) has elected to issue non-recurrent, short-term (NRST) benefits to Mississippi families receiving TANF benefits. Additionally, funds may be used for administrative costs (up to a 15-percent cap for states and territories and up to the negotiated cap for tribes). These funds may only be used to supplement, and not supplant, other federal, state, tribal, territorial, or local funds. TANF Families will receive $1,000.00 on or about December 17, 2021. These benefits will be electronically loaded into the TANF Way2Go Mastercard.

TANF ELIGIBILITY  

Families must meet both financial and non-financial requirements established in state law. In general, families must include a child under age 18 and be residents of Mississippi. Children under age 7 must comply with TANF immunization requirements, and children ages 6 to 17 must attend school and have satisfactory attendance. Children aged 18, who are included in the Assistance Unit (AU) because they are in school full-time, must have satisfactory school attendance. Adult TANF recipients who do not fall under an exemption must participate in the TANF Work Program (TWP).

To qualify for the payment, you must be an active TANF recipient in December 2021.