WS 15-13
October 16, 2015
Financial Aid
Expires: Continuing
To:
Workforce Solutions Contractors
From:
Mike Temple
David Baggerly
Lucretia Hammond
Subject:
Managing Financial Aid – Priority Criteria
Purpose
Transmit priority criteria that apply to certain financial aid funds
Background
Workforce Solutions dollars for financial aid are limited. Sometimes we have more eligible
customers requesting substantial financial aid than we have funds at the moment. When that
happens, we place eligible customers on a wait list, or registry.

As funds become available for customers on our wait list, we offer financial aid to
customers using priority criteria and the date of application to determine who we offer
assistance to first.

When we do not have a wait list, the priority criteria do not apply, and we offer
financial aid to eligible customers on a first-come, first-served basis.
We continue to offer short-term financial aid to eligible customers on a first-come, first-served
basis.
There are three financial aid sources with priority criteria that govern who we offer assistance to
when we have a wait list: the Child Care Development Fund, Workforce Innovation and
Opportunity Act Adult, and Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Dislocated Worker.
WS 15-13 Managing Financial Aid – Priority Criteria
October 2015--Page 1 of 7
Priority Criteria
Child Care Development Fund
1. First Priority includes customers who are TANF applicants, TANF Choices participants
meeting requirements, TANF Choices participating transition to employment, and SNAP
E&T participants meeting requirements. There is no particular order.
2. Second Priority includes the following eligible CCDF customers, in this order:
2.1. Parents of children exiting from protective services-paid child care
2.2. Qualified veterans or qualified spouses with children
2.3. Foster youth with children
2.4. Parents on military deployment who are unable to enroll their children in militaryfunded child care assistance programs
2.5. Teen parents with children
2.6. Parents of children with disabilities
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Adult
1. First Priority includes eligible WIOA Adult customers, in this order:
1.1. Qualified veterans or qualified spouses who are low-income or basic skills deficient
1.2. All other eligible individuals who are low-income or basic skills deficient
2. Second Priority includes eligible WIOA Adult customers, in this order:
2.1. Qualified veterans or qualified spouses who are at or below the Workforce Solutions
self-sufficiency income level
2.2. All other eligible individuals who are at or below the Workforce Solutions selfsufficiency income level
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Dislocated Worker
1. First Priority includes eligible WIOA Dislocated Worker customers who are:
1.1. Qualified veterans or qualified spouses of veterans.
We have included definitions for low-income, basic skills deficient, self-sufficiency income
level, qualified veteran, and qualified spouse of a veteran in an attachment. These are the same
definitions used in determining eligibility and can also be found in Workforce Solutions
guidance on eligibility for the specific fund.
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Applying Priority Criteria
1. We apply priority criteria only when we have a wait list for substantial financial aid. We
offer financial aid to eligible customers in order of priority, using our registries.
1.1. Child Care Development Fund. We always fund financial aid applications from CCDF
eligible First and Second Priority customers when we determine the customers eligible.
We do not place these customers on a wait list.
We then offer funding to CCDF eligible customers on the wait list in the order of their
application date.
1.2. Workforce Opportunity and Innovation Act Adult. We fund financial aid applications
from eligible WIOA Adult First Priority customers in the order noted above. Then we
fund the applications from eligible WIOA Adult Second Priority customers the in order
noted above.
When there are no remaining First or Second Priority customers on the registry, we
offer funding to eligible WIOA Adults on the registry in the order of their application
dates.
1.3. Workforce Opportunity and Innovation Act Dislocated Worker. We fund financial aid
applications for eligible WIOA Dislocated Worker First Priority customers and then
we offer funding to eligible WIOA Dislocated Workers on the registry in the order of
their application dates.
2. Applications from eligible customers in priority groups always go to the top of a wait list.
3. When we do not have a wait list (i.e., there are no customers on a registry) the priority
criteria do not apply. We offer financial aid to eligible customers on a first-come, firstserved basis.
4. We offer short-term financial aid to any eligible customer requesting the assistance.
5. The Financial Aid Call Center determines eligibility, establishes and maintains the financial
aid registries identifies customers with priority, and offers financial aid to customers using
the priority criteria.
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Action
The Financial Aid Call Center will use priority criteria to establish the order for offering
financial aid when there are eligible customers waiting for assistance.
Questions
Staff should ask questions of their supervisors first. Direct questions for Board staff through the
Issuance Q&A.
Appendix

Definitions
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WS 15-13 Managing Financial Aid – Priority Criteria
Attachment: Definitions
Low-Income
An individual who meets any one of the following criteria satisfies the low-income
requirement.
•
Receives, or in the past six months has received, or is a member of a family that is
receiving or in the past six months has received, assistance through SNAP, TANF, or
the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, or state or local income-based public
assistance; or
•
Receives an income or is a member of a family receiving an income that, in relation to
family size, is not in excess of the current Workforce Solutions Income Guidelines for
Adults; or
• Is a homeless individual as defined in §41403(6) of the Violence Against Women Act of
1994, or a homeless child or youth as defined in §725(2) of the McKinney-Vento
Homeless Assistance Act; or
•
Receives or is eligible to receive a free or reduced-price lunch under the National
School Lunch Act (this only applies to the individual receiving the free or
reduced-price lunch); or
•
Is a foster youth, as defined in Texas Family Code §264.101(a-1) and §264.101(d), on
behalf of whom state or local government payments are made; or
• Is an individual with a disability whose own income meets:
 Workforce Solutions Income Guidelines for Adults, even if the individual’s family
income does not meet the income requirements; or
 income eligibility criteria for payments under any federal, state, or local
public assistance program.
Basic Skills Deficient
An individual who is unable to compute or solve problems, or read, write, or speak
English, at a level necessary to function on the job, in the individual’s family, or in society
is basic skills deficient.
Self-Sufficiency Income Level
Workforce Solutions defines self-sufficiency at 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines.
Self-sufficiency for a family of four is about $48,500. Workforce Solutions Income
Guidelines provide a complete list of levels by family size.
WS 15-13 Managing Financial Aid – Priority Criteria
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Eligible Veteran
A person who served in the active military, naval, or air service, and who was
discharged or released therefrom under conditions other than dishonorable as
specified at 38 U.S.C. 101(2). Active services include full-time duty in the
National Guard or a Reserve component, other than full-time for training
purposes.
Qualified spouse
The spouse of:
1) any veteran who died of a service-connected disability or any member of the armed
forces who died while serving on active military, naval, or air service.
2) any member of the Armed Forces serving on active duty who, at the time of
application for the priority, is listed in one or more of the following categories and has
been so listed for a total of more than 90 days:
a. missing in action;
b. captured in line of duty by a hostile force; or
c. forcibly detained or interned in line of duty by a foreign government or
power;
3) any veteran who has a total disability resulting from a service-connected disability, as
evaluated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs;
4) any veteran who died while a disability, as indicated in paragraph (3) of this section,
was in existence.
Note: The spouse of a living veteran or service member (definitions 2 or 3 above)
will lose his or her eligibility if the veteran or service member loses the status
that is the basis for eligibility. For example, the spouse of a veteran with a
total service-connected disability will not be eligible if the veteran’s disability
is revised to a lower level. Similarly, a spouse whose eligibility is derived
from a living veteran or service member will lose his or her eligibility upon
divorce from the veteran or service member.
Protective services
Services provided in any of the following circumstances:
 When a child is at risk of abuse or neglect in the immediate or short-term future and the
child’s family cannot or will not protect the child without DFPS Child Protective
Services intervention
 When a child is in the managing conservatorship of DFPS and residing with a relative or
a foster parent
 When a child has been provided with protective services by DFPS within the previous six
months and requires services to ensure the stability of the family
Teen Parent
An individual 18 years of age or younger, or 19 years of age and attending high school or the
equivalent, who has a child.
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Child with disabilities
A child who is mentally or physically incapable of performing routine activities of daily living
within the child’s typical chronological range of development. A child is considered mentally or
physically incapable of performing routine activities of daily living if the child requires
assistance in performing tasks (major life activities) that are within the typical chronological
range of development, including, but not limited to:
 Caring for oneself
 Performing manual tasks
 Walking
 Hearing
 Seeing, speaking and breathing
 Learning
 Working
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