Persons who are a foreign-born victim of trafficking,
torture, or other serious crimes, as defined in Art. XVI of the Illinois Public
Aid Code, and his or her derivative family members, as defined in
8 USC
1101(a)(15)(T) and
(a)(15)(U), who are ineligible for the
federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) solely on the basis
that they do not meet citizenship requirements (see Section
121.20) may qualify for the New
State Food Program.
a) The Department
will determine that an applicant for the State Food Program is eligible for
benefits if the applicant meets the income guidelines (see Sections
121.60 and
121.61) and is otherwise
eligible. The monthly benefit amount is determined by using the maximum benefit
amount for the household size minus the monthly benefit amount received by the
eligible persons using the regular SNAP calculation.
b) Persons who are a foreign-born victim of
trafficking, torture, or other serious crimes and his or her derivative family
members are eligible for the New State Food Program if he or she:
1) has filed or is preparing to file an
application for T Nonimmigrant status with the appropriate federal agency
pursuant to
8 USC
1101(a)(15)(T) or is
otherwise taking steps to meet the conditions for federal benefits eligibility
under
22 USC
7105;
2) has filed or is preparing to file a formal
application with the appropriate federal agency for status pursuant to
8 USC
1101(a)(15)(U); or
3) has filed or is preparing to file a formal
application with the appropriate federal agency for status under
8 USC
1158.
c) These persons are subject to the same work
requirements and work requirement exemptions as other recipients of federal
SNAP benefits. A person shall be exempted from any work requirements if
physical or psychological trauma related to or arising from the trafficking,
torture, or other serious crimes impedes his or her ability to
comply.
e) A person shall be ineligible for continued
State-funded food benefits if that individual has not filed a formal
application for status pursuant to
8 USC
1101(a)(15)(T),
1101(a)(15)(U)
or
1158 within one year after
the date of his or her application for food benefits under this program, unless
the Department determines, during the year of initial eligibility, that the
person:
1) experienced a health
crisis;
2) has been unable, after
reasonable attempts, to obtain necessary information from a third party;
or
3) has other extenuating
circumstances that prevented the person from completing his or her application
for status.
