The U.S. government funds several programs every year to help people financially and live their best lives. Some of them are popular, while others aren’t. However, as an American citizen, you should know not to miss out.
American Hope Resources have been educating people about all the national benefit programs one can get during trying times. Here are some of the most popular ones:
Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
Low-income Americans can get health insurance through Medicaid, a joint federal-state initiative. Children are covered by the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). For eligibility, the child’s family must earn an income that’s not low enough for Medicaid but too low for private insurance.
Each state has its own version of the CHIP and Medicaid programs. You can check if you or your family are eligible for the program here.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
This was previously known as food stamps, and it’s a federal nutrition program. It provides nutrition aids to low-income families to supplement their food budgets, which allows them to purchase nutritious foods and grow closer to self-sufficiency.
If you’re qualified, you can use your monthly food benefits to make purchases at participating retailers. You can purchase a wide range of food items with your SNAP benefits, including fish, meat, fresh vegetables, and poultry. See the USDA’s list of food products that you can purchase with SNAP benefits.
You can read more about SNAP on American Hope Resources’s website.
Welfare or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
It’s a federally financed, state-run welfare program known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). It helps families overcome short-term hardships and regain their financial footing.
The TANF program is administered by grants from the federal government to the states. The four objectives of these programs are as follows:
- to aid families in need so that children can remain in their own homes or under a relative’s care;
- to wean needy parents off government assistance by fostering job preparation, employment, and marriage;
- to reduce the number of pregnancies outside of marriage and set yearly targets for preventing and reducing the same number; and
- To promote the establishment and development of two-parent households.
American Hope Resources explains that there is a wide range of options is available to the states to implement their programs. For the most part, the federal government does not have any say in how the program is structured, how much assistance is paid, or how many people are eligible for benefits. Instead, each state sets its own parameters.
Veterans First Contracting program
Set-aside contracts are available for veteran-owned small businesses within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). This program provides veterans with set-aside contracting opportunities, which results in the Department awarding significant amounts of contract money each year to firms established by service-disabled vets.
To participate in the program, businesses must be properly validated as Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (VOSBs) or Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSBs).
