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National Service Benefits and Eligibility for Other Government Assistance

Will national service benefits affect my eligibility for government assistance programs?

If you are serving in...	Treatment of benefits rule
AmeriCorps VISTA and National Senior Service Corps	In general, your eligibility for government assistance will not be affected.
Any other type of AmeriCorps program (e.g., AmeriCorps State, National, Education Award, or Promise Fellows) or Learn and Serve America program	Your eligibility for assistance from programs funded under the Social Security Act, federal student financial aid, or benefits provided by state or local governments may be affected. Your eligibility for federal or federally assisted benefits based on financial need (other than benefits funded under the Social Security Act, for federal student financial aid) may not be affected.

I'm an AmeriCorps State member. For which government assistance programs might my eligibility be affected?

Your eligibility or amount of assistance may be affected in state or local public assistance programs and the following federally funded programs:

Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)
Supplemental Security Income for the Aged, Blind, and Disabled (SSI)
Social Security Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI)
Medicaid and Medicare
State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
Title 20 social services block grant
Unemployment insurance (UI)
Need-based federal student financial aid

I'm an AmeriCorps State member. For which programs will my eligibility not be affected by member benefits?

Your eligibility or amount of assistance should not be affected for the following programs:

Food stamps
Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
HUD-subsidized housing
Veterans' benefits
Any other need-based federal or federally assisted program (except a program supported under the Social Security Act or federal student financial aid)

How can I be sure about my specific situation?

You should contact the agency that administers your government benefits program. These agencies can be found at http://www.firstgov.gov or in the blue pages of your phone book.

©The National Service Inclusion Project is a cooperative agreement (#01CAM0016) between the Corporation for National and Community Service and the Institute for Community Inclusion at UMass Boston in collaboration with the Association of University Centers on Disabilities.