In the State of Washington, there are several
forms of governmental assistance programs available. The homepage for information can be
searched for under “Department of Social Health Services Washington State”, or “DSHS Washington
State”. The easiest one to qualify for is called the “SNAP” program, or more commonly known as
Food Stamps. In order to receive a supplemental income for food, an eligible family would be
asked a variety of questions pertaining to their situation. Some sample questions involve
income, assets, and number of people in the household. Single moms who are in
school, or unemployed, generally qualify for an amount of State
funds, but the mothers cannot be under 21 years old and living with parents unless the
parents are also on food stamps. As an example, for a single mom living alone, the benefits can
be up to nearly 350 dollars per month, but with part time work at $12.00 per hour, a working
single mom may be eligible only for around $20.00 per month. The stamps are electronically
added to an “EBT” card which is controlled by JPMorgan Chase. Online service helps a user
know their balance and transactions.
The TANF program is cash that the State can give to as
help for Single Mothers in Washington. It can start as soon as a person
becomes pregnant, but upon childbirth, the new mom needs to have documentation of child support
so that the State can supervise funding transactions to meet the appropriate needs of a
family.
Apart from DSHS, another
organization, WIC is the Women’s and Infant Care program that allots a specific
arrangement of food per month for families, and the diversity of this food has become
increasingly noteworthy. A monthly check is dispersed
mentioning the types of food that the single mom can go grocery shopping for, such as
milk, cheese, cereal, juice, beans, etc.
Another form of State aid is in health insurance. A single mom
in poverty won’t be billed from a hospital due to childbirth or the doctor’s appointments
leading up to it. The State has insurance for these cases, or the hospital will just waive the
bills even if the State does not for some strange reason. In Washington State, another form of
easy insurance is that children are allowed to stay on their parent’s health insurance until
they are 26, so as long as they are in school and becoming more self-reliant.
Housing options are available in Washington State. One of these is low income housing, which
usually means that a percentage of one’s income will be the basis of their rent bill. Another
option is to get a Section 8 waiver, but it’s rare for a person to
receive this, as it’s done by a lottery system instead of a waiting list. Emergency housing is
available for overnight stays on a first come, first serve basis.
If a person still needs help, many churches and non-profit organizations exist with
their information online. Many of these involve Scholarships for Single Mothers trying to obtain their
educational degrees or trade school certificates.
