WAG 11-01-05: Telephone

If the client is entitled to the telephone allowance:

Allow the cost of the basic minimum plan (cellular or land line) as verified by the telephone company. Do not include excess charges such as upgrades, and extra minutes.

If a customer has both cellular and land line service, allow the least costly (minimum) basic monthly local service charge.

If the client is in a shared living arrangement and is entitled to the telephone allowance, prorate the telephone allowance among the number of persons living in the shared arrangement.

Example 1: Mr. E, an AABD client, moves into his brother's house. Mr. E pays his brother a flat amount and has a separate living arrangement from his brother. Mr. E needs a telephone because of his illness. He has access to his brother's telephone. Mr. E is not entitled to a telephone allowance.

Example 2: Ms. F, an AABD client, lives in a boarding house. There is a public pay phone in the lobby of the house. Ms. F needs a telephone because of her medical condition. Ms. F has access to the public pay phone. Ms. F is not entitled to a telephone allowance.

Example 3: Ms. G, an AABD client, moves in with her parents. Her parents do not have a telephone. Ms. G pays a flat fee to live with her parents. They do not share household expenses. Ms. G has a separate living arrangement. Because of her medical condition, Ms. G has telephone service installed in her name. Allow the monthly cost of basic local telephone service in Ms. G's cash assistance standard.

Example 4: Mr. and Mrs. H reside alone and pay for monthly telephone service. Both are AABD Cash clients and in need of a telephone because of their medical conditions. Prorate the telephone allowance and allow each 1/2 of the monthly basic local telephone service charge.

Example 5: Mr. and Mrs. I reside alone and pay for monthly telephone service. Mr. I is an AABD client in need of a telephone because of his medical condition. Mrs. I is not an AABD client and has no income.

Prorate the telephone allowance as follows:

Allow Mr. I 1/2 of the allowance for his needs.
In determining the amount of Mr. I's income to divert to Mrs. I's needs, allow 1/2 of the allowance for her needs.

Example 6: Mr. G is applying for AABD cash. He reports that his cell phone bill is $135.00 a month. The caseworker calls the cellular service and finds that the fee for basic minimum service is $29.99 and allows that as the telephone standard.