The EA program provides temporary shelter to homeless and financially eligible:
- Pregnant women (at any stage of pregnancy) and the pregnant woman's spouse, 2 and;
- Families with children under the age of 21. A family can include the parents, stepparents, legal guardian, or caretaker relatives of the child, and the child's brothers and sisters under the age of 21. Brothers and sisters can include half-brothers and -sisters and step-brothers and -sisters.3
Endnotes
2. 106 C.M.R. §309.020(A)(2). The pregnancy must be verified in writing by a competent medical authority. A competent medical authority is a physician, osteopath, nurse practitioner or psychologist licensed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 106 C.M.R. §701.600(H). For the purpose of diagnosing pregnancy, a competent medical authority also includes a nurse-midwife who meets the educational and certification requirements mandated by state law and/or regulations. Id. A woman is eligible for EA during any stage of her pregnancy, unlike in the TAFDC program, where a woman can only start receiving cash assistance for a child expected to be born within 120 days of the TAFDC application date. 106 C.M.R. §203.565(A).
3. 106 C.M.R. §309.020(A)(1). The family is referred to as the "EA household." The regulation says that "[i]n extraordinary circumstances, the Department may include other relatives of the needy child in the EA household with the approval of the Associate Director or his or her designee."
Produced by Ruth Bourquin and Faye B. Rachlin Last updated March 2010