Not eligible for most state cash assistance programs? You may qualify for the Disaster Cash Assistance Program. Please see the information below for an update from the Washington State Department of Social & Health Services about this program.
Economic Services Administration to administer Disaster Cash Assistance Program (DCAP)
April 17, 2020
Effective today, the Department of Social and Health Services’ Economic Services Administration (ESA) received approval to begin administering a Disaster Cash Assistance Program (DCAP) in response to the Governor’s declaration of a statewide emergency related to COVID-19.
DCAP was originally designed to provide emergency assistance with natural disasters in mind, like wildfires and flooding. In order to expand DCAP to families and individuals affected by COVID-19, the Department adopted emergency rules allowing these funds to be used during the COVID-19 state of emergency.
DCAP benefits are available for one month, in a 12-month period, to all Washington families and people without children, who meet income and resource rules and who are not eligible other cash programs, such as:
- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
- Aged, Blind or Disabled (ABD) cash
- Pregnant Women Assistance (PWA)
- Unemployment Compensation, or
- Paid Family & Medical Leave through ESD or their employer.
- Applicants must be living in Washington before the emergency declaration happened.
- Applicants must first apply and be determined not eligible for other cash assistance programs available.
- Under DCAP, applicants are not required to:
- Meet citizenship requirements;
- Provide a social security number; or
- Be pregnant or have a minor child.
- Program benefits are available for one month in a 12 month period.
- The program is not a public charge program since it is disaster relief.
- Payment standards are based on income and need and may not exceed the TANF payment standards for their household size. For example, to be eligible for DCAP, a one person household must have less than $363.00 in income after deductions are applied in the month of application (approximately 34% of the Federal Poverty Level). If an individual has no income and is resource eligible, they may qualify for the maximum payment amount of $363.00 in DCAP.
