Eligibility Requirements

• New families who do not currently receive CAPS must be in one of the priority groups below. Please see CAPS Policy – Priority Groups for more details.
  • Child Protective Services (CPS) and Court Ordered Supervision Cases – Requires a referral from CPS.
  • Children enrolled in a lottery funded Georgia’s Pre-K class
  • Children in DFCS Custody
  • Children with disabilities – Disabilities may include intellectual disabilities; hearing, speech, language impairments, visual, or orthopedic impairments; serious emotional disturbance, autism, traumatic brain injury, specific learning disability, significant delays in cognitive, communication, social, emotional, or adaptive development; or other health impairments that impact the child’s learning.
  • Families experiencing domestic violence
  • Families participating in or transitioning from TANF – Requires a referral from TANF and is limited to families who are participating in TANF employment or support services.
  • Families who have experienced a natural disaster within the previous 24 months.
  • Families who lack fixed, regular, and adequate housing
  • Families with very low income as defined by CAPS – See Appendix A – Maximum Income Limits for applicable income limits by family size.
  • Grandparents Raising Grandchildren (GRG) – Must be participating in DFCS’s Grandparents Raising Grandchildren program.
  • Minor parents – Parental authorities 20 years of age or younger.
  • Need to protect – Children who need protective services but are not formally involved with CPS.
• In addition to being in a priority group, families must meet the eligibility requirements listed below. Please note that only the most common verification options are listed below. The complete list of acceptable verification can be found in CAPS Policy – Eligibility Requirements and CAPS Policy – Income Calculations.

Requirement	Description	Verification Options
Priority Group Status	All new families must be in a priority group (listed above).	Each priority group has different verification requirements. See CAPS Policy – Priority Groups for more details.
Residency	Families must be Georgia residents.	Current Georgia government issued driver’s license or identification card; current lease or mortgage statement; wage stubs with residence address; current utility bill
Child’s age	Children must be 12 years of age or younger, or 17 years of age or younger with qualifying special needs.	Birth certificate, court records, U.S. passport
Child’s citizenship or qualified alien status	Children must be a U.S. citizen or lawfully admitted qualified alien	Birth certificate, certificate of citizenship, U.S. passport, vital records
Immunizations	Verification of immunization is only required for children who do not receive TANF, do not attend school, and do not attend a licensed child care provider.	Georgia Immunization Certificate (Form 3231) or a signed, notarized statement of religious exemption
Proof of identity	Parents must provide proof of their identity.	Federal or state issued identification card, Social Security award letter, voter registration card
State-approved activity	Most parents are required to be in a state-approved activity for an average of 24 hours per week (employment, education, or, for members of qualifying priority groups, job search). The activity requirement is waived for foster parents and those participating in the Division of Family and Children Services Grandparents Raising Grandchildren program.	Employment: pay stubs, a letter from the employer on business letterhead, CAPS Self-employment Report, CAPS Form 809 – Income Verification Education: Written verification of enrollment from the educational institution and current class schedule or an Education Verification Form
Income	The family’s gross applicable income cannot exceed 50% of the state median income. See Appendix A – Maximum Income Limits.	Pay stubs for the most recent four weeks of income, a letter from the employer on business letterhead, CAPS Self-employment Report, CAPS Form 809 – Income Verification

• Families who currently receive CAPS will have their eligibility redetermined every 52 weeks to ensure the family remains eligible for ongoing services. Families will not be required to verify circumstances that have already been verified and are not subject to change (e.g., identity, citizenship).
• Please note that only the most common verification options are listed below. The complete list of acceptable verification can be found in CAPS Policy – Eligibility Requirements and CAPS Policy – Income Calculations.

Requirement	Description	Verification options
Residency	Families must be Georgia residents.	Current Georgia government issued driver’s license or identification card; current lease or mortgage statement; wage stubs with residence address; current utility bill
Child’s age	Only for any new children not already in the CAPS case.	Birth certificate, court records, U.S. passport
Child’s citizenship or qualified alien status	Only for any new children not already in the CAPS case.	Birth certificate, certificate of citizenship, U.S. passport, vital records
Immunizations	Only for any new children not already in the CAPS case who do not receive TANF, do not attend school, and do not attend a licensed child care provider.	Georgia Immunization Certificate (Form 3231) or a signed, notarized statement of religious exemption
State-approved activity	Most parents are required to be in a state-approved activity for an average of 24 hours per week (employment, education, or, for members of qualifying priority groups, job search). The activity requirement is waived for foster parents and those participating in the Division of Family and Child Services Grandparents Raising Grandchildren program.	Employment: pay stubs, a letter from the employer on business letterhead, CAPS Self-employment Report, CAPS Form 809 – Income Verification Education: Written verification of enrollment from the educational institution and current class schedule or an Education Verification Form
Income	The family’s gross applicable income cannot exceed 85% of the state median income. See Appendix A – Maximum Income Limits.	Pay stubs for the most recent four weeks of income, a letter from the employer on business letterhead, CAPS Self-employment Report, CAPS Form 809 – Income Verification