DEFINITIONS

In this subchapter: (1) "Financial assistance benefits" means money payments under: (A) the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program operated under Chapter 31, Human Resources Code; or (B) the state temporary assistance and support services program operated under Chapter 34, Human Resources Code. (2) "Pilot program" means the pilot program for self-sufficiency of certain individuals receiving financial assistance or supplemental nutrition assistance benefits developed and implemented under this subchapter. (3) "Self-sufficiency" means: (A) being employed in a position that pays a sufficient wage; (B) having financial savings in an amount equal to at least $1,000 per member of a family's household; and (C) maintaining a debt-to-income ratio that does not exceed 43 percent. (4) "Slow reduction scale" means a graduated plan for reducing financial assistance or supplemental nutrition assistance benefits that correlates with a phase of the pilot program's progressive stages toward self-sufficiency. (5) "Sufficient wage" means an amount of money sufficient to meet a family's minimum necessary spending on basic needs, including food, child care, health insurance, housing, and transportation, as determined by a market-based calculation that uses geographically specific expenditure data. (6) "Supplemental nutrition assistance benefits" means money payments under the supplemental nutrition assistance program operated under Chapter 33, Human Resources Code.