Work First

North Carolina’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, called Work First (WF), is based on the premise that parents have a responsibility to support themselves and their children.

Work First is an employment program designed to assist families that are in a temporary financial crisis. The Work First program provides a wide array of supportive services to aid families in achieving self-sufficiency.

The Work First program promotes a strengths-based, family-centered practice approach.

Work First objectives include but are not limited to:

Job readiness
Employment
Child well-being
Economic self-sufficiency
Improved physical and mental health of families

Eligibility Requirements

The following chart describes the Work First eligibility requirements:

Eligibility requirement	What's Needed
Identity	Passport, ID or other primary documents
Address/Living With/Living Arrangement	Valid NC driver's license, lease agreement or utility bill
Age	Birth certificate
Kinship	Birth certificate or copy of court order documents
Citizenship/Alien Status	Passport, ID or other primary documents
Social Security Number	Valid Social Security card or number
Income: Wages, self-employment, public benefits, private retirement benefits, trust, etc.	Wage stubs, verification from employer, tax forms, award letter
Assets/Resources	Ownership and tax records, bank and court documents

Work First Maximum Allotment

Work First Maximum Allotment Chart

Assistance unit*	maximum benefit payment
1	$181
2	$236
3	$272
4	$297
5	$324
6	$349
7	$373
8	$386
9	$406
10	$430
11	$448
12	$473
13	$496
14	$521

* The assistance unit includes all individuals who live in the home and will receive the benefit. This may include individuals who are temporarily absent from the home.

How to Apply

Work First Employment Services

Call 704-296-4300 and you will be transferred to a Work First Employee. If you reach voicemail, please leave a message and your call will be returned within 48 hours.

Work First Family Assistance

Submit all required, completed information using one of these methods:

Electronically via NC ePass.
Email workfirst@unioncountync.gov
Fax applications for Work First to 704-296-6148
Mail: 2330 Concord Avenue, Monroe, NC 28110
Drop box in front of Human Services Agency building, 2330 Concord Ave.
Drive-thru window, past the Human Services Agency building entrance

Cash Assistance
Child Only Cases
Work First Employment Services

Work First cash assistance is provided primarily for children.

Biological or adoptive parents and stepparents may apply for assistance for a child and must be included in the payment for the family unless they are disqualified from the program.

Other relatives and individuals, regardless of their relationship, who have legal custody or guardianship of children may apply for assistance on their behalf but will not be included in the payment to the family.

Work First cash assistance is not provided to pregnant women without other dependent children.

Children must be age 17 or younger at application. Children may receive Work First benefits through the month that they turn 18.
Children who are age 18, in high school and expected to graduate by the month of their 19th birthday, can receive benefits through the month they graduate from high school.

Minor parents (under age 18), unless emancipated must:

Stay in school to complete their high school education or its equivalent. If a minor parent has not completed high school or has not received a GED or is suspended or expelled from school, the minor parent must participate in an appropriate educational training or other work activity.
Live with a parent or in another adult-supervised setting approved by the county director or the director’s designee. Payments will be made to an adult as a protective payee and not to the minor parent.