Public assistance and government benefits in Fairfax County Virginia.
People who need assistance and who reside in Fairfax County Virginia can look into the public assistance programs available from DFS and DSS. The county works closely with the federal government, state of Virginia, and other agencies to offer qualified low income families and people living in poverty a wide range of services such as SNAP food stamps, TANF cash assistance and other support. Find details below on the government benefits programs in Fairfax County VA and how to get the, including applying online at CommonHelp.
Get help with food from social services
Virginia Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP)/Food stamps can help people with no income or who are low income. Benefits are provided to qualified Fairfax County residents on an electronic debit type card that is used like an ATM card. Most food stores, retailers, and supermarkets in the region participate in the SNAP. In addition, the county can refer people to local Fairfax County food banks and pantries for immediate needs.
Nutritional Supplement Program and the Fairfax Area Meals on Wheels Program can help seniors and the elderly who live in the region. Older individuals can get access to free or low cost home delivered meals and groceries, with a focus on residents in Falls Church and Fairfax Virginia. Many items are delivered to people’s homes by volunteers.
- Food and nutritional supplements provided include a cold meal and/or a hot lunch that includes a salad or sandwich (except for the ethnic meal programs), or an ethnic meals too. That can be ethnic Vietnamese, Korean and Middle Eastern meals in some areas of Fairfax County.
Educational and employment services from the government
Children may be able to benefit from Head Start. Both pregnant women as well as children up to age 5 can get help in preparing for school from this federal government program. Services offered include early childhood education and special services for children with disabilities. The Head Start family services component can help parents find a job, access transportation and career counseling. Children and their parents can also benefit from health care and dental services, as well as free healthy meals and snacks.
- Other programs for children include Early Head Start (for those who are even younger). These are national child development programs that serve working poor and low-income families across the country. Assistance is offered for infants, toddlers or preschoolers, as well as expectant parents or pregnant women with low incomes.
Job Training Services and Employment Services are offered across northern Virginia and Fairfax County. Residents of all backgrounds can get access to a comprehensive service from DSS that touches on career counseling, interview skills and more. All services are offered for free at employment resource centers, and the formal name of the centers and service is One Stop from the WIOA workforce program.
Cash assistance benefits in Fairfax County to help pay bills
DSS helps pay for child care. Government subsidies, or in some cases free daycare, is offered for low income families if they are working, or actively seeking employment or attending job training in Fairfax County Virginia. Government assistance from CCAP, which can also be applied to online at CommonHelp, is also offered with the cost of care for children with special needs through age 21.
The Fairfax County Cooling Assistance Program from Family Services is funded by and is the local equivalent of EA (LIHEAP). The focus is on those residents with at least one person considered especially vulnerable to the hot Virginia summers, and can include families with a disabled individual, a child under age six, someone who lives in the home who is 60 years of age or older.
- Assistance from the program can be used to help with paying for purchase of a whole-house fan, including ceiling or attic fans or small AC units. Money can also be used for the payment of monthly electric bills to operate cooling and A/C equipment, repairs to cooling equipment, or deposits to reestablish your utility service.
Free fans and even small AC units can be provided by the Fan Care Program (also part of EA). It is for elderly and senior Fairfax County residents. It can help them stay safe and cool in the hot summer heat. This distribution program can provide free fans to older individuals, and sometimes a free air conditioner may be provided too. The program is currently sponsored by Virginia Department for the Aging in close cooperation with Dominion Virginia Power.
Utility bill, fuel, and emergency energy is also run by the Fairfax County Department of Family - Social Services. For winter heating expenses, the Fuel Assistance program helps qualified low-income households with paying for the costs of heating their homes.
- Another option is the Crisis Assistance program. When someone is faced with a disconnection and needs to prevent it, or has some type of emergency, this service can help those households in emergency situations. Crisis assistance can provide money for paying their heat security deposits and funding the repair or replacement of heating or even cooling equipment.
Cash assistance in Fairfax County can be provided from the Virginia Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. The main objective is to provide money to low income families or single parents in need of help. The money, combined with government job training, can help people end the dependence on government benefits. Parents who receive cash assistance from TANF, and who are also able to work, are required to participate in the VIEW job training program (see below).
- An employment program from DSS known as VIEW, or Virginia Initiative for Employment not Welfare, is available for families who receive government assistance from TANF. Clients will work with a social worker to access programs to address job-related challenges. This includes personal, medical and family challenges that address unemployment. What it does is the Fairfax County VIEW program offers qualified parents the resources people need to both find and keep a job, so they can gain self-sufficiency.
Medicaid insurance from the government can arrange Low-Cost or Free Public Health Care for children. The program is offered for income qualified families, and those who meet insurance requirements. Fairfax County can coordinate these services and they also can assist individuals with applying for Medicaid.
- Doctor visits including primary care and urgent care.
- Non-emergency care such as vision services and dental needs.
- Low cost or free prescriptions drugs.
- Immunizations, shots, and basic illnesses.
- Short-term physical therapy, including school and sports physicals.
- X-rays, diagnostic services, and laboratory work.
Applying for benefits in Fairfax County
To apply for these or other government assistance programs, applications can be done online at https://commonhelp.virginia.gov/. This is the statewide portal for benefit applications.
There are also multiple offices around the area listed here https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/familyservices/office-locations, or call the Fairfax County Human Services at 703-222-0880 as one service they also help with is applications to benefits.
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