Section 78.05. Eligibility requirements.

  An applicant shall meet the following requirements to be eligible for TAP assistance:

(1)   Certification of hearing loss. The applicant shall be certified as deaf, deafblind or severely hard of hearing by a licensed physician, an audiologist who is certified by the American speech and hearing association or a coordinator of deaf and hard of hearing services who is employed by the department's division of disability and elder services.

(2)   Residency. An applicant shall be either a Wisconsin resident or a tax dependent of a Wisconsin resident.

(3)   Income eligibility.

(a) The Wisconsin adjusted gross income of the applicant's family as reported for Wisconsin income tax purposes for the most recent annual tax reporting period shall be equal to or less than 200% of the poverty line established under 42 USC 9902 (2) as updated annually or more often by the secretary of the U.S. department of health and human services.

(b) If an applicant is claimed as a dependent for income tax purposes, the adjusted gross income of the person or persons claiming the applicant as a dependent shall be listed on the application form and shall be used to determine income eligibility.

(4)   Telephone service. The applicant shall have telephone service at home, except that if the applicant does not have telephone service in the home at the time of application for TAP assistance, the applicant shall submit a copy of the telephone service installation bill before the department issues a voucher to the applicant.

(5)   Residents in nursing homes or institutions. An applicant living in a nursing home or institution may be considered for TAP assistance only if the applicant has personal telephone service. In this subsection, "personal telephone service" means that the telephone is located in the applicant's assigned bedroom and the telephone is registered on behalf and for the use of the applicant.

(6)   Persons eligible for or receiving services from the department of workforce development. A person eligible for or receiving services from the department of workforce development's division of vocational rehabilitation shall first be evaluated by that division to determine if the person is eligible for a telecommunication device under the vocational rehabilitation program, and if denied, may apply for assistance from TAP.

CR 03-001 : cr. Register July 2003 No. 571 , eff. 8-1-03.