281—56.11 (259) Establishment of financial need. The division establishes the client’s financial need prior to providing physical restoration, including prostheses; transportation (for other than diagnostic, guidance or placement purposes); maintenance; and occupational licenses, tools and equipment. Recipients of SSD/SSI are not subject to a financial needs test for any services.
In determining financial need, the clients or, in the case of minors, the minors’ parents or guardians are required to make a specific declaration regarding all family income from any source that may be applied toward the cost of rehabilitation services, except those of diagnosis, counseling, training and placement, which are provided without regard to financial need. The income should be available to the client; that is, actually on hand, free from prior obligations and ready when needed.
The division shall observe the following policies in making a determination of financial need based upon the findings:
	 56.11(1) All services requiring the determination of financial need are provided on the basis of supplementing the resources of the client or of those responsible for the client.
	 56.11(2) A supervisor may grant an exception in cases where the applicant’s disability caused or is directly related to financial need and where all other sources of money have been exhausted by the applicant or the parents or guardians of a minor applicant.
	 56.11(3) Consideration shall be given to the client’s responsibility for the immediate needs and maintenance of the client’s dependents, and the client shall be expected to reserve sufficient funds to meet the client’s family obligations and to provide for the family’s future care, education and medical expenses.
	 56.11(4) Consideration shall also be given to factors such as prior obligations as well as to the desirability of conserving the client’s own resources for future rehabilitation purposes, such as becoming established in business or providing a business automobile required for transportation or employment.
	 56.11(5) Income up to a reasonable amount should be considered from the standpoint of its conservation and its maximum utilization to the long-term interest of the client. Small casual earnings and unpredictable gifts of indeterminate value should not be counted as resources.
	 56.11(6) Financial aid from public assistance is disregarded as a resource.
	 56.11(7) Grants and scholarships, while not required to be searched for a comparable benefit, may be considered when determining financial support of a plan.