R986-200-205. How to Determine Who Is Included in the Household Assistance Unit

The amount of financial assistance for an eligible household is based on the size of the household assistance unit and the income and assets of all people in the household assistance unit.

(1) The income and assets of the following individuals living in the same household must be counted in determining eligibility of the household assistance unit:

(a) all natural parents, adoptive parents, parents listed on the birth certificate and stepparents, unless expressly excluded in this section, who are related to and residing in the same household as an eligible dependent child. Natural parentage is determined as follows:

(i) A woman is the natural parent if her name appears on the birth record of the child.

(ii) For a man to be determined to be the natural parent, that relationship must be established or acknowledged or his name must appear on the birth record. If the parents have a solemnized marriage at the time of birth, relationship is established and can only be rebutted by a DNA test;

(b) household members who would otherwise be included but who are absent solely by reason of employment, school or training, or who will return home to live within 30 days;

(c) all minor siblings, half-siblings, and adopted siblings living in the same household as an eligible dependent child; and

(d) all spouses living in the household.

(2) The following individuals in the household are not counted in determining the household size for determining payment amount nor are the assets or income of the individuals counted in determining household eligibility:

(a) a recipient of SSI benefits. If the SSI recipient is the parent and is receiving FEP assistance for the child(ren) residing in the household, the SSI parent must cooperate with establishing paternity and child support enforcement for the household to be eligible. If the only dependent child is a SSI recipient, the parent or specified relative may receive a FEP assistance payment which does not include that child, provided the parent or specified relative is not on SSI and can meet all other requirements;

(b) a child during any month in which a foster care maintenance payment is being provided to meet the child's needs. If the only dependent child in the household is receiving a foster care maintenance payment, the parent or specified relative may still receive a FEP assistance payment which does not include the child, provided all other eligibility, income and asset requirements are met;

(c) an absent household member who is expected to be gone from the household for 180 days or more unless the absence is due to employment, school or training. If the absence is due to employment, school or training the household member must be included.

(d) a child who was counted as a dependent in a household that received TANF funded financial assistance or in a specified relative household in the same month. A child cannot be counted as a dependent in two households that receive TANF funded financial assistance or specific relative assistance in the same month.

(3) The household assistance unit can choose whether to include or exclude the following individuals living in the household. If included, all income and assets of that person are counted:

(a) all absent household members who are not required to participate in an employment plan under R986-200-210 and who are expected to be temporarily absent from the home for more than 30 but not more than 180 consecutive days unless the absence is due to employment, school or training. If the absence is due to employment, school or training the household member must be included. If the household member is required to participate in an employment plan, the household member must be included.

(b) Native American children, or deaf or blind children, who are temporarily absent while in boarding school, even if the temporary absence is expected to last more than 180 days;

(c) an adopted child who receives a federal, state or local government special needs adoption payment. If the adopted child receiving this type of payment is the only dependent child in the household and excluded, the parent(s) or specified relative may still receive a FEP or FEPTP assistance payment which does not include the child, provided all other eligibility requirements are met. If the household chooses to include the adopted child in the household assistance unit under this paragraph, the special needs adoption payment is counted as income;

(d) former stepchildren who have no blood relationship to a dependent child in the household;

(e) a specified relative. If a household requests that a specified relative be included in the household assistance unit, only one specified relative can be included in the financial assistance payment regardless of how many specified relatives are living in the household. The income and assets of all household members are counted according to the provisions of R986-200-241.

(f) if the only adult in the household is temporarily absent, the dependent child or children must be left under the care of an adult or benefits will be denied;

(4) In situations where there are children in the home for which there is court order regarding custody of the children, the Department will determine if the children should be included in the household assistance unit based on the actual living arrangements of the children and not on the custody order. If the child lives in the home 50% or more of the time, the child must be included in the household assistance unit and duty of support completed. It is not an option to exclude the child. This is true even if the court awarded custody to the other parent or the court ordered joint custody. If the child lives in the household less than 50% of the time, the child cannot be included in the household. It is not an option to include the child. This is true even if the parent applying for financial assistance has been awarded custody by the court or the court ordered joint custody. If financial assistance is allowed, a joint custody order might be modified by the court under the provisions of 30-3-10.2(4) and 30-3-10.4.

(5) The income and assets of the following individuals are counted in determining eligibility even though the individual is not included in the assistance payment:

(a) a household member who has been disqualified from the receipt of assistance because of an IPV, (fraud determination);

(b) a household member who does not meet the citizenship and alienage requirements; or

(c) a minor child who is not in school full time or participating in self sufficiency activities.