R986-200-214. Assistance for Specified Relatives

  (1) Specified relatives include:

  (a) grandparents;

  (b) brothers and sisters;

  (c) stepbrothers and stepsisters;

  (d) aunts and uncles;

  (e) first cousins;

  (f) first cousins once removed;

  (g) nephews and nieces;

  (h) people of prior generations as designated by the prefix grand, great, great-great, or great- great-great;

  (i) brothers and sisters by legal adoption;

  (j) the spouse of any person listed above;

  (k) the former spouse of any person listed above;

  (l) individuals who can prove they met one of the above mentioned relationships via a blood relationship even though the legal relationship has been terminated;

  (m) former stepparents

  (n) a Native American adult who has a Native American child placed in, or living in that adult's home, and both the child and the adult are members of, or eligible for membership in, a federally recognized tribe; and

  (o) an adult of the same ethnicity, culture, country of origin, religion, language and/or nationality as the refugee/asylee child in his or her care.

  (2) The specified relative must provide proof of relationship to the child. If the specified relative is unable to provide proof, but DCFS has determined that one of the relationships in subparagraph (1) of this section exists, the Department will accept the DCFS determination. DCFS will not be liable for any potential overpayment resulting from a determination made regarding relationship.

  (3) The Department shall require compliance with Section 30-1-4.5

  (4) A specified relative may apply for financial assistance for the child. If the child is otherwise eligible, FEP rules apply.

  (5) The child must have a blood or a legal relationship to the specified relative even if the legal relationship has been terminated, or have a blood relationship to a dependent child who is in the home and who is included in the household for assistance purposes. This does not apply to specified relatives who are eligible under subsection (1)(n) and (o) of this section;

  (6) Both parents must be absent from the home where the child lives. This is true even for a parent who has had his or her parental rights terminated;

  (7) The child must be currently living with, and not just visiting, the specified relative;

  (8) The parents' obligation to financially support their child will be enforced and the specified relative must cooperate with child support enforcement; and

  (9) If the parent(s) state they are willing to support the child if the child would return to live with the parent(s), the child is ineligible unless there is a court order removing the child from the parent(s)' home.

  (10) If the specified relative is currently receiving FEP or FEPTP, the child must be included in that household assistance unit.

  (11) The income and resources of the specified relative are not counted unless the specified relative requests inclusion in the household assistance unit.

  (12) If the specified relative is not currently receiving FEP or FEPTP, and the specified relative does not want to be included in the financial assistance payment, the specified relative shall be paid, on behalf of the child, the full standard financial assistance payment for one person. The size of the financial assistance payment shall be increased accordingly for each additional eligible child in the household assistance unit excluding the dependent child(ren) of the specified relative. Since the specified relative is not included in the household assistance unit, the income and assets of the specified relative, or the relative's spouse, are not counted.

  (13) The specified relative may request to be included in the household assistance unit. If the specified relative is included in the household assistance unit, the household must meet all FEP eligibility requirements including participation requirements and asset limits.

  (14) Income eligibility for a specified relative who wants to be included in the household assistance unit is calculated according to R986-200-241.