134.01 General Requirements SR 06-12, 10/06 (FAM-A)

To qualify for a hardship extension to the 60-month state lifetime limit, an NHEP/UP assistance group must:

• participate in a Hardship Review Interview and make an official request for hardship extension on Form 785, Hardship Extension Request, (see FAM 134.09, Requesting a Hardship Extension);

• provide all required verification of the hardship condition within required timeframes;

• be approved for an extension due to hardship by the Department;

• have no adult member of the AG under sanction for failure to comply with NHEP work requirements;

• have no adult member of the AG disqualified from receiving TANF/UP due to committing an Intentional Program Violation; and

• meet all general, technical, categorical, and financial requirements for TANF/UP financial assistance on the day an extension begins.

FAP assistance groups are permanently exempt from the 60-month state lifetime limit and are not required to meet the Specified Hardship Criteria and participate in the Hardship Review Interview process.

Exception: A FAP case must be reviewed if circumstances in the case change.

If a FAP casehead is a non-parent specified relative and the child’s parent moves into the household, the parent of the child must be included in the AG (See Section 207.05, Living With a Specified Relative, and Section 211.01, Who Must Be Members). The result of the addition of the parent into the FAP AG is as follows:

• If the non-parent specified relative does not have legal custody of the child, the FAP case closes and eligibility for cash assistance is redetermined for the parent and the child.

• If the non-parent specified relative has legal custody of the child and the parent is mandatory NHEP, the FAP case reverts to mandatory NHEP with the non-parent specified relative as the casehead. The entire household is then subject to the TANF 60-month state lifetime limit. If the parent is at the 60-month state lifetime limit when he/she moves into the household, the AG will close at 60 months unless the parent:

- meets the Specified Hardship Extension Criteria (See Section 134.03, Specified Hardship Criteria); or

- becomes permanently exempt from the NHEP work program requirements (See Section 808.05, Exemptions from Participation in NHEP).

Example 1: Gloria and her grandson Sam are open for FAP cash, payee relative not included (PRNI). Gloria does not have legal custody of Sam. Sam’s dad moves in with Gloria and Sam. The FAP-PRNI case must close and eligibility for cash assistance is redetermined with Sam and Sam’s dad making up the AG.

Example 2: Gloria and her grandson Sam are open for FAP-PRNI cash. Gloria has legal custody of Sam. Sam’s dad moves in with Gloria and Sam. Sam’s dad must be added into the AG but because Gloria has custody of Sam, she remains in the AG as the casehead. If Sam’s dad is mandatory NHEP, the FAP case reverts to NHEP, and the entire household is now subject to the 60-month state lifetime limit.

In both examples above, if Sam’s dad is mandatory NHEP and at the 60-month state lifetime limit when he moves in, the financial assistance case closes unless Sam’s dad meets the Specified Hardship Extension Criteria or becomes permanently exempt from the NHEP work program requirements, which would make the case FAP. Otherwise, the case must close.