211.01 Who Must Be Members SR 08-04, 04/08 (FAM-A)

Include the following individuals in the same Financial Assistance To Needy Families* assistance group:

• All children who are blood, adoptive, or step-related siblings, provided they:

- live with a specified relative;

- are under the age of 18 or are under age 20 and are full-time students in a secondary school or its equivalent;

- meet all nonfinancial criteria for *Financial Assistance To Needy Families; and

- are deprived of parental support or care due to the death, continued absence, or incapacity of a parent, or unemployment of the principal wage earner.

• All natural, adoptive, and step-related parents of the children unless receiving SSI or OAA, APTD, or ANB financial assistance.

• Cohabitating adults who share a minor child, and the minor "common" child, when there is no deprivation due to incapacity or when the assistance group is not eligible for UP cash assistance.

Families who are not eligible for or who choose not to receive, financial assistance can choose one coverage group for each individual who is eligible to participate in any medical assistance program. Each individual can only receive assistance in one coverage group.

All family members requesting the same type of medical assistance must be included in the same medical assistance group.

Exceptions:

• Do not include individuals in the *Financial Assistance To Needy Families group if they are ineligible for any reason other than income or resources.

• A parent MUST be included in the assistance group if his or her child lives with a non-parent specified relative who has legal custody of the child, and the parent of the child lives in the household. (See Section 207.05, Living With a Specified Relative)

• Although the cohabitating adult and the common child(ren)’s income, resources, and needs are considered in specific scenarios when determining eligibility for financial assistance, the cohabiting adult and common child are not considered recipients of *financial or medical assistance, but are considered counted adult(s) and counted child(ren).

• If a non-parent specified relative adopts the child and the child’s biological parent moves into the household, do not include the biological parent (See Section 211.11, Who is Not a Member) unless the biological parent brings blood-related siblings to the adopted child into the household.

Example: Gloria adopts her grandson Sam and they receive cash assistance. Beth, Sam’s biological mother, moves into the household. She is not added to the assistance group because Beth relinquishing her parental rights over Sam severs the mother/son relationship. Two months later, Beth regains custody of her 4 other children and she moves them into the household with Gloria and Sam. The 4 other children are siblings of Sam’s and must be added to the assistance group. Beth must also be added to the assistance group because of her parental relationship with the siblings of Sam.

• When 3 generations live in the same home, include the minor parent in the same *financial assistance group as their siblings if assistance has been requested for the siblings. Minor parents must meet the definition of a dependent child.

• When minor parents request assistance for their own children, include the children in the same *Financial Assistance To Needy Families group as their minor parent.