SR 04-07 Dated 03/04

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

INTER-DEPARTMENT COMMUNICATION

SUMMARY

This SR releases clarifications in determining household composition for TANF financial and medical assistance groups based upon certain living arrangements. Specifically it:

·   clarifies who must be a member of the assistance group;

·   identifies the casehead of the TANF financial and medical assistance group when a child shares a dwelling with either:

-   a specified relative only; or

-   a parent and a non-parent specified relative; and

·   defines a dwelling.

POLICY

Policy regarding determining household composition for TANF financial and medical assistance groups has been clarified as follows.

Definition of Dwelling

A dwelling is a housing unit that:

·   is an individual’s principal residence;

·   has its own living facilities, including provisions for sleeping, eating, and sanitation; and

·   has one postal address.

If the dwelling has a separate living unit attached to it with a separate postal address, this living unit is considered to be a separate dwelling.

Example 1: A grandparent and grandchild live together in one side of a duplex at 129A Brown Street. The child’s parent lives in the other side and receives mail at 129B Brown Street. The parent lives in a separate dwelling from the grandparent and the child.

Example 2: A grandparent and grandchild live together in the grandparent’s home. The parent of the child lives in the basement of the grandparent’s house where there is a room for sleeping, a separate kitchen, and a bathroom. Because the basement living arrangement does not meet the condition of having a separate postal address, the parent is considered to be sharing a dwelling with the grandparent and the child.

Sharing a Dwelling With a Specified Relative

When a child shares a dwelling with a specified relative only:

·   the child is considered to be living with the specified relative; and

·   the specified relative is the casehead.

Sharing a Dwelling With a Parent and Non-Parent Specified Relative

When a child shares a dwelling with a parent and a non-parent specified relative:

·   the child is considered to be living with the parent; and

·   the parent is the casehead.

Example: Grandmother is a Payee Relative Not Included (PRNI) in her grandchild’s FAP case, but she does not have legal custody or guardianship. Her daughter, the child’s mother, moves back into the household. Unless there is a reason that the mother is not exercising care and control of the child (e.g., substance abuse or a mental/physical health problem), the Family Services Specialist (FSS) must close the PRNI FAP case because grandmother does not have legal custody, and reopen the child and mother in their own case with the mother as the casehead.

Note: If there is a dispute between the parties regarding who is the casehead, the FSS should attempt to determine who is actually exercising day-to-day care, supervision, and control of the child through questions such as:

·   "Who makes medical decisions regarding the child?"; or

·   "Who does the school contact if the child becomes ill?"

However, if the child shares a dwelling with a parent and a non-parent specified relative and the non-parent specified relative has custody or legal guardianship of the child, the non-parent specified relative is considered to be the casehead, but:

·   the child is considered to be living with the parent; and

·   the parent must be included in the assistance group (AG), because all parents and all children must be in the same AG.

Example 1: Grandmother has legal custody of her grandchild. Her daughter, the child’s mother, moves back into the household. Because the grandmother has legal custody, the case is not closed and reopened with the mother and child in their own AG as in the example above. Instead, the mother is added to the AG and the grandmother, as the legal custodian, is still considered to be the casehead. The mother’s income and resources are now counted towards the AG. If the mother brought siblings with her when she moved back in with the grandmother, the additional siblings would also be added to the AG. The grandmother would continue to be the casehead in the AG regardless of the grandmother’s day-to-day care, supervision, and control of these added siblings, unless the grandmother shifted legal custody of the grandchild in her care back to the mother.

Note: If grandmother had adopted the child in the above scenario and mother returned to the home, the mother would not be a required member of the AG because then there would be no legal relationship with the child that was adopted. However, if the mother returned to grandmother’s house with siblings of the adopted child, the mother and the siblings she brings with her would now be added to the AG. All the siblings would be required members of the AG due to the blood relationship the siblings have with the adopted grandchild. The mother would now be a required member of the AG through her relationship with the siblings.

Example 2: Father and son live with the father’s mother. The father is a mandatory NHEP participant and has reached month 59 of receiving TANF cash assistance. The father moves into a spare room in his mother’s basement and claims that he is no longer supervising and caring for his child and has asked his mother to take on this role in the child’s life. Unless father’s mother obtains legal custody of father’s son, the father remains as the casehead of the AG and the son is considered to be still living with the father. At 60 months of receipt, NHEP cash assistance will close unless father becomes exempt from NHEP work program requirements or meets Hardship Extension criteria.

The father’s mother and father’s son cannot be their own separate AG, without the father being included, unless:

·   the father’s mother adopts the father’s son, severing the legal relationship between the father and son; or

·   the father leaves his mother’s residence.

Note: If the father leaves his mother’s residence, father’s mother could apply for cash assistance for herself and father’s son, regardless of her legal custody of the child. However, if the father returned to the residence, he would have to be added to the AG. The effect of the father’s return on the open cash case would depend upon the cash assistance program that was open and the custody of the father’s son, as follows:

·   If father’s mother had legal custody of father’s son, and the two were open for FAP cash when the father was added back into the AG, the case would revert to mandatory NHEP, based on the father, and the father’s mother would remain as the casehead since she had legal custody of father’s son. Per He-W 602.05(a), the entire AG would then become ineligible when the father reached his 60 months on assistance, unless the father had become permanently exempt from NHEP work program requirements, thereby switching the case back to FAP, or the father now met Hardship Extension criteria.

·   If father’s mother had legal custody of father’s son, and the two were open for NHEP cash when the father was added back into the AG, the case would remain mandatory NHEP, based on the father and father’s mother, and the father’s mother would remain as the casehead since she had legal custody of father’s son. However, the entire AG would still become ineligible at 60 months, per He-W 602.05(a), unless the father had become permanently exempt from NHEP work program requirements, or the father now met Hardship Extension criteria:

-   If the father became permanently exempt due to receipt of SSI or APTD and subsequently could not be included in the cash AG, the 60-month lifetime limit would only apply to the father’s mother’s AG. If the father’s mother had not reached the timelimit, the case would remain open as mandatory NHEP.

-   If the father met Hardship Extension criteria, the AG would remain open for 6 months, at which time the AG would need to request another extension or the case would be closed.

·   If father’s mother did not have legal custody of father’s son, and the two were open for FAP or NHEP cash when the father was added back into the AG, the open case would close and eligibility would have to be redetermined for father and father’s son only, without the father’s mother included. If father had reached the 60-month lifetime limit, the case would not be reopened unless the father had become permanently exempt from NHEP work program requirements, thereby making the case FAP, or the father now met Hardship Extension criteria.

RELATED POLICY CLARIFICATION REGARDING ASSISTANCE GROUPS

Clarifying text has been added to the definition of "Assistance Group" in the FAM to emphasize that an assistance group does not need to reside in a housing unit, such as a house or apartment, when determining eligibility for assistance. For example, the assistance group could be residing in a car, camper, tent, etc.

POLICY MANUAL REVISIONS

Revised Family Assistance Manual Topics

Section 134.01   General Requirements

Section 207.05   Living With a Specified Relative

Section 211.01   Who Must Be Members

Section 211.11   Who Is Not a Member

Glossary   A-Words

Glossary   D-Words

IMPLEMENTATION

The changes identified in this SR will be implemented March 1, 2004, and will apply to any new cases processed on or after that date.

CLIENT NOTIFICATION

No special client notification is planned or needed.

TRAINING

No special training is needed.

DISPOSITION

This SR may be destroyed or deleted after its contents have been noted and the revised manual topics released by this SR have been posted to the On-line manuals.

DISTRIBUTION

This SR will be distributed according to the electronic distribution list for Division of Family Assistance policy releases. This SR, and revised On-Line Manuals, will be available for agency staff in the On-Line Manual Library, and for public access on the Internet at http://www.dhhs.nh.gov/DHHS/DFA/LIBRARY, effective May 3, 2004.

This SR, and printed pages with posting instructions, will be distributed under separate cover to all hard copy holders of the Family Assistance Manual.

DFA/DMS:s