7 AAC 100.110 - Living in home of a caretaker relative

(a) To be eligible for Family Medicaid, a dependent child must be living with a caretaker relative in the home of that caretaker relative.

(b) The department will consider a dependent child to be living with a caretaker relative if the caretaker relative maintains a home for the child and is responsible for the care and control of the child. The department may consider a child to be living with a caretaker relative even if

(1) the child is receiving protective supervision or probation services; or

(2) the state has legal custody of the child, but the child is in the physical custody of the caretaker relative.

(c) The department will consider a dependent child to be living in the home of a caretaker relative in a month that the child is not yet physically located in the home of a caretaker relative if the

(1) caretaker relative intends that the child will enter the home of the caretaker relative;

(2) child actually comes to live with the caretaker relative within 30 days after the caretaker relative receives the first Family Medicaid recipient identification card; and

(3) child has not received Title IV-E foster care benefits or Family Medicaid in the home of another relative for the same month.

(d) If a dependent child resides with both parents in the same home, either parent may be recognized as the caretaker relative. If a child resides with two relatives of the child who are not the child's parents and both relatives claim to be the caretaker relative for the purpose of applying for Family Medicaid benefits for that child, the department will determine which relative is exercising the primary responsibility for the care and control of that child in accordance with (f) of this section.

(e) If two relatives of a dependent child who are living in separate homes have shared physical custody of the child, but only one relative has applied for Family Medicaid benefits for the child, the department will, for the purpose of determining Family Medicaid eligibility only, consider the relative who has applied for benefits to be the caretaker relative exercising primary responsibility for the care and control of the child. If two relatives of a dependent child who are living in separate homes have shared physical custody of the child and both relatives have applied for Family Medicaid benefits for the child, the department will determine which caretaker relative is exercising the primary responsibility for the care and control of the child in accordance with (f) of this section for the purpose of determining Family Medicaid eligibility only. The selection of a caretaker relative under this section may not be used to identify which parent is the custodial or noncustodial parent for the purposes of the child support services agency.

(f) To determine which relative is the caretaker relative exercising the primary responsibility for the care and control of the dependent child under (e) of this section, the department will consider all of the following:

(1) in whose home the child is living;

(2) how long the child will likely remain in that home;

(3) what percentage of the month the child is in the separate home of each of the two relatives;

(4) who provides the majority of the child's guidance, discipline, physical, and financial needs;

(5) the nature and frequency of the contacts made with the child by each relative.

(g) Except as otherwise provided in (c) of this section and 7 AAC 100.112, the department will consider a child to be living with a caretaker relative during a month only if the child and the caretaker relative are both in the home for at least one day of the month.

Notes

7 AAC 100.110

Eff. 7/20/2007, Register 183

Authority:AS 47.05.010

AS 47.07.020

AS 47.07.040