7 AAC 45.227 - Assistance to a minor parent

(a) To qualify for assistance as a pregnant woman or as the caretaker relative of a dependent child, an applicant or recipient who is a minor parent must reside in a living arrangement that has been approved by the department.

(b) The department will approve the minor parent's living arrangement if the minor parent chooses to reside with the minor parent's parent or legal guardian.

(c) If the minor parent chooses to reside with an adult relative who is not the minor parent's parent or legal guardian, the department may review the home of the adult relative. The department will not approve the living arrangement if the department finds that the living arrangement

(1) does not provide a supportive environment in which the minor parent is expected to learn and practice appropriate parenting skills and develop other skills to promote the long-term well-being and economic independence of the minor parent and dependent child; or

(2) includes a history or circumstances that would jeopardize the physical or emotional health of the minor parent or the dependent child, as described in (d)(6)(A) - (E) of this section.

(d) A minor parent may claim that living with the minor parent's own parent, legal guardian, or other adult relative is not appropriate. The department will examine such a claim and make a determination based on the results of the examination. The department will find that living with the minor parent's own parent, legal guardian, or another adult relative is not appropriate if

(1) the minor parent does not have a living parent, legal guardian, or other adult relative whose whereabouts are known;

(2) no living parent, legal guardian, or other adult relative will allow the minor parent and the dependent child to reside in the parent's, legal guardian's, or other adult relative's home;

(3) the minor parent lived apart from the minor parent's parent or legal guardian for at least one year before either the birth of the dependent child or the date of the minor parent's application for assistance;

(4) the department determines that having the minor parent live in the home of the minor parent's parent, legal guardian, or other adult relative would endanger the physical or emotional health of another individual in the home;

(5) the department requires the minor parent to participate in education or vocational training, or participate in a licensed substance abuse treatment program, and appropriate education, vocational training, or substance abuse treatment is not available in the community where the parent, legal guardian, or other adult relative lives; or

(6) the physical or emotional health of the minor parent or the dependent child would be jeopardized if they resided with the parent, legal guardian, or other adult relative; the department will find that emotional or physical health would be jeopardized in a living arrangement if the department discovers a history or circumstances in that home of

(A) physical acts that resulted in, or had the potential to result in, serious injury to a minor;

(B) financial exploitation of a minor;

(C) sexual abuse, including any sexual activity involving a dependent child, coercion of a minor to engage in sex activities, or any threat or attempt to engage in sexual abuse;

(D) emotional abuse severe enough to result in long-term impairment of an individual's functional capacity; or

(E) neglect or deprivation of necessary medical care.

(e) If the department finds that it is not appropriate for a minor parent to live with the minor parent's own parent, legal guardian, or other adult relative, the minor parent must reside in an alternative living arrangement that is approved by the department. The department will help the minor parent identify an approved living arrangement. Subject to the requirements of (f) of this section, arrangements that the department will approve include living in

(1) a licensed maternity home, including a group home for pregnant or parenting teenagers; or

(2) the private home of an unrelated adult.

(f) Before approving an alternative living arrangement under (e)(2) of this section, the department will examine the proposed living arrangement. The department will approve the living arrangement only if the arrangement

(1) provides supervision of the minor parent by a responsible adult who is at least 21 years of age;

(2) provides a supportive environment in which the minor parent is expected to learn and practice appropriate parenting skills and develop other skills to promote the long-term well-being and economic independence of the minor parent and dependent child;

(3) does not include circumstances that would jeopardize the physical or emotional health of the minor parent or the dependent child, as described in (d)(6) of this section; and

(4) has received provisional or final approval for licensure as a foster home under AS 47.35.

(g) If the department determines that it will further the purposes of the ATAP program, the department may allow a minor parent to remain in a temporary alternative living arrangement for up to 60 days while the department examines the minor parent's claim that living with the minor parent's own parent, legal guardian, or other adult relative is not appropriate or helps the minor identify and secure an appropriate alternative living arrangement.

(h) The department will require that the payment of a minor parent be distributed whenever possible to an adult payee who is the parent, legal guardian, adult relative, or provider of an alternative living arrangement with whom the minor parent resides. The adult payee shall agree in writing to use the payment to provide for the needs of the minor parent and the minor parent's child.

(i) The department may contract or otherwise arrange with other social service providers to

(1) conduct the examinations required under (d) and (f) of this section; or

(2) help a minor parent identify an alternative living arrangement under (e) of this section.

(j) For the purposes of AS 47.27.027, a minor parent is considered to be maintaining an adequate level of school attendance if the minor parent is enrolled in and regularly attending a secondary school or appropriate training program, and attendance, as verified by an official of that school or program, is adequate to meet graduation or program certification requirements. Breaks in attendance due to official school vacations or other good cause, as demonstrated by the minor parent, do not constitute inadequate attendance. Under this subsection, "good cause" is found to exist if

(1) school attendance interferes with the minor parent's attempt, or an attempt by a member of the minor parent's immediate family, to escape domestic violence or its escalation;

(2) the minor parent must appear in court or is in detention under AS 47.12.240 or incarcerated;

(3) necessary transportation to school or program breaks down or otherwise becomes unavailable, and the minor parent lacks a reasonable alternative;

(4) weather conditions prohibit travel;

(5) the minor parent is caring for the minor parent's child under 13 weeks of age;

(6) a sudden and temporary situation arises, which is beyond the control of the family and affects the health of the minor parent or the minor parent's child or otherwise affects the minor parent's ability to comply, such as illness, death, or an act of nature;

(7) the minor parent cannot find appropriate child care, as defined in 7 AAC 45.260(h).

Notes

7 AAC 45.227

Eff. 2/27/97, Register 141; am 7/1/97, Register 142; am 10/1/97, Register 143; am 1/7/2005, Register 173

Authority:AS 47.05.010

AS 47.05.015

AS 47.27.005

AS 47.27.027