Ariz. Admin. Code § R6-12-101 - Definitions
The following definitions apply to this Chapter:
1. "Acceptable medical source" means a
registered nurse practitioner or a licensed physician, including a medical or
osteopathic doctor; licensed psychologist; licensed optometrist; and licensed
podiatrist, as applicable for the particular medical impairment.
2. "Adequate notice" means a notice which
explains the action the Department intends to take, the reason for the action,
the specific authority for the action, the recipient's appeal rights, and right
to benefits pending appeal, and which is mailed before the effective date of
the action.
3. "Adequate and timely
notice" means a written notice which contains the information required for an
adequate notice and is sent within the time-frame provided for a timely
notice.
4. "Adverse action" means
one of the Department actions described in
R6-12-1001(A), including action to terminate or reduce a benefit or assistance grant, or
change the manner or form in which benefits are paid.
5. "AHCCCS" or "Arizona Health Care Cost
Containment System" means a system established pursuant to A.R.S. §
36-2901 et
seq. which consists of contracts with providers for the provision of
hospitalization and medical care coverage to members.
6. "AHCCCSA" or "The Arizona Health Care Cost
Containment System Administration" means the Arizona state government agency
which administers the AHCCCS program.
7. "Appellant" means an applicant or
recipient of assistance who is appealing an adverse action by the
Department.
8. "Applicant" means a
person who has directly, or through an authorized representative or responsible
person, filed an application for CA with the Department.
9. "Assistance unit" means those members of a
needy family, or a child only case, that meet the non-financial eligibility
criteria for Cash Assistance and whose needs, income, resources, and other
circumstances are considered as a whole to determine a Cash Assistance benefit
amount.
10. "Available income"
means income that is actually available to the family or the assistance unit,
and income in which the family or the assistance unit has a legal interest in a
liquidated sum and has the legal ability to make such sum available for support
and maintenance. When an assistance unit includes a dependent child who resides
with a parent or a minor sibling, the Department shall consider the income of
the parent and minor sibling as available income to the assistance
unit.
11. "Available resources"
means resources that are actually available to the assistance unit, and
resources in which the assistance unit has a legal interest. Resources include
a liquidated sum in which the assistance unit has the legal ability to make
such sum available for support and maintenance. When an assistance unit
includes a dependent child who resides with a parent or a minor sibling, the
Department shall consider the resources of the parent and minor sibling as
available resources to the assistance unit.
12. "Benefit month" means the calendar month
for which benefits are paid based upon the assistance unit's projected income
and anticipated circumstances for that same month.
13. "Benefit" or "cash benefit" means a
monetary amount that the Department pays to an assistance unit for a particular
benefit month.
14. "Bona fide
funeral agreement" means a prepaid plan that specifically covers only
funeral-related expenses as evidenced by a written contract.
15. "Burial plot" means a space reserved in a
cemetery, crypt, vault, or mausoleum for the remains of a deceased
person.
16. "CA" means Cash
Assistance, a program administered by the Department that provides assistance
to needy families with dependent children and to child only cases under
42
U.S.C. 601 et seq.
17. "Calendar quarter" means one of the four
consecutive three-month periods of a calendar year beginning with either
January 1, April 1, July 1, or October 1.
18. "Calendar year" means a period of 12
consecutive months beginning with January 1 and ending with December
31.
19. "Caretaker relative" means
a parent or a non-parent relative (Non-parent Caretaker Relative or NPCR),
whether related by blood or adoption, who maintains a family setting for a
dependent child and who exercises responsibility for the day-to-day physical
care, guidance, and support of that child.
20. "Child only case" means a case in which
the eligible dependent child is in the legal custody of the Department and
placed in foster care as defined in A.R.S. §
8-501,
with an unrelated adult, or a nonparent relative who is not receiving Cash
Assistance. A.R.S. §
46-101(7).
21. "Child welfare agency" means any agency
or institution as defined at A.R.S. §
8-501(A)(1).
22. "Collateral contact" means an individual,
agency, or organization the Department contacts to confirm information provided
by the applicant or recipient.
23.
"Countable income" means income from every source minus income excluded under
R6-12-503.
24. "Countable payment" means a cash benefit
paid to or for an assistance unit in the Arizona CA program on or after October
1, 2002, but does not include cash benefits that are not countable toward the
36-month time limit under
R6-12-318(E).
25. "Crime" means any unlawful act against a
head of household, the spouse of the head of household, or any member of an
assistance unit that creates a hardship.
26. "Current federal poverty level" means the
federal Department of Health and Human Services poverty guidelines published
annually in the Federal Register.
27. "Day" means a calendar day unless
otherwise specified.
28.
"Department" means the Arizona Department of Economic Security.
29. "Dependent child" means a child as
defined at A.R.S. §
46-101(8).
30. "Disregards" means those income
deductions that the Department applies to the family's or the assistance unit's
gross earned income to determine eligibility and benefit amount.
31. "District Medical Consultant" means a
licensed physician whom the Department employs to review medical records for
the purpose of determining physical or mental incapacity.
32. "Earned income" means any monetary gain
to the family or the assistance unit as defined in
45 CFR
233.20(a)(6)(iii) through
(viii) (October 1994) which is incorporated by reference and on file with the
Office of the Secretary of State and not including any later amendments or
editions, and in Article 5 of this Chapter.
33. "Eligibility determination date" means
the date the Department makes the decision described in
R6-12-706 and issues the eligibility decision notice.
34. "Encumbrance" means a legal
debt.
35. "Equity value" means fair
market value minus encumbrances.
36. "FAA" or "Family Assistance
Administration" means the administration within the Department's Division of
Benefits and Medical Eligibility with responsibility for providing financial
and food stamp assistance to eligible persons and determining medical
eligibility.
37. "Fair
consideration" means an amount which reasonably represents the fair market
value of transferred property.
38.
"Fair market value" means the value at which property would change hands
between a willing buyer and a willing seller, neither being under any
compulsion to buy or sell, and both having reasonable knowledge of the relevant
facts.
39. "Family" means the
following individuals living in the same home with:
a. A head of household caretaker relative:
i. A dependent child,
ii. Parent or parents of the dependent
child,
iii. Spouse of the parent or
parents of the dependent child,
iv.
The head of household caretaker relative,
v. The spouse of the head of household
caretaker relative,
vi. Minor
siblings of the dependent child,
vii. Minor children of the head of household
caretaker relative, and
viii. Minor
children of the spouse of the head of household caretaker relative, or
b. A minor parent
requesting CA under
R6-12-608 :
i. The minor parent or parents,
ii. The minor parent's child,
iii. The minor parent's adult caretaker
relative,
iv. The spouse of the
minor parent's adult caretaker relative,
v. Minor parent's minor siblings or
step-siblings,
vi. Minor children
of the adult caretaker relative, and
vii. Minor children of the spouse of adult
caretaker relative.
40. "Foster care maintenance payment" means a
monetary amount which the Department pays to a foster parent for the expenses
of a child in foster care.
41.
"Foster child" means a child placed in a foster home or a child welfare
agency.
42. "Gross Income" means
countable income available to a family and an assistance unit for the purpose
of computing the net income amount that is used to determine the income
eligibility of a family and the cash benefit amount for an assistance
unit.
43. "Hardship" means a
situation that causes suffering or distress through the deprivation or loss of
basic needs. The hardship must prevent an adult assistance unit member, the
caretaker relative head of household, the spouse of the caretaker relative head
of household, or the minor parent head of household from working or engaging in
work activities to a degree that such person is prevented from financially
supporting the eligible dependent child in the assistance unit, independent of
CA.
44. "Head of household" means a
dependent child's parent or the spouse of the parent, or the dependent child's
nonparent relative or spouse of the nonparent relative, who receives Cash
Assistance for him (or her)self and on behalf of the dependent child or only on
behalf of the dependent child. A.R.S. §
46-101(13).
45. "Homebound" means a person who is
confined to the home because of physical or mental incapacity.
46. "Homeless" means all assistance unit
members meet either of the following criteria:
a. They do not have a fixed or regular
nighttime residence.
b. They have
as their primary nighttime residence one of the following:
i. A supervised shelter designed to provide
temporary shelter to homeless persons;
ii. A half-way house or similar institution
that provides temporary residence;
iii. A rent-free accommodation in the
residence of another person for not more than 90 days; or
iv. A place not designed, or ordinarily used,
for sleeping. This includes the following:
(1) Car,
(2) Bus station,
(3) Hallway,
(4) Park, or
(5) Sidewalk.
47. "Homestead
property" means a home owned and occupied by an applicant or recipient, or
which is co-owned and occupied by a separated or divorced spouse of an
applicant or recipient.
48.
"Income" means earned and unearned income available to a family or an
assistance unit.
49. "JOBS" or "Job
Opportunities and Basic Skills Training Program" means the program authorized
by 42 U.S.C. 681 - 687 and A.R.S. §
46-299,
which assists CA recipients to prepare for, obtain, and retain
employment.
50. "Job Corps" means
the program authorized by 29 U.S.C. 1691 et seq. which provides education,
training, intensive counseling, and related assistance to economically
disadvantaged young men and women.
51. "JTPA" or "Job Training Partnership Act"
means the program authorized by 29 U.S.C. 1501 et seq. which prepares youth and
unskilled adults for entry into the labor force and affords special job
training.
52. "Lawful Permanent
Resident" means a noncitizen who has been granted authorization by the United
States Citizen and Immigration Service to live and work in the United States on
a permanent basis.
53. "Liquid
asset" means cash or another financial instrument which is readily convertible
to cash.
54. "Local office" means a
FAA office which is designated as the office in which CA applications and other
documents are filed with the Department and in which eligibility and benefit
amounts are determined.
55. "Lump
sum income" means a single payment of earned or unearned income, such as
retroactive monthly benefits, non-recurring pay adjustments or bonuses,
inheritances, lottery winnings, or personal injury and workers' compensation
awards.
56. "Mailing date," when
used in reference to a document sent first class, postage prepaid, through the
United States mail, means the date:
a. Shown
on the postmark;
b. Shown on the
postage meter mark of the envelope, if there is no postmark; or
c. Entered on the document as the date of its
completion, if there is no legible postmark or postage meter mark.
57. "Need standard" means the
money value the state assigns to the basic and special needs deemed essential
for an assistance unit.
58. "Needy
family" means the same as A.R.S. §
46-101(16).
59. "Net income" means gross income, minus
the monthly earned income disregards under
R6-12-703 .
Net income is used to determine the income eligibility of a family and a cash
benefit amount for an assistance unit.
60. "Non-parent relative" means a dependent
child's grandfather, grandmother, brother, sister, stepfather, stepmother,
stepbrother, stepsister, uncle, aunt, niece, nephew, or cousin and includes a
permanent guardian who is appointed pursuant to A.R.S. §
8-872.
A.R.S. §
46-101(17).
61. "Noncitizen" means a person who is not a
United States citizen.
62.
"Noncitizen sponsor," which is sometimes referred to as a "sponsor," means an
organization which, or a person who, has executed an affidavit of support or
similar agreement on behalf of an noncitizen who is not the child or spouse of
the sponsor, as a condition of the noncitizen's entry into the United
States.
63. "Notice date" means the
date which appears as the official date of issuance on a document or official
written notice the Department sends or gives to an applicant or
recipient.
64. "OSI" or "Office of
Special Investigations" means the Department office to which FAA refers cases
for investigation of certain eligibility information, investigation and
preparation of fraud charges, coordination and cooperation with law enforcement
agencies, and other similar functions.
65. "Overpayment" means a financial
assistance payment received by or for an assistance unit for a benefit month
and which exceeds the amount to which the unit was lawfully entitled.
66. "Parent" means the lawful mother or
father of a dependent child and includes only a birth or adoptive parent and
excludes a stepparent.
67.
"Participating in a strike" means engaging in any activity as defined at
29
U.S.C. 142(2), as amended
through June 23, 1947, which is incorporated by reference and on file with the
Office of the Secretary of State and not including any later amendments or
editions.
68. "Party" means the
Department and the applicant or recipient.
69. "Payment standard" means the amount of
money from which net income is subtracted to calculate the monthly benefit
amount.
70. "Physical or mental
incapacity" means a physical or mental impairment which substantially precludes
a parent from providing for the support or care of the parent's
child.
71. "PI" means the Primary
Informant, who is the individual who signs the Application for Assistance; in
TPEP assistance units the PI is the PWEP.
72. "PRA" means the Personal Responsibility
Agreement, which is a document listing the obligations of a household that
applies for and receives CA.
73.
"Projected income" means an estimate of income that a family or an assistance
unit reasonably expects to receive in a specific month, the actual amount of
which is unknown but which is estimated from available and reliable
information.
74. "Prospective
eligibility" means an eligibility determination for a benefit month based on
income and other circumstances as they actually exist, and are anticipated to
exist, in that same month.
75.
"Putative father" means a male person whom a birth mother has named as father
of her child, but whose paternity has not been established as a matter of
law.
76. "Prospective budgeting"
means the computation of a benefit amount for a particular benefit month based
on the Department's projected income and circumstances as they actually exist
and are anticipated to exist for that same month.
77. "PRWORA" means the federal Personal
Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (Public Law
104-193 ).
78. "PWEP" or "Primary wage earning parent"
means the parent in a two-parent family who earned the greater amount of income
in the 24-month period immediately preceding the month in which an application
for benefits is filed.
79. "Request
for hearing" means a clear written expression by an applicant or recipient, or
such person's representative, indicating a desire to present the case or issue
to a higher authority.
80.
"Resources" means real and personal property available to an assistance
unit.
81. "Review" means a review
of all factors affecting an assistance unit's eligibility and benefit
amount.
82. "Spendthrift
restriction" means a legal restriction on the use of a resource which prevents
a payee or beneficiary from alienating the resource.
83. "Sponsored noncitizen means a noncitizen
whose entry into the United States was sponsored by a person who, or an
organization which, executed an affidavit of support or similar agreement on
behalf of the noncitizen alien, who is not a child or spouse of the
sponsor.
84. "Student" means a
person who is attending a school, college, or university, or who is enrolled in
a course of vocational or technical training designed to prepare the trainee
for gainful employment, and includes a participant in Job Corps.
85. "Suitable work" means work in a
recognized occupation for which a person is reasonably qualified.
86. "Support" means child support, alimony,
spousal maintenance, or medical support.
87. "Supportive Services unit" means an
assistance unit which is eligible for all benefits, except a monthly cash
amount, that a CA assistance unit receives.
88. "SVES" means the State Verification and
Exchange System which is a system through which the Department exchanges income
and benefit information with the Internal Revenue Service, Social Security
Administration, State Wage, and Unemployment Insurance Benefit data
files.
89. "TANF" means Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families, which is a program administered by the
Department to provide assistance to needy families with dependent children and
child only cases under
42
U.S.C. 601 et seq.
90. "Timely notice" means a notice which the
Department mails at least 10 days before the date on which the action described
in the notice will occur or take effect or, in circumstances of probable fraud,
at least five calendar days in advance of the date such action is
effective.
91. "Title IV-A of the
Social Security Act" means
42
U.S.C. 601 -
617,
the statutes establishing the CA program.
92. "Title IV-E of the Social Security Act"
means
42
U.S.C. 670 -
679,
the statutes establishing the foster care and adoption assistance
programs.
93. "TPEP" or "Two-parent
Employment Program" means the CA program that provides assistance for dependent
children residing in a needy family who are deprived of parental support
because the primary wage-earning parent is unemployed.
94. "Underpayment" means a monthly benefit
payment which is less than the amount for which the assistance unit is
eligible, or the failure to issue a benefit payment when such payment should
have been issued.
95. "Vendor
payment" means a payment that a person or organization who is not a member of
the family or the assistance unit makes to a third-party vendor to cover family
or assistance unit expenses.
96.
"Violence" means battery or extreme cruelty inflicted on a head of household or
any member of an assistance unit. Battery or extreme cruelty includes any of
the following:
a. Physical acts that
threatened or resulted in physical injury;
b. Threats of, or attempts at, physical or
sexual abuse;
c. Sexual activity
involving a child;
d. Being forced
as the caretaker of a child to engage in non-consensual sexual acts or
activities;
e. Mental or emotional
abuse; and
f. Neglect or
deprivation of basic necessities such as food or medical care.
97. "Voluntary Quit/Reduction in
Work Effort" is an action to willingly quit a job or reduce work effort without
good cause.
98. "Warrant" means a
payment instrument drawn on the Arizona State Treasury authorizing payment of a
particular sum of money to an CA recipient.
Notes
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