55 Pa. Code § 151.43 - Requirements
(a)
Eligibility for TANF. When a child is living with a relative
who is exercising responsibility for the care and control of the child,
eligibility for TANF will not be affected by the following situations:
(1) The child is under the jurisdiction of
the court (for example, is receiving probation services or protective
supervision).
(2) Someone other
than the relative (for example, a person, or public or voluntary agency, holds
legal custody of the child).
(b)
Persons 15 years of age or
younger. A person 15 years of age or younger, living in the home of
his specified relative, will not normally be considered to be capable of
exercising responsibility for the care and control of the child unless that
person can clearly show that capability. The capability may be shown by a
statement provided by the specified relative in whose home the applicant or
recipient is living, that the applicant or recipient is in fact exercising the
care and control. In the absence of a statement, a factual determination of who
is exercising care and control will be made. If a specified relative is
exercising responsibility for the care and control of the child, then
regardless of the age of the specified relative, he may apply for assistance
(TANF) for himself or his child, or both, as well as be the payment name for a
grant for himself and his child.
(c)
Different specified relatives within a shelter group. If,
within a shelter group, different specified relatives are exercising
responsibility for care and control of different groups of children eligible
for TANF, each relative will be considered to be maintaining a home for the
children on whose behalf he applies for or receives assistance if the following
conditions are met:
(1) The specified
relatives of different groups of children are not spouses of each
other.
(2) No one of the specified
relatives is the parent of all the children in the shelter group for whom TANF
is to be authorized.
(d)
Temporary absence of the child or relative. The temporary
absence of either the child or the relative from his home will not affect the
eligibility of the child for TANF under the following circumstances:
(1) The absence of the child is not more than
or expected to be more than 180 consecutive days. A specified relative shall
report the absence of a minor child by the end of the 5-day period that begins
with the date that it becomes clear to the specified relative that the minor
child will be absent beyond the consecutive 180-day period. A specified
relative who fails to report within 5 days of the time it becomes clear to the
specified relative that a minor child will be absent beyond the consecutive
180-day period will be ineligible for assistance for 30 days.
(2) The absence does not basically affect the
responsibility of the relative for the care and control of the child. However,
if the child is living in a school to which the relative has had to turn over
control of the child, the relative will not be eligible for TANF.
(3) The relative will exercise this
responsibility when the reason for the temporary separation no longer exists.
For example, a child is temporarily living away from home because the best plan
for the child's education through the first 12 grades, undergraduate college or
for vocational training requires it. During the period of separation, the
county staff shall decide whether or not the child is still in need or whether
the child's needs are being met: if the child is in need, the grant will be
computed as though the child were living in the home of the specified
relative.
(e)
Temporary exception to living with specified relatives. The
requirements for a temporary exception to living with specified relatives are
as follows:
(1) During a temporary period of
crisis or change in a child's life, that is, when an emergency deprives the
child of care by a specified relative, and plans for the future care and
protection of the child cannot be made immediately, the child may be living
with a person other than a specified relative. In these cases, the child shall
be eligible only if the person the child is living with is acting in the behalf
of the child, the child was receiving TANF when the crisis occurred and active
planning is going on for the continuing care of the child.
(2) TANF is granted during this temporary
period so that plans for the continuing care of the child can be made and
carried out, for example, so that the child can be referred to another agency
and be accepted by them for care. When the plans for the child have been made
and carried out, the temporary TANF payments will end. The plans shall be
reviewed at a redetermination.
(f)
Pregnant women. A
pregnant woman with no children or with children who are not receiving TANF may
qualify for TANF for herself only as a specified relative if all of the
following apply:
(1) The pregnancy and the
expected delivery date are established by a physician, clinic or other medical
source.
(2) The fetus, if born,
would be eligible for TANF based on the criteria in §
153.43 (relating to
requirements).
Notes
The provisions of this § 151.43 amended under sections
201(2), 403(b) and 432 of the Public Welfare Code (62 P. S. §§
201(2),
403(b) and 432); Titles I and
III of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of
1996 (Pub. L. No.
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