(a)
General. If a child is
living with both of his natural parents, the incapacity of either parent is the
eligibility factor for TANF. If a child has been legally adopted, it is the
lack of the support or care of the adoptive parent, and not of the natural
parent, that is the eligibility factor for TANF. If a child is living with a
parent and a stepparent, lack of support or care by the natural parent is the
eligibility factor for TANF. Deprivation of support is not considered to exist
in situations where the mother and the putative father of a child born
out-of-wedlock are living together with the child and paternity has been
established. For public assistance purposes, this is an intact family. The CAO
documents a putative father's claim of paternity for a child born
out-of-wedlock who was born within this Commonwealth on an
Acknowledgement of Paternity Form under §
153.44(e)(1)
(relating to procedures). When the putative father claims paternity of a child
who was born out-of-State, the CAO refers the putative father to the domestic
relations section to file a domestic relations section
Voluntary
Statement of Paternity Form in accord with §
153.44(e)(2).
When the putative father living with the child denies paternity, TANF may be
established based on the absence of the child's legal parent if all other
eligibility requirements are met. A child is considered deprived of parental
support or care if at least one parent is one of the following:
(b)
Requirements relating to absence
from the home. Continued absence from the home refers to desertion by
a parent, legal, or other separation between the parents, and certain other
circumstances of absence enumerated in §
153.44. It also describes the
situation when a parent of a child born out-of-wedlock is not with the
child.
(c)
Requirements
relating to physical or mental incapacity. Physical or mental
incapacity exists when either one of the parents living with the child has a
physical or mental defect, illness or impairment which substantially reduces or
eliminates the ability of the parent to support or care for the child. The
incapacity shall be proved.
(d)
Unemployment of the parent. The lack of parental support or
care for the child because of unemployment refers to the employment status of
the parent who is the principal wage earner. The unemployment of the principal
wage earner parent, as specified in §
153.44(d), will
establish the TANF category for the needy child regardless of the extent to
which the other parent is employed.
Notes
The
provisions of this § 153.43 amended through February 15, 1985, effective
2/16/1985, 15 Pa.B. 573; amended
September 13, 2002, effective retroactively to March 3, 1997, 32 Pa.B.
4435.
The provisions of this § 153.43 amended under sections
201(2), 403(b) and 432 of the Public Welfare Code (62 P. S. §§
201(2),
403(b) and 432); the Support
Law (62 P. S. §§
1971-1977); Titles I and III of
the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996
(Pub. L. No.
104-193) (PRWORA), creating the Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program, and amending
42 U.S.C.A. §§
601-619,
651-669(b) and
1396u-1; the Federal TANF
regulations in 45 CFR
260.10-265.10; and the
Domestic Relations Code,
23 Pa.C.S. §§
4301-4381,
5103,
7101-7901 and
8101-8418.
This section cited in 55 Pa. Code §
151.43 (relating to requirements);
55 Pa. Code §
153.44 (relating to procedures);
55 Pa. Code §
178.11 (relating to categories of
NMP-MA); 55 Pa. Code §
178.12 (relating to categories of
MNO-MA); 55 Pa. Code §
181.41 (relating to categories of
NMP-MA); 55 Pa. Code §
181.42 (relating to categories of
MNO-MA); 55 Pa. Code §
181.261 (relating to gross
earnings of a child); and 55 Pa. Code §
287.24 (relating to
procedures).
