A child who is otherwise eligible for Families First must be
found to be in need by Families First standards and to be deprived of parental
support and/or care. Deprivation must be due to any one of the
following:
(1) Death of one or both
parents;
(2) Incapacity of a
parent;
(3) Absence/Continued
Absence from the home in which the child lives of one or both parents, under
the criterion described in
1240-01-47-.26(3)(a)
of these rules. (The absent parent may have
left only recently or some time previously and deprivation of parental support
or care by reason of "Absence/Continued Absence" must be reviewed and
substantiated at each determination/redetermination of eligibility as provided
in
1240-01-47-.26(5)
of these rules); or
(4) Unemployment of one or both
parents.
(5) Exception: When the
custodial parent marries during the period the caretaker is receiving Families
First, the caretaker has the option to exclude the new spouse and the new
spouse's income from the AG for the three months following the month of
marriage.
(a) Reserved for future
use.
(b) Reserved for future
use.
(c) Reserved for future
use.
(d) Reserved for future
use.
(6) Exception: When
the custodial and non-custodial parents share custody of their child(ren) on a
50/50 basis, whether deprivation of parental support or care by reason of
Absence/Continued Absence from the home exists will be determined under
criterion as described in
1240-01-47-.26(3)(a)
of these rules.
(a) When parents state they share custody
exactly 50/50, it must be determined what the parents are actually doing with
regard to co-parenting. Though a court order may divide the children's living
arrangements and parenting responsibilities 50/50, the parents may not, in
fact, be following the court order. If the parents do co-parent exactly 50/50
and the parental functions of guidance and physical care are not interrupted,
then we must look at the family as an intact family and consider the income of
both parents to determine if the family is financially eligible under the
Families First guidelines. If the family is under the GIS and CNS standards
(reference Gross Income Standard (GIS ) and Consolidated Need Standard (CNS) at
State Rule
1240-01-50-.20 ), then the
"applicant" parent would be able to receive Families First, if otherwise
eligible.
(b) The "applicant" in
true 50/50 co-parenting situations will be the parent who is the first to apply
for Families First. If one parent is already receiving Families First for their
children, and the second parent applies, the second parent's application will
be denied if the parents are still co-parenting 50/50. If both parents come in
together to apply, it will be the parents' responsibility to decide which one
of them will receive benefits for the children.
Notes
Tenn. Comp. R. &
Regs. 1240-01-47-.23
Original rule filed
December 2, 1996; effective February 15, 1997. Public necessity rule filed July
2, 2007; expired December 14, 2007. Amendment filed October 1, 2007; effective
December 15, 2007. Amendments filed January 20, 2009; effective April 5,
2009.
Authority: T.C.A. §§
4-5-201 et seq., 4-5-202, 4-5-209,
71-1-105, 71-3-152, 71-3-153 and 71-3-154; 71-3-158(d)(2)(D); 42 U.S.C.
§§ 601 et seq. and 42 U.S.C. 603; Public Acts of
1996, Chapter 950, and 45
CFR 233.90, 45 C.F.R. §
233.90(c)(1)(iii) and 233.100, §1115 of the Social Security Act; Deficit
Reduction Act 2005 ( Pub.
L. 109-171
§§ 7101 and 7102, February 8,
2006); 71 Federal Register 37454 (June 29, 2006); and Acts 2007, Chapter
31.
