Current through Register Vol. 42, No. 5, February 29, 2024
(1) An assistance unit consists of those
parents receiving or applying for aid. Parents, stepparents and siblings must
be included in the assistance unit, unless they are ineligible to receive
assistance due to, age or relationship, or as aliens, or are recipients of
FCMP. Failure of a grantee relative (payee) to provide information necessary
for determining eligibility and payment amount makes the entire assistance unit
ineligible for assistance.
(2) In
order for the child to be eligible, the assistance unit must include the
following persons in the same family unit:
(a)
A legal parent(s) in the home as defined in department program operating
guidelines and/or stepparents not excluded under (3) or (5) below.
EXCEPTION: Convicted parent-prisoners sentenced to do
unpaid public work and permitted by court order to reside with their
families.
(b) All the child's
blood-related siblings or adoptive siblings under 18 or under 19 if
participating in a State approved educational or training program living in the
home who meet the age requirements with the exception of children who receive
FCMP. Step-siblings whose legal parent resides in the home and stands as a
stepparent to the applicant/recipient group are not required to be included in
the assistance unit.
(3)
Notwithstanding the above, certain parents, stepparents and siblings must be
excluded from the assistance unit because they are not eligible for assistance.
This includes:
(a) Individuals who receive
FCMP and effective June 1, 1994, ACFC, or adoption assistance payments. The
exclusion with respect to individuals who receive adoption assistance does not
apply if excluding the child would reduce the family's FA benefits;
(b) Aliens who would be included but for
certain citizenship and alienage requirements;
(c) Aliens who would be included but are
ineligible due to the deemed income of resources of their sponsors, or due to
the sponsorship by an agency or organization;
(d) Individuals who would be included but for
ineligibility on the basis of age or relationship.
(e) Individuals who are fleeing to avoid
prosecution, or custody or confinement after conviction of a felony, or
violating a condition of probation or parole imposed under Federal or State
law.
(f) Individuals found guilty
under Federal or State law to have fraudulently misrepresented residence in
order to obtain benefits from two or more State's federally funded programs
under Title IV-A of the Social Security Act, Medicaid, Food Stamps or SSI.
Ineligibility for cash assistance is for a 10 year period beginning on the date
of conviction.
(g) Individuals
convicted under Federal or State law of a felony based upon conduct occurring
on or after August 22, 1996 which has as an element the possession, use or
distribution of a controlled substance unless the individual has completed his
or her sentence or is satisfactorily serving a sentence of probation.
(4) With respect to persons not
required to be included in the assistance unit, the caretaker relative retains
the right to choose who may be included or excluded from the unit as follows:
(a) Other related children, including
stepchildren, nieces, etc., of the grantee may be included, if such children
meet the age requirements and are otherwise eligible. (If one child of a
sibling group is included, all his siblings who reside in the home and who meet
age requirements must be included. When a single caretaker is providing
parental guidance and control over multiple, distinct sibling groups, the
groups must be consolidated into one assistance unit.)
(5) Parents, stepparents and siblings
included in the assistance unit must comply with all requirements for example
JOBS and enumeration. Persons otherwise required to be included but who are
ineligible due to failure to meet an eligibility requirement, must be included
when no longer ineligible.
Author: Melody Armstrong
Statutory Authority: Social Security Act, Title
IV-A; 45 C.F.R. Part 260; State Plan for Title IV-A; Code of Ala.
1975, Title 38; Act No. 2015-185.
