Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 39, September 25, 2024
Continuing eligibility for FA shall be determined in
accordance with the policies and procedures generally applicable in public
assistance. Personal contacts and redeterminations of eligibility shall be made
in accordance with office regulations, Part 351 of this Title. This
redetermination shall include reconsideration of all variable factors,
including financial need of child and parent or other relative, welfare of
child or minor, living with a parent or other relative, the employment status
of employable individuals, and the 60- month durational limit applicable to the
FA program.
(a) Financial need. There
shall be a reevaluation of all needs and resources of the child and parents or
other relative in accordance with approved standards of assistance. Extent of
need shall be determined in accordance with agency policy for the family group
each time a member of it is out of the home temporarily. The part of the grant
which is necessary to retain the child's home shall be provided.
(b) Reconsideration of the welfare of the
child. As part of the periodic redetermination of eligibility, there shall be a
reevaluation of the welfare of the child. Where there is concern for a child's
welfare, referral shall be made to children's services for assessment of the
child's home situation.
(c) Living
with a parent or other relative.
(1) Except
as provided in section
369.3(a)(2)(ii)
of this Part, temporary absence from the home or from the district of a child,
a grantee, or both, shall not affect a previous determination that the child is
living with an eligible relative when it is determined that the parent or
relative retains full responsibility for control of the child and the absence
cannot be interpreted as a change in the child's home.
(2) When the absence of the child from the
home extends for a consecutive period of 45 days or more, or when the parent or
caretaker relative expects the absence of the child to extend for a consecutive
period of 45 days or more, the provisions for establishing good cause for the
absence shall apply pursuant to section
351.2(k)
of this Title.
(d)
Family assistance durational time limit.
(1)
General rule. Family assistance may not be granted to a family that includes an
adult who has received a cumulative total of 60 months of assistance, whether
or not such months are consecutive, from any combination of the following
sources:
(i) assistance funded under the
Federal temporary assistance to needy families (TANF) block grant in New York
State since December 2, 1996, including assistance under the former ADC
program; and/or
(ii)
non-TANF-funded assistance in cash through the safety net assistance (SNA)
program after August 4, 1997.
(2) Individual time limit status. Each
regular contact with the family shall include an evaluation of the individual
time limit status of each family member who is included in the calculation of
the grant for the family, or who would be included in the grant calculation
except for a sanction, and who meets one of the following criteria:
(i) the individual is 19 years of age or
older; or
(ii) the individual has
reached age 18 but is not yet 19 and is not a student completing a secondary
education or its equivalent; or
(iii) the individual is not yet 19 and is the
head of the household, or is the spouse of the head of the household,
regardless of the individual's student status; or
(iv) the individual is under 18 years old and
is a minor parent residing in an adult- supervised living arrangement, and is
the direct payee of the assistance grant.
The time limit status of each such individual shall be
determined by a review of the history of TANF-funded assistance and any
non-TANF-funded SNA cash assistance provided to such individual to determine
the cumulative number of months that must be counted towards the FA durational
limit of 60 months for that individual.
(3) Time limit months defined. A "month"
shall be counted toward the durational limit of 60 months for each calendar
month in which the adult individual was a member of a family to which
TANF-funded assistance or non-TANF-funded SNA cash assistance was issued during
the calendar month. A month shall not be counted toward the durational limit
for an individual who is a member of a family for whom no benefits are issued
during the month, with the exception of the situation in which no payment is
made for the family because a recoupment is being taken which reduces the grant
to zero, and no other payment is made in the month. A month shall not be
counted for an individual who is a member of a household for which non-cash
only SNA benefits were issued, provided that these SNA benefits were not
TANF-funded.
(4) Previous
assistance received outside New York State. When it is determined that an
individual in a FA family has received TANF-funded assistance in another state
while the individual was an adult or minor head of household or spouse of the
head of household, as specified in paragraph (2) of this subdivision, a
determination shall be made as to the number of months of assistance from the
other state that shall count toward the individual time limit of 60
months.
(5) Sixty-month limit.
Eligibility of the family for FA shall not continue beyond the calendar month
in which any such individual as specified in paragraph (1) of this subdivision
has received TANF-funded assistance or non-TANF SNA cash assistance for a total
of 60 months, whether or not these months are consecutive.
(6) Authorization under the time limit. Based
upon the determination of the time limit status of each individual in the FA
family, continuing assistance shall not be authorized beyond the calendar month
in which any such individual will reach the total of 60 months of TANF-funded
assistance or non-TANF SNA cash assistance, whether or not these months are
consecutive.
(7) Exemption to
application of time limit. The district shall exempt a family from the
application of the 60-month limit on FA and federally participating safety net
assistance on the basis of hardship. A hardship exists when the adult family
member is unable to work because of an independently verified physical or
mental impairment that:
(i) causes incapacity
for a period of more than six months (including those caused by alcohol or
substance abuse);
(ii) is the
result of domestic violence and is anticipated to last three months or
more;
(iii) has happened to a child
as the result of domestic violence and the adult family member is needed in the
home to care for the child;
(iv)
has happened to another household member and is so severe that the adult family
member is needed in the home to provide full-time care; or
(v) qualifies the adult family member for,
and such member is awaiting receipt of or is in receipt of, supplemental
security income payments under title XVI of the Federal Social Security Act or
additional State payments under section 209 of the Social Services Law.
(e) Employment referral
status. Continuing eligibility for family assistance for each parent or
caretaker relative shall be dependent on the individual's compliance with the
requirements as set forth in applicable Department of Labor
regulations.
(f) Continued school
attendance. Attendance in high school or the equivalent level of vocational or
technical training of an 18 year old child shall be confirmed at each regular
contact with the family. If such a child fails to resume attendance at the next
regular term following vacation, the child shall be considered ineligible for
family assistance.
(g) Change of
residence or absence from the district of administration. When a recipient
leaves the district of administration, the agency shall determine if such
absence is temporary, a continuing responsibility of the district of
administration, or permanent change of residence.
