369.4 Determination of continuing eligibility.
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 sixty 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 forty-five days or more, or when the parent or
caretaker relative expects the absence of the child to extend for a consecutive period of
forty-five 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 sixty
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
nineteen years of age or older, or;
(ii) the individual has
reached age eighteen but is not yet nineteen and is not a student completing a secondary
education or its equivalent, or;
(iii) the individual is
not yet nineteen 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 eighteen 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 sixty months for that individual.
(3) Time limit months defined. A
"month" shall be counted toward the durational limit of sixty 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 sixty 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 sixty 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 sixty 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 sixty 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 a minor who is expected to
complete the program before reaching the age of 19 shall be confirmed at each regular
contact with the family. If such a minor fails to resume attendance at the next regular
term following vacation, he shall be considered ineligible for ADC.
(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.