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Department
of Human Services Families
First Online Policy Manual Assistance Unit |
Revised: |
7.2 |
MANDATORY ASSISTANCE UNIT MEMBERS |
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Mandatory AU members include: ·
The dependent child. ·
The technically
eligible whole, half, or adopted siblings of the
dependent child. ·
The technically eligible parent(s),
including an incapacitated parent or an unemployed parent, living in the home
with the dependent child. ·
The technically eligible alleged parent in the home who meets incapacity or
unemployed parent criteria. The blood
relationship to the child must be established. An alleged parent cannot be included in the
AU if the child has a legal father.
When an alleged parent of one or more children lives in the home with
the child’s other parent and their child’s technically eligible half
sibling(s), all siblings and both parents must be included in a single AU. ·
Any eligible
married or single minor who lives with or
moves into the home with a Families First recipient caretaker parent who is
receiving Families First for the minor’s siblings cannot be a separate AU,
but must be included in his/her parent’s AU with his/her sibling(s). -
A minor
parent’s child may be included or excluded from the major parent’s AU
depending on who is applying. o If the minor
parent is applying for his/her child, the child must be included in the major
parent’s AU. o If the major
parent is applying for the minor parent, the minor parent’s child is an
optional AU member. o If the minor
parent moves into the home of the major parent and must be included in the AU
with his/her siblings, the minor’s child is optional. Note: If the minor parent opts to exclude the
child, the child cannot be eligible for a separate grant. -
The income
of a parent who is not a Families First recipient but with whom the minor
parent resides is deemed to be available to the minor parent who requests
Families First. -
The income
of the minor’s spouse in the home must be considered available in its
entirety to the minor (the AU which includes the minor). -
The child of
a minor must meet all Families First eligibility requirements if included in
the AU. If both parents live in the
home, one parent must be incapacitated or be an unemployed parent. A minor parent who marries during the
receipt of assistance may choose to exclude the new spouse from the AU for 3
full months, regardless of income.
Following the 3 months, the AU must meet TANF eligibility requirements
to continue to receive assistance. The
count of the 3 months begins the month following the month of marriage. (Refer
to Marriage
During Receipt of Assistance.) |
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