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(g) The department will extend, under AS 47.27.015(a)(1)(D), the 60-month time limit for a family experiencing “hardship,” as defined in 7 AAC 45.990(c). For the purpose of applying AS 47.27.015(a)(1)(D), the department will grant an extension when circumstances outside the family’s control prevent the caretaker relative from participating in work activities or becoming self-sufficient and the loss of ATAP benefits would result in conditions that threaten the family’s health or safety. As used in this subsection,

(1) “circumstances outside the family’s control” includes

(A) a specific catastrophic event meeting the criteria for a formal disaster declaration under state or federal law that affects the family in a way that reasonably prevents self-sufficiency;

(B) an adult in the family who has a documented functional impairment that interferes with the individual’s ability to earn a wage sufficient to support the family; and

(C) an adult living in the family’s home who is related within the fifth degree of consanguinity to the caretaker relative and who has a medical disability, either physical or mental, as verified by a written statement of a physician or psychiatrist or by other relevant documentation such as receipt of social security disability benefits or supplemental security income for the adult; that adult’s disability must, in the written opinion of a physician or other licensed medical or health care practitioner, require a level of care that interferes with the caretaker relative’s ability to participate in work activities as defined in AS 47.27.900 or to accept or retain employment at a level that allows the family to be self-sufficient;

(2) “conditions that threaten the health or safety of the family” includes one or more of the following conditions in which the family

(A) will not have sufficient income or resources to provide for housing, food, transportation, or other essential needs;

(B) does not have access to support from any other source to meet essential needs;

(C) does not have access to appropriate child care or other employment supports needed to maintain employment;

(D) will be unable to stay together if ATAP benefits are ended;

(E) is working with the department for the safe return of a child temporarily removed from the home or for the prevention of removal of a child from the home, and that effort would be disrupted if ATAP benefits are ended, resulting in the child being at risk of placement in emergency shelter or foster care; and

(3) a “functional impairment” is a condition in which the individual has limited capability for attaining employment at a level that allows the family to be self-sufficient; that condition may be documented by work history that shows limited earning potential, evidence provided by a licensed medical or health care practitioner showing a medical or mental health condition that prevents self-sufficiency, or information from screenings and formal assessments; indicators of