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STATE OF CONNECTICUT TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES (TANF) STATE PLAN 2021-2023 A. FAMILY ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS EFFECTIVE DATE 10/1/20 – 9/30/23  Initial Submission 12/29/20  Revision Page 8 The state imposes a 60-month time limit for all families and time limited families cannot receive more than two extensions to the 21-month time limit except when all adults meet one or more of the following criteria:  the adult is precluded from obtaining or maintaining employment due to domestic violence or another circumstance beyond his or her control; or  despite working thirty-five or more hours per week, earning at least the minimum wage, the adult earns less than the family’s TFA payment standard; or  the adult is employed and working less than thirty-five hours per week due to (1) a documented medical impairment that limits his/her hours of work, or (2) the need to care for a disabled member of the household; or  the adult has two or more substantiated barriers to employment such as the lack of available child care, substance abuse or addiction, severe mental or physical health problems, one or more severe learning disabilities, domestic violence, or a child who has a serious physical or behavioral health problem. If each adult in the family meets at least one of the following exemption criteria, the family is not subject to the state time limits. These exemptions do not apply to the federal time limit. A person is exempt if he or she is: incapacitated; age 60 or older; responsible for the care of an incapacitated family member; a non-parent caretaker relative who does not receive assistance; caring for a child under the age of one who is not subject to the family cap; pregnant, if a physician has certified that she is unable to work; or unemployable. A six week exemption is also given when a pregnancy ends. This exemption may be extended if a medical professional certifies that the person is unable to work. Minor parents attending and satisfactorily completing high school or high school equivalency programs and their children are exempt from the time limit. However, unmarried minor parents who are not attending and who have not completed high school or its equivalent are not eligible for benefits. In addition to a family that includes a member who has been battered or subject to extreme cruelty, a family that is exempt from the 21- month time limit is exempt from the state’s 60- month time limit. Also, these families are considered hardship cases for the 60 month limit of TANF funded benefits. Effective October 1, 2008, TFA families in which all adults are: exempt based on incapacity, age 60 or older, pregnant or post-partum, or unemployable, are identified as “Certain Exempt” and funded outside of the TANF program in a solely state-funded program. Other aspects of the TFA program include the following: Additional assistance for a child conceived and born to a family receiving assistance is one half of what it would normally be. Minor parents are required to live with their parents or other adults.